Feeding carrots?

RubysGold

RubysGold

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Am I right in thinking carrots aren't good for horses? Or have I made it up??
I don't allow my horses to have many carrots, I may buy a small bag from a supermarket a couple of times a year, (mainly xmas!) but on the whole I don't allow it because Ive always thought they have too much sugar/aren't so healthy.
I know a lot of people that buy the big sacks and never run out of carrots, that they feed every single day, and Im wondering whether they aren't so bad to feed.

Yesterday I bought a big sack of carrots (first time in a few years) as a treat, I would think most of these will end up on the muck heap, but so be it :)


On a side note, my horses are far too smart!!! Yesterday morning they came in, Id left a pile of a few carrots in each stable, they came in and ate them. I then had to wait while they finished them before I could pick feet out and do stable bandages. So this morning I thought Id bring them in, do their feet and bandages and THEN let them have some carrots. They walked straight to where I had left them yesterday and gave me a dirty look for not leaving any there! Lol
 
You'll find lots of opinions on whether carrots are good for horses, many of them not from well-informed individuals with any common sense :)

I go from my own experience: When my horses were kept so that they had minimal access to grazing, given the requirement for succulents in their diet they were all given carrots or parsnips twice a day. Big ones got a bucket at a time, ponies got half a bucket, even the laminitis-prone one got some. Everyone did very well like that and I was collecting a couple of tonnes at a time for them.

Now that I am in the fortunate position of being able to give them all grazing every day our carrot consumption has dropped to zero except for the few days a year when I cannot put them out for some reason - then they get carrots.


Just to add: I do know people who buy a couple of tonnes and drop them into the field with the horses for them to have free access. I've not noticed any laminitic-looking horses and the horses are very highly valued by their owners.
 
Carrots are 80% water and are safe to feed.

They do contain some sugar, but would only be detrimental to your horse, if your horse had a serious metabolic issue and could not tolerate even the smallest amount of sugar.

I would not feed a lot of carrots to a laminitic horse for the same reason, however, I have fed my cushings/laminitic prone mare a small amount of fresh carrots, with no issues whatsoever.

I wouldn't feed the dried carrots as the moisture has been removed and they would have a more concentrated amount of sugar per kg ( a bit like us eating loads of dried fruit)

Carrots have got an unreasonable amount of bad press lately, which is obsurd - just like us - everything in moderation... so give your horses the carrots you just bought, why waste them?
 
I feed carrots in the winter yes they are a source of sugars but a horse is big and unless you are managing a laminitis cushings or a metabolic disorder they can eat some carrots with no ill effects .
 
No I don't feed them, my horses don't get any benefit from them so I don't see the point. If my lot want some variety they can pick at the hedgerows.
 
My horse is metabolic and managed with exercise and diet which is the norm, being careful and overseeing his intake of grass (especially now!)..

I will not begrudge him a single carrot (chopped up into slithers!) in his feed as everything else hard feed wise is pretty strictly monitored and his hay is soaked.

He loves a tangerine too! LOL

I used to feed carrots more regularly, but now i micro-manage his treats because of his condition, but have no problem giving him a tiny little treat.
 
I buy a sack of carrots every week all through winter - my veteran loves carrots and has lots sliced up in her dinner and breakfast. My ISH is not so bothered so just has one or two. During summer I just buy a small bag from the supermarket as I need it - they go off really quickly in warm weather.

I am in the minority at my yard - nobody else really feeds carrots. Yes, I've heard all the 'too much sugar' stories and I guess for a laminitic, you have to be careful but I've never had a problem so will continue to feed them.
 
I was always taught at collage that you should feed things like carrots when a horse is stabled 24/7

I buy sacks of carrots but due to the little ponies weight I limit them
 
I used to feed carrots to my old boy no problem, but I stopped with my spooky IDxTB as the sugar affects him. If your horses are neither laminitic nor affected by sugar, then I don't see a problem at all.
 
I tend to limit them not so much because of the sugar, but because they're really high in Vitamin A. Apparently a couple of carrots provides a horse's total RDA of Vitamin A, and it's a vitamin that's toxic in excess. Given that horses eat a lot of other things every day that contains Vitamin A (grass in particular ;) ), adding more probably isn't a good idea, in spring and summer at least.

I feed parsnips instead ;)
 
I kept my horse on a stud at one time. We were near a carrot producing area.All the horses got to eat was haylage and carrots. The stabled ones got a builders bucketful twice a day (probably around 10kg a day) and the ones out in winter had a lorryload tipped in the field. They all did fine on them. Sometimes there were beetroot in the carrots which turned to poo purple.
 
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