Enriching Your Horses Diet: Safe Plants, Herbs and Forage

As horse carers, we're always looking for ways to support the health and wellbeing of our equine companions. Offering a selection of safe herbs and forage for horses to choose from can be an interesting way to add variety and enrichment to their daily routine.

Horses are natural grazers and foragers. Given the opportunity, they will often investigate and nibble on a variety of plants, leaves, herbs and other vegetation.

Providing safe plants, herbs and vegetables can add variety to their diet and give horses an opportunity to express natural foraging behaviours.

Whether you're looking to add nutritional variety, provide enrichment or simply offer something different from their usual forage, there are plenty of options to explore.

What Is Free Choice Feeding for Horses?

Free choice feeding allows a horse to investigate and select from a range of suitable herbs, plants or other forage options rather than having everything mixed into their regular feed.

Horses naturally make choices about what they eat while grazing and browsing. Offering a small selection of suitable plants or herbs can provide additional variety and encourage natural foraging behaviour.

Free choice feeding should complement, rather than replace, a balanced diet based on appropriate forage and the individual horse's nutritional needs.

Benefits of Offering Additional Forage to Horses

Horses are designed to eat a variety of vegetation. In natural environments, they may browse leaves, herbs, shrubs and trees as well as grazing grasses.

Providing a greater variety of suitable forage can offer several benefits:

• Nutritional variety: Different plants provide different nutrients and naturally occurring compounds.

• Mental stimulation: Searching for and investigating different foods can provide enrichment and reduce boredom.

• Natural foraging: Offering plants and herbs allows horses to engage in behaviours that are part of their natural feeding pattern.

• Dietary variety: Additional safe forage can make the feeding routine more interesting.

Important Considerations When Feeding Horses Herbs and Plants

Not every plant is safe for horses, and even suitable plants should be introduced carefully.

• Introduce new foods gradually to reduce the risk of digestive upset.

• Make sure all plants and herbs are correctly identified before offering them.

• Avoid plants that may have been exposed to pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals.

• Offer new foods in moderation, particularly when introducing several things at once.

• Wash fruit and vegetables and cut larger pieces into manageable sizes.

• Consider your horse's individual nutritional needs and any existing health concerns.

• Horses with metabolic concerns may need particular care with sugary fruits, vegetables and other higher-sugar foods.

Safe Plants and Trees for Horses

If you're lucky, your pasture may already contain a diverse range of suitable grasses, herbs, trees and shrubs. For many domestic horses, however, the available forage can be much more limited.

Some plants that can be offered in moderation include:

• Bamboo: Provides fibre and can be an interesting addition to a horse's forage.

• Hawthorn: Leaves and branches can provide variety for browsing.

• Hazel: Suitable as an occasional browse option.

• Tree Lucerne (Tagasaste): A nutritious, higher-protein browse option that should be offered in moderation.

• Willow: Horses often enjoy browsing willow branches and leaves.

• Mulberry: Leaves and fruit can provide additional variety when offered appropriately.

These plants can be grown where appropriate or, alternatively, suitable branches and leaves can be offered for your horse to investigate.

Always make sure plants are correctly identified and free from chemical treatments before allowing horses access to them.

Herbs for Horses

Herbs can provide another way to introduce variety into a horse's feeding routine.

Some herbs that horses may enjoy include:

• Peppermint: A popular herb with many horses.

• Basil: Can be offered fresh or dried.

• Parsley: A source of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals and best offered in moderation.

• Dandelion: The whole plant can be offered and provides dietary variety.

• Thyme: An aromatic herb that can be offered as part of a varied herb selection.

• Chamomile: Many horses enjoy the flowers and aroma.

Fresh herbs can be grown where suitable or offered dried as part of a free-choice herb selection.

Vegetables for Horses

Vegetables can provide variety and enrichment when offered in appropriate amounts.

Suitable Vegetables

• Carrots: A popular horse treat that can be offered whole or cut into suitable pieces.

• Sweet potato: Can be offered as an occasional treat. The leaves should only be offered when their safety has been established.

• Swede and turnip: Useful root vegetables for adding variety.

• Beetroot: Can be offered in moderation as part of a varied diet.

• Cucumber: A refreshing, high-water vegetable that is relatively low in sugar.

• Celery: Crunchy and high in water, making it an interesting occasional treat.

Horses with metabolic concerns may need to avoid or strictly limit higher-sugar vegetables and treats. Always consider the individual horse and their overall diet.

Fruits for Horses

Many horses enjoy fruit, but because fruit can contain relatively high amounts of naturally occurring sugar, it should generally be offered sparingly.

Suitable options can include:

• Apples

• Pears

• Bananas

• Pineapple, with the skin and core removed

• Oranges, offered in small amounts

• Watermelon

• Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries

Fruit should be limited or avoided where appropriate for horses requiring a low-sugar diet.

Creating a Water Buffet for Horses

A water buffet is another fun way to introduce variety and encourage horses to investigate different flavours.

A small amount of a suitable dried herb or supplement can be added to separate buckets of water, allowing your horse to choose which flavours they prefer.

You can prepare an herbal infusion by steeping suitable herbs in hot water before allowing it to cool and adding it to the bucket. Alternatively, some dried herbs can simply be added directly to cool water, depending on the product.

Offer each flavour separately rather than mixing everything into one bucket. This allows your horse to investigate the different options and choose what interests them.

Herbs and Supplements for a Horse Water Buffet

Some options include:

• Ashwagandha

• Apple Cider Vinegar

• Bentonite Clay

• Brewer's Yeast

• Burdock Root

• Calendula

• Chamomile

• Chaste Berry

• Cleavers

• Dandelion

• Echinacea

• Fenugreek

• Kelp or Seaweed Meal

• Hawthorn Berry

• Licorice Root

• Marshmallow Leaf or Root

• Meadowsweet

• Milk Thistle

• MSM

• Nettle

• Olive Leaf

• Passionflower

• Peppermint

• Raspberry Leaf

• Rosehip

• Celtic Sea Salt

• Spirulina

• Turmeric Root

• Valerian

• Vervain

• White Willow Bark

• Zeolite Powder

How to Make a Horse Water Buffet

As a general starting point, you can add approximately one to two tablespoons of dried herbs to a 10–20 litre bucket of water, depending on the particular herb and product.

Some horses prefer a stronger flavour while others may prefer very lightly flavoured water, so you can adjust the amount accordingly.

Always follow the directions for individual products, particularly where supplements have specific feeding instructions.

Most importantly, always provide plenty of fresh, clean water alongside any flavoured water.

Discard leftover flavoured water regularly and clean the buckets thoroughly before refilling them.

A water buffet is intended to provide variety and enrichment rather than a therapeutic dose of herbs or supplements. If you're considering larger amounts or using herbs for a specific health concern, seek advice from a qualified equine nutritionist or animal naturopath.

How to Offer Herbs Free Choice

There are several ways to offer herbs and plants for your horse to investigate.

You can:

• Place small amounts of dried herbs in separate feeding containers.

• Offer fresh herbs or suitable leaves by hand.

• Hang suitable browse branches in a safe location.

• Add small amounts to separate water buckets.

• Use a free-choice herb selection such as a sampler pack.

Start with a small number of options and observe which ones your horse shows interest in.

Free-choice feeding should not be interpreted as a horse being able to accurately diagnose or treat a health condition. It is best viewed as a way of providing dietary variety, enrichment and the opportunity to express natural foraging behaviour.

Adding Variety for a Healthier, Happier Horse

Adding safe plants, herbs and suitable treats to your horse's routine can provide variety and enrichment while encouraging natural foraging behaviours.

Every horse is different, so take the time to observe what your horse enjoys and introduce new foods gradually and in moderation.

For an easy way to explore different flavours, try our Herb & Supplement Sampler Pack / Water Buffet Pack.

Our Greenpet Water Buffet Pack contains a selection of 5, 10, 15 or 20 different herbs and supplements of your choice that can be added to water or offered free choice. It also includes information about the traditional uses of 28 different herbs and supplements.

We also stock a variety of individual dried herbs and unique blends for horses in our Herbs for Horses range.

Happy foraging!