Can horses eat pumpkin?

[LittleblackMorgan]

I have a pumpkin on my steps. We never carved it, its not rotting or anything. Can I cut it up and feed it to Fat pony? Or not so much?

[Hollywood]

I've heard pumpkin is good for horses. Some people feed seeds, powder, and other forms as part of their horses diet.

[suniday]

I've fed it as a treat before.

My guys also love sweet potatoes. Our friends with gardens will give us their "culls" and my horses get them as treats.

I had a horse who LOVED radishes (of all things!). She was wired a bit oddly anyway.

If they spit it back at you or turn their noses up at it, then you definately know it's not up to their taste! One of my guys actually spit out a MacIntosh Apple. He loves apples, but won't eat a MacIntosh??!!?? I had another horse who was learning about treats and the first few apples he tried he would spit out the peel!

[Ritazza]

Yep! Every Halloween I take a little tiny pie pumpkin, carve out the insides, carve a face into it, stuff it full of chopped apples and carrots (and pour in some molasses for taste!), and out to the barn it goes!

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v150/74/42/158200011/n158200011_30097819_557.jpg
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v150/74/42/158200011/n158200011_30097821_1091.jpg

Mmmmmmm! I'll be making one for her tomorrow :lol:

[SUECLOUDY]

Ritazza, that is so adorable. I would surely try this. What we do for our Horses!!!:D

[JB]

Yep! Every Halloween I take a little tiny pie pumpkin, carve out the insides, carve a face into it, stuff it full of chopped apples and carrots (and pour in some molasses for taste!), and out to the barn it goes!

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v150/74/42/158200011/n158200011_30097819_557.jpg
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v150/74/42/158200011/n158200011_30097821_1091.jpg

Mmmmmmm! I'll be making one for her tomorrow :lol:

I am SO going to do that! You feed it "shell" and all?

Can you feed whole squash as well? I mean, I know the innards are good, just not sure about the rind.

[Ritazza]

Yep, "shell" and all! I saved the insides for pumpkin seeds for me... it's just the regular old outside of the pumpkin, just like you make for your regular jack-o-lanterns! My very picky mare will inhale everything I put inside of it (carrots, apples, etc) and then eat about half of the shell, then turn her nose up at the rest of it, but every other horse I've offered it to has INHALED it!

Like this guy: http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v150/74/42/158200011/n158200011_30097804_6678.jpg
And this mare: http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v150/74/42/158200011/n158200011_30097825_2650.jpg

Blurry pictures, but you can see they're making fast work of it!

I dunno about squash.... my mare is pretty picky, so I'm sure she isn't about to try anything out of the ordinary. I was surprised she ate as much of the pumpkin as she did!

[JB]

Love the demolition pics! I can't wait to do this :D

I know it's not uncommon in the UK for people to regularly feed all sorts of veggies, including many of the squash-like veggies. I also know that pumpkin seeds are part of a holistic parasite control program (if you buy into that), but wasn't sure about the actual shell, cool!

[JSwan]

ritazza -

That is so cute!!!! You're kinda like a Martha Stewart horse owner. :lol::lol:

I just toss stuff over the fence. My horses really like kohlrabi. My neighbor gave me some and I didn't want to eat it and thought the goats might. The horses LOVED it.

My guys also like butternut squash. I don't think I've given them zucchini - but they do like butternut squash.

[JWB]

I've given the horses lots of fruits & veggies - but more spit out the zucchini than actually ate it. They LOVE squash. Watermelon is a big treat in summer.

[fivehorses]

I discovered one year after my horses raided the pumpkin patch, that some love pumpkins and others are so so about them.

I have two drafts who love them, most of my others are not so fond.

I try and buy them pumpkins every fall as a treat. But, has anyone else noticed how expensive pumpkins are? Around me, they get $12 for a medium to large pumpkin.

I just throw the pumkins in the field and let them have at it.

[MistyBlue]

Give it another week and pumpkin prices will drop a whole lot. I bought a large one at the Supermarket this past Monday for $5. The local small market will sell all their pumpkins they have out from for decoration for $1 each by next week.

[monstrpony]

How about butternut squash? I had a bumper crop this year ...

[JB]

But, has anyone else noticed how expensive pumpkins are? Around me, they get $12 for a medium to large pumpkin.


Seriously? Our local upscale grocery store has medium pumpkins 3/$10 - have been for 3-4 weeks now.

[JSwan]

How about butternut squash? I had a bumper crop this year ...

My guys LOVE butternut squash.

[Woodland]

OMG - My horses LOVE pumpkins! I roll a few out as treats and they play with them and eat them up - YUM!

[LessonLearned]

My pony got his first Halloween pumpkin last night. He was a bit disgruntled that I made him share with his friends and neighbors, but other than that, all was well.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...d/FENCE040.jpg

The preparation (we decided to put in the molassess when we got to the barn:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...d/FENCE041.jpg

Fisher meets his halloween treat:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...d/FENCE043.jpg

And deems it "tasty.":

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...d/FENCE044.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...d/FENCE046.jpg

Who needs small bites -- just take the whole thing:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...d/FENCE047.jpg

Mmmmm. . .mmmm. . .good:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...d/FENCE048.jpg

[ThatScaryChick]

My pony got his first Halloween pumpkin last night. He was a bit disgruntled that I made him share with his friends and neighbors, but other than that, all was well.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...d/FENCE040.jpg

The preparation (we decided to put in the molassess when we got to the barn:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...d/FENCE041.jpg .........

None of those links work.

[Manes and Tails]

One of the favorite ENglish tricks for a bored horse is to take a large squash, bore a hole through it..and hang it from the stall ceiling.

Horsey will have hours of fun trying to eat it (I suppose it's like putting peanut butter in a kong bone for dogs). Eventually, he'll gnaw it down to the rope, of course ;).

[2boys]

Okay, my TURKEYS hated the pumpkin. :no: One wouldn't even put it NEAR his mouth. The other two took a few bites, then bleh. How sad...:sadsmile:

[CarolinaGirl]

My pony got his first Halloween pumpkin last night. He was a bit disgruntled that I made him share with his friends and neighbors, but other than that, all was well.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b102/lessonlearned/FENCE040.jpg

The preparation (we decided to put in the molassess when we got to the barn:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b102/lessonlearned/FENCE041.jpg

Fisher meets his halloween treat:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b102/lessonlearned/FENCE043.jpg

And deems it "tasty.":
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b102/lessonlearned/FENCE044.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b102/lessonlearned/FENCE046.jpg

Who needs small bites -- just take the whole thing:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b102/lessonlearned/FENCE047.jpg

Mmmmm. . .mmmm. . .good:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b102/lessonlearned/FENCE048.jpg

[JSwan]

I love those photos!! :lol::lol::lol:

What was funny about the first one wasn't just the cute little carved pumpkin. I couldn't help but notice the large container of Advil behind it.

For some reason - that just made me laugh. The "horseman's popcorn!" :lol:

[Char]

.... The "horseman's popcorn!" :lol:

How true! :lol::lol::lol:

[Kit]

I fed my horse pumpkin for a while. But, I cut it up and boiled it - skin but no seeds and then, leaving the water in with it, mashed it and added to the feed. He loved it!

[2boys]

What the HELL is WRONG with my horses???? Is there ANYONE ELSE who has pumpkin-hating horses?? I have so many to give, and they don't want them! ugh They are such brats...:mad:

[caballus]

I actually feed raw pumpkin seeds regularly to my guys as part of their de-worming protocol. They help the gut pH to remain "unfriendly" to the parasites. I do also feed squash and various other veggies and fruits, too. But pumpkin they love ... shell, seeds, the whole thing. :)

[dbadaro]

carolina girl: i am sooooo doing that for my horse! thanks for sharing! :lol:

[dustyangel24]

My horses LOVE the pumpkins too!!! Even the picky mare!!!!!:D

[Roan]

I took an apple-filled pumpkin out to the barn last night and tried it out on 15 of the horses, including my own.

NONE of them liked the pumpkin. They just wanted the apples that were inside.

Well, except Kyle. Kyle will eat anything, though.

Eileen

[Ritazza]

Hahaha I am so glad my pumpkin inspired so many others to give it a try!!

And ALAS! My own mare, the one eating the pumpkin in the first pictures.... did not eat the pumpkin this year. Ate everything inside, took a few bites of the pumpkin, and then turned up her nose. Every other horse on the property had a bite through.

And you want to know who finished the pumpkin with relish? MY DOG!
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v352/74/42/158200011/n158200011_30157446_4060.jpg

[Loves to ride]

My 2 think pumpkin is poison so no luck getting them to try a tasty new treat. Which is a bit surprising as they eat just about everything else they can get their lips on.