Homemade Horse Treats Honoring Bud

Some of our lesson students have been asking how they can help or what they can do to show their respect after our lesson horse Bud’s passing. One thing we are suggesting they could do is make homemade horse treats for the other two horses in Bud’s herd of “old guys,” Chester and Destiny.

Chester and Destiny also escaped from their pasture and were right by Bud when he was hit by a car. These three horses have been together for years and it is very clear to us that Chester and Destiny understand that their friend was hurt and is no longer with us, and they have really been impacted by this terrible tragedy. They have been spending a lot of time in their shelter, and since Bud’s death they haven’t seemed interested in going out into their field to graze. They seem sluggish and sad. They need our love and affection as they adjust to not only losing Bud, but also their fellow herdmate Biscuit just a few weeks ago as well.

By making them some homemade horse treats, you can brighten their day as well as give yourself or your child something to do that you know will help make a positive impact on two horses that were very close to Bud, thus helping both you and his friends. It is a productive and therapeutic  way to pay your respect to Bud’s memory.

Please note, we suggest some modification to any horse treat recipe to make them as soft as possible. Both Chester and Destiny are senior horses (late 20s) that have lost a lot of teeth over the years, so they need soft foods. 

You can come to the farm to bring any homemade treats and feed them to these sweet old horses, or if you live far away, you can also mail them and we will be happy to take a video of us giving them to Chester and Destiny. They will really appreciate the affection and tasty treats.

The Ultimate Horse Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 carrot
• 1 apple
• 1/2 cup molasses (or honey)
• 2 cups oats
• 1/2-3/4 cup flour (or make oat flour by throwing some oats into a blender/food processor)
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil or coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon water (optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 300-325 degrees
• Grate the carrot and finely chop the apple
• Mix together all of the ingredients. Please keep in mind that depending on variations such as: the size/type ofapple, what kind of oats you use (rolled or steel-cut oats don’t absorb as much moisture as quickly as quick oats), whether you use honey or molasses, etc. you may need to tweak the amounts of the ingredients. You should be able to squeeze a ball of dough in your hand and it shouldn’t fall apart.)
• Roll and press into balls with your hands and place on a greased baking sheet. If dough is too sticky add more flour and/or water
• Bake for about 28-32 minutes on the middle rack, checking on them often, until golden brown
• Cool and store in a sealed container and use within a week. They’ll stay the freshest stored in the fridge

Bonus Tip: Some readers swear by blending all the ingredients together in a blender/food processor before cooking. I don’t do this but if you try this let me know if you prefer this method in the comments below!

Bonus Bonus Tip: These treats can be enjoyed by humans and dogs too!

The Good Stuff

Now here’s the fun part. Consider the above your base recipes, perfectly fine on their own but even better when you add one or more of the following:

• Low sugar: Use cooked sweet potato instead of apples, and a little flaxseed and egg instead of molasses
• Reader favorite: Peppermints – crushed and added to the dough or place a whole one on top (perfect for the holidays)
• Raisins
• Add chopped up dates in the dough
• Add some bran
• A few coconut flakes on top
• Sugar cubes (go easy here – too much sugar isn’t good for your horses health or figure!)
• Blackberries
• Banana can be used as a substitute for the apple
• Reader favorite: Applesauce (try replacing part of the molasses with applesauce to lower the sugar, or if you can use in place of the apple)