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. 

New for 2025, we’ve updated some of the recipes to work out some of the kinks mentioned in the comments. Tag us in your pictures!

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 – shredded
• 1 large apple – shreded with core removed
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 2 tablespoons oil

Directions: 

1. Shred or grate 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 for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
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 set up as they cool.
9. Once completely cool, cut 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

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups oat flour 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar (optional, for crispness)
• 1 cup water (use sparingly as needed for dough consistency)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine Flour, Applesauce, Molasses, Vegetable Oil and Sugar in a large bowl and mix until well combined and a doughy consistency is reached. Dough should not be crumbly but loose. If dough is too dry add 1 tbs water at a time until desired consistency is reached.
3. Roll out the dough on a flat surface lightly dusted with oat flour until it is about 1/4″ inch thick.
4. Cut the dough into desired shapes using cookie cutters or a knife.
5. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and mostly dry.
7. Cool the treats completely on a wire rack. They will harden as they cool.

Customization Tips

• For Added Flavor: You can mix in ingredients your horse loves, such as a handful of crushed peppermints, shredded carrots, or chopped apples before baking.
• Storage: Store the completely cooled treats in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate or freeze, as this can affect the texture and cause them to get moldy faster due to the fresh ingredients.
• Icing: You can create your own icing using powdered sugar, water, and food coloring for decoration after the treats have completely cooled. Start with 1 cup powdered sugar to 1 tablespoon of water. If glazing your cookies the icing should be the consistency of yogurt, for detail work it should be a bit thicker to use in a piping bag.

4. Happy Hooves Thumb Print Treats

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups flour
• 2 cups Oats – I used regular – quick would probably work just as well
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2/3 cup molasses
• 2 tbs veg oil
• 1/2 cup water as needed for dough – use sparingly.

Directions:

1. Stir together flour, sugar and oats until even combined
2. Add applesauce, molasses, and veg oil to dry ingredients until the dry ingredients are well incorporated. The dough should be thick and sticky, if your dough is crumbly add water 1 Tbs at a time until the dough comes together. Pro tip – use gloves, this recipe gets VERY sticky!
3. Roll out dough into 1″ balls on parchment paper
4. Press thumb into center of treat to make ‘nest’.
5. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes or until crispy and golden brown
6. Let cool completely on wire rack

Once cookies are completely cool make your icing
Icing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup powder/confectioners sugar
• Food coloring of choice (optional)

Whisk ingredients in medium size bowl until smooth and the consistency of yogurt.

1. Using a pastry brush, or similar food grade brush, coat the top of the cookies
2. Before the icing dries, add your horses favorite confection – peppermints, gummy bears, jelly beans, gum drops, cereal etc.
3. Once the cookies are dry, apply a second coat of icing to the cookie and your confection to help the the confections stick to treats.
Once the icing is dry, your treats are ready for your horse to enjoy! Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days. I imagine you can freeze these treats for longer storage, but have not tried it. Makes about 2 dozen treats.

5. Easy Gourmet Treats

Ingredients:

• 1 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Cups (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).

Bonus No Bake Treats!

Quick No-Bake Treats

Ingredients:

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

Directions:

1. Combine the first three ingredients
2. Roll into 1″ balls onto parchment paper. 
3. Press each treat flat with a peppermint
4. Put the treats in the fridge until firm. 
5. 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.) We have not tried freezing the treat, but firmer cookies will likely freeze well, chewier ones may fall apart when thawing

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 treats 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:

• What to Feed a Horse (+ Health Benefits)
• Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Your Horse
• Horse Boarding: Types, Costs, and Other Considerations
• The Rider’s Guide to Horse Grooming Supplies
• 10 Creative Horse Show Ribbon Display Ideas