04/10/2026
Did you know? It’s the year of the carrot 🥕 How about that! 😄🐴 Our horses love carrots 🥕
IT'S BRITISH CARROT DAY! 🥕
Will you join me today, in celebrating our humble orange root veg, the carrot?
A staple veg that our horses and ponies love - and which I've loved since I learned to roast them, not boil them - carrots are not the sugary demon some might think!
As you can see from the picture, carrots are mostly water, hence why they are not rich in sugar....
(you might already know I'm a fan of carrots for horses and ponies, when fed as part of a well-balanced diet!)
Here are some carrot facts for you:
🥕 fresh carrots are low in sugar - at around 5% - due to their high water content - they're about 80%, or 4/5ths water
🥕 carrots are not a significant source of any nutrients for horses when fed at one or two daily, due to their high water content
🥕 you can feed a lot more than one or two carrots to horses, but be sure to consider their individual nutrient needs ie feed them as part of a balanced diet
🥕 for humans - because a serving tends to be much more, relatively, than we'd give a horse - carrots are a good source of fibre, and certain minerals and vitamins - notably carotenes, which supply vitamin A
🥕 Britain produces over 700,000 tonnes of carrots each year
🥕 carrots are harvested almost all year round
🥕 Brits consume approx 100 carrots per person annually (actually I think my mare eats as many as I do.... )
🥕 originally, carrots were more commonly yellow, white, green or purple!
🥕 for horses, always slice carrots rather than chopping them, since chopped veg can cause choke
🥕 carrots can be a tasty treat for horses to form a bond, and to reward them for desired behaviour (but be careful with treats - there's ways to feed them to ensure your horse doesn't start treating you like a treat dispenser !)
🥕 sliced or grated carrots can be very useful to encourage your horse to eat up supplements or medications in their feed bucket
🥕 buying British carrots helps support our farmers
🥕 Did you know - 2027 is the year of the carrot! (and 2026 was the year of the cabbage... )
I think the reason that some vets and other horse-folk say you shouldn't feed carrots is because they are concerned that owners might feed kilos per day - how they were sometimes fed in the past - rather than just one or two.
But nowadays we tend to use them as a treat, a little succulence in winter, or a tasty addition to encourage supplements to be eaten - all in much lower quantities so not a significant source of sugar or calories.
Do you give your horse or pony carrots?
Feel free to share!
🥕🥕
