Can Horses Eat Sweet Potatoes? – Is it Safe?

Eating hay and grain can be boring, and in your attempt to expand the taste palette of your horses and increase their food choices, you must have wondered, can horses eat sweet potatoes? After all, it is easy going on the digestive tract of humans; the same should extend to horses since they are similar in some respect to humans.

Yes, your horses can feed on sweet potatoes; however, you should ensure that they have it in moderation, as an abundance of this starchy vegetable can lead to a build-up of sugar, which may be detrimental to the health of your equine.

Read on to understand the benefits of including sweet potatoes in your horses’ diet and what pitfalls to avoid. You will also learn how to ration sweet potatoes in their diet through the nutrition they provide and need. Also, you will know in what state it is best to serve sweet potatoes to your horses.

Amazing Facts about Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are often called yams in some parts of America, but they bear no relation to the true yam. However, they are root vegetables with characteristic tubers with varying colors, depending on the cultivar, ranging from red to yellow, pink, orange, purple, and beige.

Amazing Facts about Sweet Potatoes

It is called sweet potatoes due to their high sugar and starch content.

You should know some facts about sweet potatoes as they may influence their edibility for your horses.

They can be eaten cooked or raw.

Your horses can have sweet potatoes, either cooked or raw. Although they can chew better, you can be sure that their teeth are intact after chewing when you give them cooked sweet potatoes. However, they stand to gain more nutrients if they eat raw sweet potatoes. The downside to giving your horses raw sweet potatoes is that it could damage their teeth, as chewing the tuber may be stressful to their teeth.

Cooked or raw, sweet potatoes provide a good amount of nutrients. Only ensure that they are served in small quantities at a time.

It has better nutrient composition than most grains

Sweet potatoes contain more than just starch. They are rich in vitamins and minerals, more than some grains and hay that your horses regularly feed on.

Horses rely on grains such as corn, wheat, oats, and barley, to supply energy. Their high fiber content ensures that horses do not overeat but eat enough to supply the nutrient at a time, while they eat more at the end of the day to meet their nutrient requirement.

However, if there is a food that can effectively meet horses’ nutrient requirements and prevent them from overeating at the same time, it is sweet potatoes. It is higher in fiber, carbohydrates, sugar, calcium, potassium, sodium, and other minerals, than maize and wheat. t is also high in vitamins, such as A, B, and E.

You can grow them yourself.

Sweet potatoes are relatively easy to grow to meet your horses’ nutritional needs. You can easily have a garden where sweet potatoes can be harvested for about two months, depending on the cultivar you plant.

The growing conditions are fairly easy to meet. All you need is to avoid frost – probably have them grown under some makeshift greenhouse to protect them from frost – and maintain a temperature of about 75°F. You can grow them in abundance during the summer and spring and store them for the cold months.

They do not require as much protection from pests as some other crops. You can also grow them indoors by placing the vines in a nutrient solution.

It is easily digestible.

Due to the nature of horses’ digestive tract, they need food that is bulky and high in nutrients that they need. Therefore, foods high in fiber and can be served to your horses at intervals are preferred over nutrient-dense but hard-to-digest options.

Sweet potatoes are high in fiber and contain enormous amounts of nutrients for the benefit of your horses.

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Your horses stand to gain some health benefits from consuming sweet potatoes. While their digestibility and high nutrient content make them good candidates for horse feed, the benefits they give your horses include:

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Improves bone strength

The physical exertion horses are put through in the sport they partake in requires their excellent bone density. One of the nutrients responsible for giving that is potassium, abundant in sweet potatoes.

Strengthens the Immune System

The immune system helps fight infections and needs to be strengthened from time to time. Vitamin C, E, and A are responsible for boosting the immune system due to their antioxidant properties. Vitamin A also adds to strengthening bones and reducing your horses’ possibility of developing cataracts.

Vitamin E also improves skin and eye health, while Vitamin C helps to heal wounds.

Better muscle coordination

Horses are muscular and need high potassium to help coordinate those massive muscles. Sweet potatoes are high in potassium and zinc, minerals that help coordinate muscle contraction and relaxation.

In Conclusion

Due to the norm, horses were limited to certain feed – hay and some grains – due to their non-ruminant herbivores nature. However, they can also access more nutrients and better health by eating other food such as sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber, minerals, vitamins, and protein, making them a good food choice for your horses.


Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *