Can I feed apples from my trees?

[MagicMelon]

I have 3 apple trees full of apples, all different varieties (but not sure what) but none of them are sweet enough for us to eat. Can I safely feed these to the horses does anyone know? Seems such a waste!

 

[Barton Bounty]

I feed apples from trees but not scribes, which are the small bitter ones. ?

 

[cauda equina]

I would, but not too many - probably 1 or 2 a day at most and stop if it seems to be causing trouble
BB, I guess your scribes are what I call crab apples, mine will eat these if they find windfalls when we're hacking

 

[Red-1]

A normal horse is allowed 3 a day for me, but not Rigsby who has medical issues :-(

 

[Abacus]

Ours eat crab apples, cooking apples… whatever there is. I’m inundated from my own garden and neighbours but do limit the numbers each day. I tend to pop them in with their feeds.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I would, but not too many - probably 1 or 2 a day at most and stop if it seems to be causing trouble
BB, I guess your scribes are what I call crab apples, mine will eat these if they find windfalls when we're hacking

Yes, crab apples ? oh gosh they are bitter, bb is a fussy boy, he wont eat them… or pink lady apples ??

 

[sunnyone]

I hate the idea of a horse having nothing to bite on (hard feeds don't require a good bite) so I've been feeding mine carrots and windfalls for 40 years as a daily treat. The quantity depends on its size. I used to feed raw sugar beet too when they dropped off a lorry' on its way to the factory.

If the apple is slightly too big for a mouthful they take a bite whilst I hold it and then its friend either does the same or I let it take another bite.
If they don't like the texture or taste they spit it out!

 

[tda]

Our herd have a very small orchard area, mainly cooking apples, they love the early windfalls, the taller pony is pretty good at picking her own ?

 

[Barton Bounty]

We have lots of apple trees in the garden at the estate, I tried to do a pick your own and he wouldn’t get close enough lol ? im sure if he knew why he would take me in there ?

 

[Bluewaves]

I ride past some crab apple trees when hacking. My horse enjoys giving the branches a good rustle at this time of year so he can pull his own couple of apples for a treat. The apples are very tiny though.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I have 3 apple trees full of apples, all different varieties (but not sure what) but none of them are sweet enough for us to eat. Can I safely feed these to the horses does anyone know? Seems such a waste!

Yes cookers you can eat (or make pies or crumbles with) I would not give more than two cookers. We have two crab apples that look like mini golden delicious and they love them. and down our drive we have a row of https://www.mailordertrees.co.uk/pr...crab-apple-tree-1?_pos=4&_sid=2e32df7f7&_ss=r

As after a lot of detection and research after we had beautiful crab apple trees in our last house. I found the tree and it is these and they have awesome autumn foliage, they go from green to red to peach to yellow then fall off, and the crap apples on them are like mini gala apples but they don't eat them.

 

[Widgeon]

Yes we do, ours are eaters and the horses get three or four in their breakfasts every morning

 

[SEL]

Mine are currently demolishing crab apples without any ill effect - they're horribly sour!

 

[QuantockHills]

i save all my windfalls and pick the others before they ruin, then put them layered in a big trug and they last until about March... get a bit dry but still appreciated all through the winter by my boys!

 

[PurBee]

We have a large crab apple tree - my horses will eat 1, realise they are bitter and wont take another one!

Im using them with wild blackberries to make a jam instead. You could make apple sauce with the cookers and freeze batches to use for meals during winter: apple crumble etc

But if they liked them, i would give 2-3 per horse per day….rather than allow them to devour a glut of them.

If you have strong cardboard boxes, pick the apples without any bruising or visible damage, store them gently in the boxes in a cool dark place…hay shed etc. They store well. Its worth saving them. But as the saying goes, “1 bad apple spoils the cart” so ensure the best apples are stored and fed over winter, and feed the bruised/wasp damaged ones soonest.

 

[rextherobber]

I chuck a few in every day and they run after them like dogs chasing a ball

 

[Gloi]

Ours are eaters and any windfalls or damaged apples go in the pony every autumn.

 

[Barton Bounty]

We had a wee treat out hacking lol

 

[honetpot]

Mine get apples and blackberries, they pick their own blackberries, but I lob the apples over the fence every morning straight from the ground, and they eat them on the floor, they soon learn to take a bite. They are not so keen on cookers, the old boy refuses them, they go to the cows.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Does anyone feed rosehips?

 

[Honey08]

I used to wonder why my crab apple tree only got fruit on the higher branches. Until I caught my Labrador chewing them off the lower branches!!

 

[Keith_Beef]

Isn't there a danger that a horse might swallow a whole apple (slipperiness of the skin means the horse can't chew or break it easily) and get it jammed in its throat?

Whether I give an apple to a horse, either I break it into pieces or, if the apple is big enough, hold it for the horse to bite a chunk out of it.

 

[ponynutz]

Isn't there a danger that a horse might swallow a whole apple (slipperiness of the skin means the horse can't chew or break it easily) and get it jammed in its throat?

Whether I give an apple to a horse, either I break it into pieces or, if the apple is big enough, hold it for the horse to bite a chunk out of it.

Yes - from the way one of ours eats them I can see this happening. I think though because they're on the tree they HAVE to bite into them to pull them off making it much less likely.

 

[rextherobber]

Isn't there a danger that a horse might swallow a whole apple (slipperiness of the skin means the horse can't chew or break it easily) and get it jammed in its throat?

Whether I give an apple to a horse, either I break it into pieces or, if the apple is big enough, hold it for the horse to bite a chunk out of it.

Most of the apples are too big for that to be an issue, but in all honesty, I've never seen them try to eat one whole, they always bite it in half, drop half,, eat what they have, then scoff what they dropped

 

[rextherobber]

Does anyone feed rosehips?

Mine can pick their own from the hedge, but never do. I've picked them and offered them, but they rejected them. Too many other good things around at this time of the year maybe, they love blackberries!

 

[Barton Bounty]

Mine can pick their own from the hedge, but never do. I've picked them and offered them, but they rejected them. Too many other good things around at this time of the year maybe, they love blackberries!

Actually met another livery when hacking one day and she was on foot, picking rose hips and she asked if she could give him one? I said yeah not sure if he will eat it but he wolfed them down ? They were the small ones, i think you can get big round ones too, nevrr sure if they are ok though