5 Homemade Horse Treats You'll Love Making

5 Homemade Horse Treats You'll Love Making

It’s so important for equestrians to bond with their horses, and one of the best ways to do that is through their belly! If you really want to up your game and enhance your bond, a great way to spoil horses is by making homemade treats for them. Sure, you can buy treats, but they are truly so easy to make! Plus, not only will your horse adore you, but you’ll feel good about making those treats with your very own hands. So today we thought we’d mix it up a bit (pun intended) and share some of our favorite homemade horse treats that Farm House team members make for their own horses. 

Homemade Horse Treat Ingredients

One of the benefits of making your own horse treats is knowing what goes into them. Not only can you buy fresh, human-grade ingredients, but they won’t have additives or preservatives like store-bought treats do. Since they won’t need to sit on a store shelf, you don’t need to add anything except for the ingredients you want. 

What’s more, you can tailor the treats to your horse’s taste. Do they love apples but hate carrots? Make that substitution. Is your horse obsessed with carrots? Add some extra. The recipes provided below are a great foundation to start with. Once you make the recipe and are accustomed to how the treats come out, make it your own and adapt it to your needs.

Our Favorite Horse Treat Recipes

Here are the time-tested DIY horse treats our staff’s horses love, and we think yours will too! There’s even one no-bake treat, and the last two have limited ingredients and are quick to make.

1. Mighty Sweet Oat Treats

Ingredients: 

  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 large apple
  • 1 cup molasses
  • 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 2 tablespoons oil

Directions: 

  1. Shred the carrot and the apple into a large bowl.
  2. Combine the oil, oats, and molasses with the apple and carrot mixture.
  3. Stir well to combine so that all the oats are covered in molasses.
  4. Pour the mixture into a greased 9”×13” baking pan. (Pro tip: using parchment paper instead of greasing the pan makes getting the treats out of the pan a snap!)
  5. Flatten the mixture into the baking pan. 
  6. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until crispy, for about 45 minutes.
  7. Remove the pan from the oven and score the treats across the top using a butter knife. 
  8. Allow the treats to cool completely. They will harden as they cool.
  9. Once completely cool, break them into pieces at the score marks. 

2. EmpowerMINT Snacks

Ingredients:                      

  • 12 crushed peppermint discs or 6 Candy Canes
  • 2 cups flour                                
  • 2 medium apples                                    
  • 1 cup rolled oats                                    
  • 1/3 cup molasses                                   
  • About 1 cup room temperature water

Directions:  

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Place the mints in a storage bag and crush them in the bag using a hammer or meat tenderizer. Set aside. 
  4. Core and finely chop the apples.
  5. In a large bowl, combine the flour and oats and mix well. (Pro tip: add the flour and oats to a sealable storage bag and shake well to combine. Then pour the mixture into the bowl.)
  6. Add the molasses to the oat and flour mixture and stir well to combine.
  7. Slowly add water until the mixture forms a cookie dough type of consistency
  8. Stir in the peppermints and apples and mix well to combine. 
  9. Drop the mixture by rounded tablespoons onto the parchment paper.
  10. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. 
  11. Allow the treats to cool completely before feeding. 

3. Pony Crack Snax

Adapted from a recipe shared on the Snaks 5th Avenchew IG page. 

Cookie ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups oat flour
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup molasses 
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ½  tablespoon sugar
  • 1 cup water

Icing Ingredients:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • Food coloring of choice

Directions: 

  1. Mix all ingredients until well combined and a doughy consistency. 
  2. Dust a flat surface with flour.
  3. Roll out the dough until it is ⅛-inch thick.
  4. Cut the dough into rectangles or any shapes you like (use your imagination!).
  5. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 
  6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. 
  7. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool. They will harden.
  8. Once your cookies are completely cool, it’s time to decorate!
  9. Choose if you want to dip your cookies or use detail icing.
  10. For a glaze icing to dip the cookies in, simply add water to the icing ingredients until you obtain a yogurt-like consistency. Dip the cookies in the icing; then you can decorate them with sprinkles, sugar crystals, cereal, or whatever strikes your fancy.
  11. For detail icing, mix the powdered sugar and water in a large bowl until you can form stiff peaks. Then add the food coloring sparingly until the desired shade is achieved.
  12. Ice the cookies however you like. Let the icing dry completely before storing these cookies.

4. Easy Gourmet Treats

Ingredients:

  • 2 parts molasses
  • 1 part water
  • 1 Cup ( Approx) Flour – enough to make a dough with the water and molasses mixture.

Directions:

  1. Combine the molasses and water, and add flour slowly until a dough is formed.
  2. Roll out the dough on a flat surface.
  3. Cut out the dough with your cookie cutter shapes of choice.
  4. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes, or until the bottoms are firm and lightly browned.
  5. Let the treats cool and then either decorate them with store-bought icing or make your own with powdered sugar and water (you can use the icing recipe from the Pony Crack Snax).

5. Quick No-Bake Treats

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 2/3 cup molasses
  • Peppermints 

Directions:

  1. Combine the first three ingredients and roll into 1″ balls onto parchment paper. 
  2. Press each treat flat with a peppermint
  3. Put the treats in the fridge until firm. 
  4. Store in an airtight container for up to seven days.

Storing Homemade Horse Treats

It’s a good idea to keep the treats in a sealed container. If there are perishable ingredients, including fruits and vegetables, you’ll want to keep them in the refrigerator. If not, you can keep them out as long as they’re well-sealed. (However, you can also keep them in the fridge.) 

It’s best to use homemade horse treats within a week or two of making them. If you don’t think you can use a whole batch in that amount of time, try cutting the ingredients in half and making a smaller batch. Or share them with friends who have horses!

Treating Your Horse Is Fun!

Making horse biscuits doesn’t have to be time intensive or challenging. There are lots of great recipes with healthy, limited ingredients that are easy to make. It’s a fun activity and a great way to further the bond with your horse. After all, who doesn’t love a treat every now and then? 

And who says a cookie swap has to be for human cookies? Ask everyone at the barn to make their favorites and do a horse treat swap. Then ask everyone to share their recipes for some more great ideas!

You might also like:

Back to blog

2 comments

Still wondering if these treats can be sealed and frozen.

Jan Hardy

Can these be vacuum sealed and stored in the freezer?

Kristine Brooks

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.