I recently lost two of my horses and am now taking care of two other horses at my barn, but I had a question about one of them.She's a really small Arab. Her owner does come out and see her but whenever she comes out she brings her a 2 lb bag of carrots and 3-4 apples and just throws them all into her feed bucket for her to chow down on. I have heard before to never feed too many carrots, but nobody ever told me why. Her owner also complained about her horse having colic a couple times, could that be because of the amount of carrots she was eating? She's not a big horse at all(barely 14 hands and a bit under weight) so it would seem like feeding her a 2lb bag would make her sick, but I'm just playing detective. So, does feeding too many carrots and apples cause colic or any digestive problems?

Where are you from? California

Hi Kayti,

Oh my goodness! This is a classic example of killing your horse with kindness.

The colic could have been caused by an impaction from swallowing large chunks of carrots. They really need to be chewed carefully and if a large number are simply placed in a bucket, they are likely to be devoured rather quickly.

But, there's more to this situation than inadequate chewing. Carrots and apples are high in sugar. For a healthy horse, a few carrots or an apple each day is fine. But, if a lot are fed, no matter how healthy the horse is, it is the same as if your horse got into the oats bin. Too much carbohydrate (sugar) at one time cannot be adequately digested in the small intestine. So, it travels to the cecum and large intestine (hind gut) where the bacteria that live there will ferment it. The result is acid production, death of the bacteria, the formation of toxins, and finally -- laminitis.

So, please tell this woman that she is going to hurt her horse and may even be the cause of her demise.

Thanks so much for bringing up this important issue.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO

Thanks so much! Now all I have to do is find a way to tell her that. She's kind of out there, crazy wise. And I'm not sure how to tell her what she's doing. Because I don't want her to get all mad at me and tell me I can't ride her anymore-she never gets out. Any suggestions?

Where are you from? California

Hi Kayti,

Suggestions? Uh -- a nice plate of cookies along with a note with a link to my website.

Happy Holidays!

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO