Is it okay to feed bread to my horses?
Is it okay to feed bread to my horses? If so, how much can I feed per 100 pounds of body weight?
"Bread" is a rather wide category – just look at the aisles in the grocery store. Everything from
high carbohydrate fortified white bread to rye and high fiber/low carb breads with a wide variety
of flavors, nutritional contents, etc. is out there. That being said, most breads are
grain-based, which is what we feed horses anyway. They tend to be high starch - indeed, the
standard for determining glycemic index (blood sugar response) in human medicine is based on
white bread.
However, because there are a wide variety of recipes out there, I hesitate to generalize over all
types of breads for horses, since, to my knowledge, there have been no feeding trials conducted
using even white bread in this species. "Bakery waste" (day old products or batches that didn't
come out just right) is frequently used as a mainstay of hog and cattle rations in some areas.
Some commercial feed companies have even included bakery waste in their horse feeds in the past.
The only reason it is not commonly done now is for fear of getting poppy seed or chocolate in the
mix too, which can cause positive drug tests in performance horses.
Since commercially available breads are meant for human consumption, they will not contain known
toxins or impure ingredients and frequently are supplemented with added vitamins and minerals
(including safe amounts of selenium). They can actually be more nutritious than plain grains
commonly used for horses! Wheat is a grain not commonly used in horse rations due to price and
concerns about potential problems with glutens in its raw form. Although wheat flour is a main
ingredient in most bread, it is acceptable, especially in the baked, processed form of bread.
Unless fortified with calcium, breads may not have a good calcium to phosphorus ratio, but this
would not be a problem in most cases if they were fed with good quality hay or pasture. In very
old horses the lower calcium intake might actually be good! Day old bread and bagels are commonly
fed to horses in Europe as a treat or cheap supplement to their rations.
My main concern with feeding a lot of bread to horses would be the
potential lack of fiber, leading to wood chewing and perhaps gastric ulcers and a possible calcium
deficit. Before everyone starts raiding the stores for their day old bread and bagels, let
me give the following recommendations:
- Avoid breads that contain poppy seeds or chocolate, especially if competing with the horse.
- Try to get the high fiber/low carbohydrate fortified types of bread.
- If planning to feed more than a few slices a day, start slowly. I'd probably restrict intake
to 1-2 pounds a day unless there is a special case, like a toothless horse.
- If the horse is prone to laminitis or is glucose intolerant I would not recommend feeding
anything but high fiber/low carb breads in very limited quantities (no more than one or two
slices a day, and not all at once!).
- If feeding over 5 pounds of bread a day, consider getting a nutritional analysis of it
(especially if feeding a mixture of "waste" bread) and consulting an equine nutritionist to make
sure it is balanced.
- Stay away from the high sugar/high fat donuts unless you have a horse that:
- Is not glucose intolerant
- Is a bit thin and needs to gain weight!
Answer provided by Dr. Sarah Ralston, VMD,
Ph.D., dACVN, Rutgers Cooperative Extension