Can Horses Eat Cheese?
Horses just like other animals have some limitations when it comes to their diet. Carefully picking what horses can eat and what to avoid can seriously improve your horse’s health and you’ll avoid unnecessary trips to the vet.
Horses are beautiful animals, but what most people don’t know is that they have complicated digestive systems, that don’t tolerate all foods on the planet. So, if some type of food is found for humans, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is good for your horse.
Even though they have well-developed digestive systems and large organs that should process most foods, the world's fastest horse breeds are actually very picky, especially when it comes to plants and foliage. This is why it is really important to know what’s safe for your horse to eat.
Is Cheese Safe for Horses to Eat?
Dairy Products
When it comes to cheese, unfortunately, you cannot give horses this pleasure. It is really important to understand that horses are lactose intolerant, so cheese, ice cream, yogurt, milk, and other similar products should be avoided.
Cheese is one of the most loved dairy products delivered from goats, sheep, cows, or buffalo’s milk. There are thousands of types of cheese and their taste is incredible.
With that said, cheese is not safe for horses to eat. Even a small quantity of chees can prove to be harmful to horses, so it is best if you avoid it and look for other alternatives. Since horses are lactose intolerant, it doesn’t matter how much lactose the cheese contains, even the smallest amount of lactose intake can cause serious damage to horses.
The situation is even more serious for horses above the age of three years old. Even the smallest amount of lactose can cause serious health problems for horse adults. On the other hand, young horses can hydrolyze sucrose and maltose easily, which means that they can digest cheese better.
However, this doesn’t mean that cheese should be fed to young horses.
Do Horses Like Cheese?
There is no denying that cheese is very tasty and it has become an iconic ingredient found in everyone’s kitchen. If horses could eat cheese, it would have been their favorite food.
As of now, horses will eat cheese if it is served to them, but after the problems kick in, they might avoid it in their next meal.
