Feeding horses bread?!

Yes they can - but only a limited amount

HINT - if you need to get horses to take tablets, you'll find that Soreen Fruity Malt loaf is irresistable and they will gobble it up.
 
yes they can but only dry bread. its something to do with the acids or something like that. that it may be harmfull when not dry. even when dry don't feed too much of it thou, a few slices a day i'd say but not like a whole loaf. thats what i've heard anyway, don't know if its actualy true. google it :)
 
A pony I used to look after loved a jam sandwich! I think if it's stale it's ok but fresh bread with swell in the stomach...I Think :-/
Saying that a yard I went to in Kent used to get allthe leftover bread and such from the bakers, soak with sugar beat and feed in the fields as they had no grass...there was even Swiss roll in there!
 
Well well - I never knew that! Luckilly the horses don't get any kind of peelings but I think I grew up in the era when you gave all sorts of peelings to horses!
 
Yeah they can, my shetland used to live on the stuff! and she's about 35years old now, so it must of done her good!

my other horse, a welsh section D used to go crackers for potato skin, again another thing that she lived for!

i think it's all good!
 
we have had our shetland since he was 2 , he is 26 now and has always had any left-over bread several times a week.
cooking apples are just starting to drop,another favourite.
 
yard i worked at in Spain all the horses ate bread as a treat like we feed carrots they got all the stale left over bread and went mad for it mind you it was the lovely whole wheat home made variety not quite the same as a slice of warburtons lol
 
mine have eaten stale bread and potato peelings before, as well as carrot peelings and bean peelings.

but then the one loves bananas and all human food (including flakes and double deckers!)
 
I have give mine bread on occasions most of their lives.

They love crusty loaves french sticks toast.anything like that.


Never forget one day it was raining I was walking under the cover of the stable block with some shopping A lovely french stick in the bag poking out .

I got to the front door opened it went into the house put shopping down , went to pull stick out and the top was missing. Went out to see my mare chewing away enjoying it .:mad: Ands I love the nobbly bit.:(
 
isn't it something to do with the wheat gluten in bread not being digestible for horses as to why they shouldn't have too much:confused: but saying that we used to use old bread to catch the trekking ponies all those years ago and don't remember any of them needing the vet other than for routine stuff in the 2 years i was there;)
 
When I was a child the lady who taught me used to feed her mare loads of bread (she worked in a restaurant). Mare was PTS aged 25 so clearly its not that bad!
 
In a word, yes. Wouldn't feed it in vast quantities nor to any of the more 'blood' horses probably, but the cobs love it.
 
bread is made with wheat flour,yeast, salt, and water, there is nothing in it that is toxic to
the horse, and it can contribute enormously to caloric
intake if fed in large quantities. There is no harm in occasionally feeding bread, but it is not the most nutritious
feedstuff when used as the sole concentrate. While bread is chock full of calories, it provides few nutrients.
deficiency would not be a concern.The protein content of bread flour (13-14%) is marginally
adequate for a growing horse or pregnant/lactating mare
The high starch content of bread may be a potential problem if fed in large amounts.Another concern with a high-starch diet is the limited capacity of the small intestine to digest it, allowing large
amounts to pass through to be fermented in the cecum and colon. Starch fermentation causes a buildup of lactic-acidproducing bacteria in the hindgut and a subsequent drop
in pH. The results can range from inefficient feed conversion
(weight loss) to colic. It is not customary to feed wheat grain to horses
because of the high gluten content. The problem with wheat gluten balling up in the stomach or intestinal tract
and causing blockage (colic) is not a concern with feeding bread because the yeast and the heat of baking have
altered the gluten starch.In summary, feeding bread to horses may be cost effective
and is not harmful in limited quantities, but it is not ideal nutritional management, especially for young horses
or pregnant/lactating mares.
 
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same the potato is a member of the large family of nightshade plants, and horses have been poisoned by various genera that include nightshades, and potato. There are a variety of steroid alkaloids found in these plants, especially in the green parts of the plant and unripe or rotting fruit. Initially, one could experience central nervous system excitement, but depression follows with decreased heart and respiratory rates, muscle weakness, colic etc. If large amounts of the toxic is ingested death
 
Look on the contents of feed bags and I'm sure you will find wheat meal as one of the ingredients. My girl has the crusts off my loaves. I crumble them up for her and add them to her feed and she she loves it. At 28 I think its a bit late to be worrying.

Isn't Baileys no 1 (I think) made of bread?
 
As a child we got all the old bread from the baker and let it dry out in the sun, then the horses lives off it for weeks ... It's not the done thing anymore, I think, but it used to be OK! lol
 
Of course horses can eat bread, it just may not be good for their waist line.
Potatoes and potato peelings are a completely different story, as they are poisonous.
 
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