Can horses have caffeine?

[BEARCAT]

Is it bad for them?

[Ghazzu]

It *will* test.

[MaresNest]

Never heard of anyone using it on adult horses, but some vets will use it for weak foals, to give them enough pep to stand and nurse on their own.

[cloudyandcallie]

This is not for competing, since caffeine will test as another poster said, but

my horses from childhood to now have drunk cokes and beer and coffee. My father gave my horses beer, and said it was good for them.

Never hurt them, but then all my horses were always hot blooded.

When I was 10 yoa, we used to ride our horses about 4 miles down the road to the store, buy a coke and a small bag of salted peanuts, put the peanuts into the coke bottle, and share with the horses.

Now we share Beck's.:winkgrin:

[BEARCAT]

Right - sharing snacks is exactly what I am talking about. I gave my horse a Shot Blok the other day, and they do contain caffeine...

[didgery]

My former appy had a giant cup of coffee (with soymilk and molasses) in a five gallon bucket every day for a while - he loved the taste, and the vet felt that it would be great at holding off impaction colic to which he was prone. Seemed to do the trick!

[Coobie]

My former appy had a giant cup of coffee (with soymilk and molasses) in a five gallon bucket every day for a while - he loved the taste, and the vet felt that it would be great at holding off impaction colic to which he was prone. Seemed to do the trick!

Oh boy, next thing ya know the new fad will be to feed coffee grinds to prevent colic!!

[citydog]

My former appy had a giant cup of coffee (with soymilk and molasses) in a five gallon bucket every day for a while - he loved the taste, and the vet felt that it would be great at holding off impaction colic to which he was prone. Seemed to do the trick!

Except if for some reason he *didn't* get a cup wouldn't he be even more prone to impaction colic? (He'd at least have a headache and be grumpy. ;))

[cloudyandcallie]

My former appy had a giant cup of coffee (with soymilk and molasses) in a five gallon bucket every day for a while - he loved the taste, and the vet felt that it would be great at holding off impaction colic to which he was prone. Seemed to do the trick!

Whoa, never thought about that! Instead of hot brand mashes, or the alfalfa or grain 'teas" we will be percolating cups of coffee in cold weather.

I like the big cappucinos at the gas stations, all sugar and caffeine, for staying up with sick horses, maybe now get 2 of them, one for me and one for the horse?

[cloudyandcallie]

Right - sharing snacks is exactly what I am talking about. I gave my horse a Shot Blok the other day, and they do contain caffeine...


It's like dogs and chocolate, moderation is the key.
I had 2 Aussies who ate chocolate everyday, and Reeses cups and chocolate mousse and Hersey's were their favorites, and one lived to be 14.5 yrs and one lived to be 16 yoa.

Vet said they'd have had to have pounds of chocolate daily for it to have killed them.

One shared Coke or beer or something when not competing is OK for them as it is for us.

An article recently said that at a Japanese racetrack, horses get a beer a day, oh I forget the name of the good Japanese beer, oh right, Kirin, the beer the hunter was named after.

But not too much, it would be really embarassing to have a horse disqualified for being DUI or is that trotting under the influence? (TUI)

[JB]

Chocolate is not something to play with with dogs and cats :no: The type of chocolate in Reeses and mousse contains so little cocoa (if any?), which is the real issue, that those things can be more safely consumed.

But the adverse effects of cocoa accumulate. The more cocoa in a product, the more likely there is to be a dead animal after consuming a small amount.

[citydog]

Theobromine and caffeine each have an LD 50 of 100 to 200 mg/kg, 3 but severe and life-threatening clinical signsmay be seen well below this dose. Based on ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) experience, mild signs occur in animals ingesting 20 mg/kg of theobromine and caffeine, severe signs are seen at 40-50 mg/kg, and seizures occur at 60 mg/kg (ASPCA/APCC Database: Unpublished data). Accordingly, less than 1 oz of milk chocolate/lb (2oz/kg) is potentially lethal to dogs; for baking (unsweetened) chocolate, less than 0.1 oz/lb (0.2 ounces/kg) is potentially lethal. More here (http://www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/toxbrief_0201.pdf?docID=111).

Don't feed dogs chocolate, people. You don't know what the theobromine and caffeine content of a given sample is going to be, and you don't know what a particular dog's sensitivity is going to be. There are plenty of treats that don't risk killing your dog/causing GI upset and that are generally healthier for him, too.

[fourmares]

I knew a horse that got a coffee every morning for heaves for quite a while.

[Walela]

My girls will drink coffee with the exception of my youngster (18 months) as fast you can make it. My 9 yr old loves Budweiser. I have also read that beer is is good for gas colic..

[spaghetti legs]

A tablespoon or two of brewer's yeast in your horse's feed each day will work wonders for digestion.. he'll also have an amazing coat! ((and lame pick up lines))

[AndalusianMom]

I had a pony that started snatching the mucker's coffee and doughnut every morning, so after awhile he was given his own. He did require cream and sugar in his coffee.:winkgrin:

[Mendin Fences]

I went out in the pasture to check on my horse in the morning last week and her buddy (my friend's horse) came over and started nudging my hand holding my coffee mug. I was like, ok... do you want some? So I took off the lid and let him drink it out of the cup. He guzzled it right down, lol :lol:

[2DogsFarm]

The barn I lessoned at had a school horse named Pepsi because.....

She'd drink a whole bottle by holding it in her lips & upending it.

This was back in the days when all soda came in bottles

[Katie-Nicole]

I have a horse that will drink coffee right out of the mug. He LOVES it, and I'm nice enough to share.