Here’s the thing about no bake horse treats: most of the treats you feed a horse are no-bake in the first place. I mean, think about it. Grain, carrots, apples, peppermints, hay . . . you don’t bake these things in the oven. They are just perfect the way they are.
When you’re trying to come up with ideas for easy no bake recipes for your horse, keep this in mind: anything that your horse already likes to eat can be put into a no-bake treat, as long as you have a ingredient to mix it all together and make it “stick.” In most cases, those “sticky” ingredients will be molasses, honey or peanut butter.
In addition, you need ingredients to make your no bake horse treats have some texture. Some of the perfect things for this include any kind of grain (sweet feed is great for treats), oats or oatmeal, shredded or chopped carrots, or crushed peppermints. The possibilities here are really endless; as long as it’s safe for horses to eat, you can really chop/shred up anything and mix it into a batch of horse treats.
Rather than post a specific horse treat recipe here, I’m going to suggest that you have fun with it and do some experimenting to see what kind of treats work best for you (and what your horse likes the most). Here are some things to keep in mind as you try to create your own unique treats:
— Start out using only a small amount of your “sticky” ingredient like molasses or honey, because your treats can quickly become “too wet” and unable to hold a shape. You want them to be able to stick together on their own in room temperature without being too stick in your hand.
— You can use baking tools like muffin pans and scoops if you want, but the best way to shape your horse treats is simply with your hands. Don’t be afraid to get messy . . . that’s what soap and water are for!
— Make sure to keep in mind the size of your horse and what size treats might be “too big” for a mouthful. It’s better to make treats a little too small rather than a little too big for your horse.
— After you’ve made your no bake treats, put them in the refrigerator for a few hours at least to help them set and harden.
— If you are going to use peppermints, there are a few different options you can try. You could crush them up and mix the crushed mints into the treats themselves, or you could press a whole peppermint into the top of the treat once you’ve finished making them.
— Don’t try to get too fancy with the shape . . . a simple ball is usually good enough!
— It’s very rare, but sometimes horses may have a peanut allergy. If you’re going to use peanut butter as your thickening agent, make sure to test a tiny bit on your horse and see how they react. (Peanut butter is usually okay, but don’t feed your horse plain peanuts.)