HELP! IS BREAD DANGEROUS FOR YOUR HORSE?

[surreyhorsechick]

Hi there, please can anyone advise me on whether feeding the odd slice of bread to your horse is dangerous? I have been feeding the occasional slice to my boy for 18 years with no problems, but was rudely told this morning by my yard owner that she was shocked what I was doing and i should know better! Obviously I would never feed by the loaf and I know there is little nutritional value for the horse, but is there really any harm in feeding a slice every now and again if he enjoys it???

 

[MACCIMOO]

no not at all its not as though you are feeding a whole loaf a day,there was a old boy near us he use to chuck out whole loafs of bread to his horses they were around for years

 

[surreyhorsechick]

Thanks Maccimoo - I was made to feel like a complete idiot this morning!!!

 

[Honeypots]

My only worry would be choke...

Apart from that I can't see any major harm in it. The owner of my old loan horse used to bring her down a bag full of cakes and bread but she did choke once and I'm sure she'd just been down...

 

[MACCIMOO]

you will prob get someone saying something different but i am speaking from experience and old age

48 years and not all YO know what they are talking about,there is a lady i know whos pony loves bananas and she gives him 1 a day he is 38 years old,not that i would feed bananas but you see what i am saying i wouldnt worry ,the world is full of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing"people

 

[RachelB]

I would never feed bread unless it had been left to dry and go stale first - choke is horrible and not worth risking. My friend keeps her stale bread for her horse as treats and it's never done any harm, he only gets a small amount every so often.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

bananas are fine

although mine prefers dates!

I would only give the odd slice of bread if dried out and stale. fresh bread can swell up allegedly but if the amount is only small and its not given regularly then there's probably not much harm in it.

 

[Ellies_mum2]

A friends uncle has kept horses for years and he gives them old bread rolls on an almost daily basis. They follow him round the field for them

 

[Gooby]

when my boy came to me he was seriously underweight and we fed him bread every day torn up in his fed. Never had any problems and hes now all filled out and looking healthy.

 

[Rosehip]

All of mine have jam/honey/treacle sarnies when then need bute or antibiotics, when Daizy was dying the only thing she could manage was a honey sandwich. Just watch for choke, and dont give a huge amount and its fine. Well, Ive never had a problem! x

 

[LindaW]

In the dark and distant past I had a vet tell me to give bread and guiness to a mare that didn't do so well - she thrived on it.

I'd prefer not to give bread so I don't, but I've had people almost fall over in horror that apart from selling his granny for a bananna, my fell just about swoons if you offer him a jam doughnut - 11 years since his first one....

 

[MACCIMOO]

see told you surreyhorsechick ignor your YO

 

[chunkytfg]

My daughters pony gets half her marmite on toast in the morning if she is late and doesnt have the time to finish it before we get to the yard.

necver done him any hamr and he loves it.

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

we used to feed all of ours bread years ago with no consequences, they loved it

 

[Keltic]

Ohh my poor pony lol....
When i was young at christmas i used to get a full farmhouse loaf and cut the top off, rip all the bread out and make a mixture of pony nuts, bran chaff, carrots, polos, apples and bits of bread mix them up fill the loaf back up and pop the top back on! Then i used to ice it so it looked like a cake! On chrismas day i used to pop his cake in the manger completely whole and let him demolish it!!
Poor ponio i used to feed him potato peelings mixed with his tea aswell. He thrived though....

 

[Ottinmeg]

a girl on my old yard feeds her show cob half a loaf of bread a day in his feed and it hasn't done him any harm

 

[LadyRascasse]

my horse loves it!!! especially marmite sandwiches. never done him any harm, i don't give it to him regually but as a treat.

 

[Donkeymad]

No

 

[DougalJ]

Thank god general opinion is that bread is ok - I always save the crusts for my 13 yr 17.2 gelding and he loves it! I had a little panic when I read the title of the thread! I might try a little marmite on it tomorrow....

 

[surreyhorsechick]

Thanks so much everyone for your views & funny stories - the one from Keltic about her Christmas Day dinner had me in stitches! My Y.O is very 'traditional' in her ways and everything is very BHS, but I stuck to my guns and politely told her that I had fed the odd slice of bread to my boy for over 18 years, but I would investigate her theory!!!!

 

[parsley]

Mine have a jam sandwich or a donut if we have a picnic and they always have the end crusts of the bread, although they have gone a bit stale by the time they get them.

 

[Pebble101]

I bake stale bread - my old pony prefers it to apples.

Have done this for more years than I care to remember.

 

[wishfulthinking]

I give molasses sandwiches laced with wormer to those who don't like the paste. Has worked fine so far...touches wood.

 

[Tia]

Each to their own; I don't feed bread to my horses. I am also "old school" and remember all the warnings given when I was a child. Anyhow, I doubt feeding horses small amounts of bread would be greatly detrimental.

I found this which may be of interest to some; this was what I was taught as a child many many moons ago and I guess it just stuck.

<font color="blue"> "Bread: During drought some people get the idea to use the old bread discarded by bakeries as a cheap way of feeding their horses. Whilst bread may provide extra dietary energy, it should only be used in moderation and with a good knowledge of the dangers associated with feeding it. Bread is high in carbohydrates, and very low in fibre. It should only be fed in small amounts as a part of each meal. Feeding too much bread may lead to behavioural and clinical problems more commonly associated with high grain diets. If bread makes up a large part of the diet, the risk of laminitis and colic is increased. Bread also contains a large amount of gluten, which when wet forms a sticky ball that can cause choke, colic and possibly impactions. For this reason, it is better to feed bread stale rather than fresh, and mix well with other fibre sources before feeding."

Author: Sonja Gardner BSc. (Hons)
Kentucky Equine Research (Australasia)
</font>

 

[Pebble101]

I was always taught by old school ex-cavalry man not to ever feed fresh bread, but baked bread crumbled into smallish pieces was OK. And if I ever bake a French stick I always make sure the end bits are well broken down.

I don't feed bread as part of a diet, but as a treat for my old boy (much like adding an apple or carrot to a feed).

 

[eoe]

Never heard that one before, over the years we have fed and still feed ours bread, eggs, syrup, guinness, garlic cloves. bananas, potatoes and the normal carrots, apples, pears and swede. In 34 years have never lost a horse!! Just remembr everyting in moderation, unlike a livery I had a couple of years ago who had a very pretty palomino pony and fed it loads of food and was worm free and couldn't understand why it wasn't putting on weight, she was feeding it 1/3 litre of oil in his food.

 

[Theresa_F]

I feed bread - anything that is stale from the house. Cairo's fav treat was a loaf of whole grain that had gone rock hard - he used to then bash it to pieces and hoover it up.

Farra and Chancer also have any left overs once hard, Farra prefers her bread broke into small pieces and Chancer prefers to gnaw a lump.

I have fed it for years without a problem, but (touch wood) have never had a horse with colic or choke problems.

Mine also get all the old veggies apart from onions and spuds.

 

[ColouredFan]

My horse has bread every day in his feed he loves it and as he is allergic to compound feeds its a good way of keeping weight on him (he is 1/2 TB and Novice events).

I had an equine nutrionalist visit the yard for a feeding article for HORSE magazine,I told her what I fed him - bread, unmollassed chaff, barley, corn oil, speedibeet, linseed oil, Aloe vera, anti itch and vit supplement and she advised not to change a thing, I do tear the bread up small then mix it with water in the feed before I give it to him.

He also gets a slice when he is out competing as it is his favourite!

 

[Sooty]

Toffee used to enjoy a Marmite sandwich every morning; she used to suck it for ages!

Now she has a carrot dipped in Marmite, as the sarney maker went on strike.

She is also partial to bananas, swedes, all vegetable peelings apart from potato, and any food served at hunt meets including pork pie.

I do try and stop her eating the pig bit...

I am sure there is no harm in what you are doing.

 

[CrazyMare]

Mine begs for bread at shows if you get something to eat. She doesn't beg for any other food type, just bread!! I always give her a little bit. Shes not suffered.