Can Horses Eat Watermelon?

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Feeding Watermelon to Your Horse

Watermelons are a favorite treat on hot summer days. It is quite natural to want to share a gift with your friends, including your equine friends. While the shells don't taste that good to us (unless you comb them or cook them in a pan), your horse will likely tear them apart with enthusiasm. But are these watermelon rinds safe for your horse?

The answer is yes. In small amounts, the skin of the watermelon looks good, your horse can also eat the ripe part, with seeds and all. Some may not like cantaloupe, while others will love it.

Fruit sugars in watermelon

One thing that worries people when watermelon is fed to horses is the high sugar content. As the name suggests, watermelon is primarily water. In fact, one serving of watermelon contains approximately 90% water.

In a cup of chopped watermelon, there is about 1 gram of fiber and 9 grams of sugar. This means that about 10% of a watermelon is sugar. There are also some vitamins and minerals, mainly vitamins A and C, magnesium, and phosphorus.

Sugar is found naturally in all plants. Carrots, a favorite horse vegetable, usually diced, can also contain about 6 grams of sugar per cup of the chopped root.

The horse's natural food, grass, also contains sugar. At certain times of the year, the amount of sugar in the herb can exceed 25%. In the course of a day eating, a horse ingests several kilos of sugar.

This is only a problem when they eat a lot, as too much sugar in the grass can lead to laminitis and cramps. As you can see, your horse would have to eat a lot of watermelons before the sugar becomes a problem.

Watermelon toxins

Another thing that people worry about is the possible toxins in the bark. Watermelon is a member of the cucumber family and most of us wouldn't think twice about eating the skin of a cucumber or feeding it to our horse. There is no dark toxin in watermelon skin that is only a hazard to horses and, as noted, humans can store and eat watermelon skin.

Some horse owners worry about seeds. There are toxins in the seeds of many fruits, but the amount of toxins is so small that it is unlikely to cause problems.

Watermelon seeds can also be roasted for a tasty traditional delicacy. Also, because the seeds are so small, there is little chance of them causing choking, or you can just buy a seedless watermelon to avoid seed problems.

The only thing you may want to do before cutting the watermelon is washing the outside.

The rind can be sprayed with pesticides or herbicides, or it can contain bacteria such as E. coli, which can contaminate the pulp when it passes through the knife.

This is not good for you or your horse. Wash the entire exterior of the skin with cool water and a brush before slicing the melon.

Everything in moderation

While it's good to give your horse small amounts of watermelon every now and then or share uneaten skin, a really large amount can cause cramps or other problems in your horse's gut, so you may not want to play. Lots of half-ripe melons from your garden. on the grass. Additionally, improperly chewed chunks of food can cause suffocation in horses.

The watermelon skin should be cut into small pieces that are easy to chew. Otherwise, there's no reason your horse can't enjoy this summer treat like we do - in moderation.

Enjoy The Video Tutorial about do Horses Like Watermelon?

Source: Stable Horse Training

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