How to Make Horse Treats

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How to make Horse Treats, an easy and frugal recipe that the horses, donkeys and other animals on your homestead will enjoy.

How to make Horse Treats, an easy and frugal recipe that the horses, donkeys and other animals on your homestead will enjoy.  #homemadehorsetreats #homestead #diyhorsetreats 

Homemade Horse Treats can be made with just a few items from your fridge and pantry such as oats and apples. There is no need to go to the store and buy expensive treats for your pets!

How to Make Horse Treats

A few years ago, we had a major issue with coyotes and with all the livestock around our little farmstead, I worried about my creatures and what might happen to them. My poor little goats and piggies couldn’t do much to protect themselves! After looking into the various livestock guardians, I decided to choose something a little unusual…

Charlie the Donkey

Meet Charlie! Charlie is a donkey. He was a big furry teddy bear and he certainly knew what his job was on our farmstead from the day we brought him home. On his first week, he took care of one scary jackrabbit that was harassing the goats. I was so glad we found him and he was a great addition to our farmstead while we lived there and now he’s a wonderful help to another hobby farm.

Charlie was pretty happy eating whatever the goats and cows eat, with a bit of hay mixed in, but in the winter, but I also wanted to be able to give him some little treats, especially when we were working with him to become halter broke. But treats at the local feed store didn’t fit very well into my budget and we didn’t go to town often in the winter so I decided to make him a little something using some food that I already had on hand. These DIY horse treats are perfect for horses or any other kind of equine, as well!


Flour

FAQs About Horse Treats

What can I use instead of molasses in horse treats?

Honey can be substituted for molasses in this recipe and in other recipes for horses. Molasses does contain more vitamins and minerals than honey though, so for nutrition, you should consider using it if you can.

Is flour ok for horses?

Yes, flour is safe for horses in moderation. Wheat flour is best since it contains the highest amount of nutrients for your pet.

What sweets do horses like?

Each horse may be different in their likes and dislikes but some sweet favorites include: apples, sugar cubes, strawberries, bananas, melons, and peppermints.


Ingredients for How to Make Horse Treats

Homemade Equine Treats Recipe

What You Need:

  • 1 large Carrot
  • 1 large Apple
  • 1 cup Molasses
  • 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned Oats
  • 2 Tablespoons Oil

Shredding Food for How to Make Horse Treats

Shred the carrot and the apple into a large bowl. You can use a food processor to shred if you don’t want to do it by hand.

Tip: Save your scraps! Find Uses for Apple Peels and Carrot Scraps.

Adding Molasses to How to Make Horse Treats

Add in the oil, oats, and molasses to your mixing bowl. Stir to combine well so that all the oats are covered in the molasses.

Tip: Save money by buying your oats in bulk  – Read more about What to Order From a Bulk Foods Coop.

Baking Homemade Horse Treats

Pour the mixture into a 9×13 greased baking sheet. You can use a cookie sheet if you have one with sides on it. Pat the treats down with a spoon or with your fingers so they are flattened into the pan.

If you don’t want to grease the pan or if it hasn’t worked for you in the past with this recipe, use a wax paper lined baking sheet instead.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until they begin to get crispy.

DO NOT OVER COOK THEM! A common comment is that readers are burning their treats. It’s very important to watch the treats as they cook in the oven (no matter what time my recipe is for) and watch for doneness. Your oven might cook much slower or faster than mine and this is a particularly picky recipe.

Finished Homemade Horse Treats

Remove the treats from the oven when they are golden brown (NOT BURNT!) and let them cool for a while. The treats will harden slightly as they cool. Once they are hardened you can score them into pieces.


Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars Dry Ingredients

Variations for Homemade Horse Treats

  • If you are having a hard time getting these to stick together, add in a little bit of whole wheat flour (and a little more moisture like vegetable oil or coconut oil) to give them something more to help them stick.
  • Replace some of the molasses with 1/2 cup peanut butter to give it a different flavor for your pet.
  • You can use quick oats if you don’t have old fashioned oats. That may also help them stick together better. You could even use steel-cut oats if that’s all you have.
  • Replace the oats with oat flour.
  • Replace the shredded apple with applesauce. (This variation will work even better if you are using flour in your recipe as well.)
  • Add in a bit of flaxseed (whole or ground) for added nutrition.

Horse

Print this Homemade Horse Treat recipe below:

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Homemade Equine Treats

Ingredients

  • 1 large Carrot
  • 1 large Apple
  • 1 cup Molasses
  • 2 1/2 cups old fashioned Oats
  • 2 Tablespoons Oil

Instructions

  1. Shred the carrot and the apple into a large bowl.
  2. Add in the oil, oats, and molasses. Stir to combine well so that all the oats are covered in the molasses.
  3. Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Pat the treats down with a spoon or with your fingers so they are flattened into the pan.
  4. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until they begin to get crispy.
  5. Remove the treats from the oven and let them cool for a while. The treats will harden slightly as they cool. Once they are hardened you can score into pieces.

How to Make Horse Treats

Charlie loved this homemade donkey treats recipe! (The goats happen to love them too! I mean really love them…they will follow you everywhere until they get more!)

Store any treats that aren’t used right away in a sealed container. If it may take a while for you to use them, store them in the fridge, otherwise they are ok in the container on the countertop.


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Do you make treats for your farm animals?

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This post on How to Make Horse Treats was originally published on Little House Living in December 2014. It has been updated as of September 2022.

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45 Comments

  1. What a cutie! We have coyotes in our woods and I know that any chickens or small animals would just be food for them. We have many neighbors with small dogs and no one lets them out alone at night anymore. All of the stray cats have disappeared from the area, too. Coyotes are really becoming a problem everywhere it seems.

  2. We have a miniature donkey, named Jet, who looks after our Dexter cattle. Thank you for the recipe. We bought some horse apple treats for him, but I much prefer to make them myself.

    1. All of these comments are disturbing because mini donkeys are NOT guard animals. They also need to be with another one if their kind to be mentally healthy. Anyone who actually knows about minnies, understands this. A nice treat dies not make up for this.

      1. yeah everyone thinks they know whats best for their horses or donkey and they lock them up in tiny little boxes. But I don’t know everything i’m still learning and i’ve lived on a ranch 17 years (my whole life)

  3. So do you just let him roam at night so he can be there if danger is near or is it just his presence that keeps coyotes at bay? And why not a dog?

    1. Our son is allergic to dogs, he does fine with Charlie though. At night he can be out in the pasture if he wants or he can go in the barn, he usually sleeps in the barn with the goats. 🙂 He will go outside though if he feels like his herd is threatened.

      1. Your story about Charlie is great. I’m planning to get some miniature horses(maybe a couple pygmy goats?) And now I plan on getting two donkeys. I read Katherine’s comment. I will plan for the safety of all of my mini’s. Just like I do for my big horse’s. Thank You for the tips and recipe!!

    1. I tried baking these for 40 minutes at 400 degrees, and they started burning. I hadn’t set a timer, so I tried again. They started burning after 32 minutes. I found another recipe that says 25-30 minutes at 325 degrees… I’ll have to try that some other time, because I’m too tired to try baking a third batch.

      1. This will probably happen to me. Lol. I’m not good at baking. But, I’m going to try it anyway.

  4. If I had a mini donkey, you can bet I’d be making these treats! Thx for linking up at the Thoughtful Spot!

  5. He is adorable! I didn’t realize that they were protective (ours was a grain farm) I would love to have one but I now live in the city 🙁 Many hugs to your new addition (and thanks for all your information on living a clean real life).

  6. Thanks for posting this, I just love hearing about Charlie. He’s a lucky little donkey to have his owner make such nice treats.

  7. I love your blogs. I am a former farm girl and truely miss the whole farm life. From raising our children with respect for animals and their place in our lives to all the strange pets they found to the appeciation and peace a hard days work can bring to everyone. Knowing we can do things we a lot of times think is for someone stronger, smarter,or even perhaps richer. It is a wonderful life and I cannot read enough of your blogs and always look forward to the next. Merry Christmas toyou and your family!

  8. Charlie is so cute! I didn’t realize they were so protective. I love your blog
    and wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.

  9. Thanks so much for the cute photo of Charlie! The receipe is great for people with animals; life is “at the beach” still here in Fort Lauderdale Florida, but I enjoy reading about life on the farm (my family is from farms in Canada). Keep up the good work you do, people like you make such a BIG positive difference in the world! Wishing you and your family all the best in 2015!

  10. He’s a cutie,but a word of warning’ I had a Donkey and it attacked my
    6 mo old son in his walker out in the yard. Be sure to have him Gelded.
    Some attack other males. Mine never bothered the girls. Have a
    wonderful Christmas’ So happy your new addition is legally yours’

  11. I have to admit that this Donkey won me over, I love them. I am going to be featuring your post on my blog at Tuesdays with a Twist link party this week, make sure you stop by for a peek. Have a great week. 🙂

  12. I’m definitely going to make some of those treats for my horses! They never seem to like the store bought ones very well. Also, do you really think a miniature donkey is going to do much protecting? I would think that you would want to get a standard sized donkey instead. Is there a reason you chose a mini?

    1. He is an excellent protector already! Check out the videos on Youtube of donkey’s protecting their areas…it’s quite amazing! Mini donkeys actually aren’t that much smaller than a regular donkey, you might be thinking of a micro mini…those wouldn’t be good protectors. Cute though! 🙂

  13. I love horses and your donkey Charlie is adorable. Great idea making homemade treats. Thanks for linking up at the Project Parade.

  14. Miniature donkeys should NEVER be used as guardian animals- ever. They cannot protect themselves like a standard or mammoth and you are
    putting their lives at risk expecting them to protect livestock. Charlie looks more like a standard than a mini in his photo….I hope that is the case.

    1. I think you are thinking of micro mini donkeys. Mini donkeys that are full grown are still a pretty good size…bigger than a miniature horse.

    2. actualy the smaller the animal the better they are for attacking (well in equine world anyway) especcialy if the are attacking larger animals.the smaller animals have easy access to crawl under the larger animals and kick them in the gutt and that would seriously hurt the bigger animal and maybe even twist their gutt

    1. I just made these for Save the Brays Donkey Rescue (Barnum, MN) and they were crazy over the treats! I only had 1 cup of oatmeal so I substituted the rest with raisin bran cereal and some dry corn meal. It worked out great and the donkeys were following my granddaughter very closely as she had the treat bag. When temps are below zero like they are right now, the donkeys probably benefited from a couple sweet snacks in addition to the extra hay they are given in nasty weather like this.

      To answer the above question from someone else, I just used vegetable oil.

      1. Would they keep longer than a week just in the fridge? All of the horse at our barn love them and I make them in large batches!

  15. 5 stars
    We had fun making these! We ended up scooping the treat mixture out of the pan while still hot and rolling into balls about the size of golf balls. Bring to the ranch tomorrow.

  16. Hi!

    I really like the recipe but I have one question. Can you use coconut oil insted of vegetable oil? And can you use honey insted of molasses?

  17. 1 star
    I think my horses would think this recipe tastes good but it was a hassle to make the batter was way to wet so I had to add more oats and then I put it in the tray let it cook checked on it after 15 minutes and it was burnt and then I let it sit for 20 minutes and I took it out of the tray and it all crumbled apart so sadly I was not able to give this to my horses 🥺