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Can Horses Eat Bananas? #BananaTreats

Horses tend to eat practically anything and bananas should not be an exception either. If you are checking out if horses can eat bananas, the answer would be in the affirmative. However, we will try to understand the concept in still finer detail.

Can horses eat Bananas? Most of the horses do love bananas and they can be one of the excellent options for the needs of your horses. The potassium that it provides you access to can prove to be what would help you achieve an enhanced experience. Bananas are nutritious, yet you may need to give them in moderation.

can horses eat bananas?

Can Horses Eat Bananas?

Almost every horse loves eating bananas except for a few of the fussy ones. If it is the first time for the horse to eat bananas, it may be worthwhile to give them the bananas in moderation. The horses will definitely love the flavor of the bananas, and they can be a treat for the horses in a way.

Bananas can be a healthy treat because of the good content of potassium in bananas. In fact, riders do find it one of the excellent options to treat the horses with bananas. That can indeed be one of the excellent options for boosting their energy. You can even feed the horses with the bananas together with the skin.

Well, that was about the banana. Now let us see all forms in which a horse can be served bananas.

Can Horses Eat Banana Peels?

Banana peels are quite safe for the horses to eat. However, you may need to convince your horse to eat the peel as most of the horses may not like eating the peel. Instead of feeding the peel separately, it may be a worthy option to feed the bananas along with the peel.

can horses eat banana peels

One of the prime concerns may be the stickers on the banana peel. You would also need to pay enough attention to check if the banana or the peel is organic in nature. The organic label on the banana should be a great option to ensure that the banana and the peel are free from harmful sprays and chemicals. It can also be a great option to cut the peel before feeding it to the horse.

Can Horses Eat Banana Chips?

The horse may be willing to eat the banana chips, but it is not advisable to treat the horses with the banana chips. They may contain a higher concentration of sugar and may not be healthy. In fact, since they are dried, most of the nutrients get removed which may not be the right option for the horses.

We would recommend not to feed banana chips to the horses. They may not provide your horses with any nutrition, but may also cause harm because of the high content of sugar.

Can Horses Eat Bananas and Honey?

Bananas, as we stated already, are great for horses. Along with that, honey can double up as a natural sweetener and can also act as a cure for a host of health issues. Eating bananas and honey can prove to be one of the excellent options that you can consider.

Both honey and banana provide access to a great degree of health enhancements. They can improve the metabolism rate. That would ideally be one of the excellent options to feed your horses.

Can Horses Eat Banana Leaves?

Banana leaves are definitely a great option for the horses to eat. We have not observed any of the unusual issues or health impacts when a horse eats the banana leaves.

There are several people who have been claiming that the banana leaves are toxic. In fact, neither the leaves or any other part of the banana plant are toxic in nature. You will be able to serve it to your horse without issues of any nature.

Can Horses Eat Banana Bread?

Banana bread can be quite safer for a horse as long as they do not have any sort of nuts in them. The nuts if included can be toxic and detrimental to the health of a horse. In fact, it can even cause serious health issues in an otherwise healthy horse.

Having said that, it should be noticed that a quick bite or a piece of banana bread may be a good option, but not a whole loaf of banana bread. If your horse eats a whole loaf of banana bread, it may be worthwhile to consider monitoring the health of the horse and find if they have any sort of unusual behavior.

Can Horses Eat Green Bananas?

There is no issue whatsoever if your horse eats green bananas. However, you can feed the horse in moderation. Green bananas are not unsafe in any way and can be served to your horse without the need to worry about any issues.

Bananas are high in sugar and micronutrients. There are several benefits offered by green bananas as well. However, too many green bananas can cause dental issues in some horses.

That was all about how can bananas and their parts be served. Now, let us see ways in which we can treat our horse with bananas.

Different Ways to Prepare Bananas for Horses

Bananas can be fed in different ways to your horses. Depending on the different options available at your disposal, we will try finding a few of the prime options for your needs in achieving the best options to serve banana to your horse.

Straight Banana Out of the Peel

The best way to feed the bananas to the horses would be to offer it the freshly peeled bananas. Some of the horse owners feed their horses with the peel still on. But, make sure whether your horse loves it or not. The fact that one of the horses like it may not mean the other horse would eat it.

Frozen Bananas

The bananas at room temperature may not be the right option for some of the horses. Some of the horses may not like fresh bananas. In such a scenario, it may be worthwhile to offer frozen bananas to the horse. Freezing the banana may make it crunchy, and quite enjoyable for some of the horses.

Baked Banana Treats

Some of the horse owners have been experimenting with the concept of baked treats that contains banana. It would be advisable to ensure that all the ingredients in the baked treat are safe for the horse.

Mix them with Bran Mash

Yet another practical option would be to mix the bananas with the bran mash that you would serve the hose with. If you have been regularly feeding your horse with Bran mash, this can be the perfect way to feed the bananas to the horse.

Now, let us see what impacts can bananas have on health of a horse.

Feeding Bananas To Your Senior Horse – Is it Safer?

Bananas can be the right choice to feed the senior horses. The banana can be a soft and mushy fruit when ripe and that would make it rather easy for the senior horses to eat comfortably. If your senior horse has dental issues, this can be something you would find rather a comfortable option.

Irrespective of whether you are feeding the senior horse or any other horse with a banana treat, it should be done with enough moderation. Never ever overfeed a horse with the banana or any type of other banana treats.

Bananas As a Cure for Horse Stomach Ulcers

Bananas have been considered to be one of the excellent options for treating gastric ulcers and they can also help you prevent the occurrence of ulcers to begin with. The high level of phospholipids has been known to increase the mucous of the stomach. This will be helpful in protecting the sensitive stomach lining and prevents damage from the acid.

In fact, unripe banana can be one of the excellent options for ensuing more mucus production and thus can be much more helpful in preventing ulcers. The unripe bananas can also prove to be helpful in promoting cell growth and repairing the damage caused by the ulcer.

Horses With Metabolic Issues and Bananas

If your horse has metabolic issues, it would be advisable to keep it away from bananas or even banana treats of any nature. Bananas are high in sugar, and it should be quite essential and important to ensure that these horses may need to be monitored for their sugar intake.

Some of the horses may have genetic issues and may need a reduction in certain nutrients in the diet served to them. One such disease that may need attention can include Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP). The disease requires a low content of potassium in the diet. Since bananas contain a high potassium concentration, it would be advisable not to serve bananas to such horses. Some of the issues that would require you not to feed bananas would include obesity and insulin resistance.

Using Bananas to a Disguise Medicine

Bananas can also be a great option for serving medicine to your horse. Just like we humans do not like taking the bitter or foul smelling medicines, horses or other animals do not like it either. A banana can be the perfect way to trick the horse into thinking it to be a treat instead of medicine.

If your horse loves bananas, you might have found the right way to hide the pills so that they can be administered without any hassles. You can simply press the pill into the banana and serve it to the horse. You can even hide the pills or other medicines in the banana that has been mashed up or even frozen.

How many Bananas should A Horse Eat?

If your horse eats too many bananas, it can induce a few digestive issues. In a normal scenario, a horse may be susceptible to digestive issues when new foods or food items are introduced. But, overfeeding a horse with a huge quantity of bananas can make it develop several severe health issues.

Too many bananas can also make the sugar level in the body of a horse to go up. If your horse has insulin issues, this can get severely dangerous. In fact, it can even be dangerous for a healthy horse as well. The sugar can also make your horse get excited and thus injure itself or others.

FAQs on Can Horses Eat Bananas

Can horses eat brown bananas?

Bananas in any form are a good option for horses. They are rich in potassium and should be fed to your horse in a moderated quantity. In fact, whether brown or green, any type of banana can be a good option for horses.

Can horses eat fresh bananas?

Fresh bananas or even green bananas have been found to be a great source of nutrients for your horse. Unless your horse has any metabolic issues, it would be a good idea to serve fresh or even unripe bananas to your horse.

How many bananas should you feed your horse with?

The ideal intake of the banana for a healthy horse would be around two bananas per week. In case your horse lacks potassium in its diet, it may be worthwhile to serve it 4 to 5 bananas per week.

Why are bananas good for horses?
Bananas are rich in nutrients and that should be one of the prime reasons why it can be a good option for the horses. The fruit is quite soft and easy to consume. It is always rich in potassium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.

Concluding Thoughts

Bananas can indeed be a great treat for most of the horses, and if you are using them in moderation, they can be one of the excellent options as long as your horse is not overfed. It can also be possible that your horse may not like it, but if it begins liking it, your horse can find it to be one of the excellent options for a new treat!

There is no harm in feeding bananas to your horse, but it should be noticed that you should stick to moderation when feeding the horses with bananas.

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