DIY Horse Muffins

Since my mare is the pickiest of all creatures and rejected my Pony Poptarts, I was in search of a new horse treat recipe. I found a bunch of recipes online that I wasn't a fan of, either because of all of the added sugar, unnecessary ingredients, or because of ingredients that I knew my picky mare would reject. So I got fed up with looking for recipes online and came up with my own! Thank goodness for all of my prior baking knowledge, because my recipe turned out really well! It is simple, quick, and apparently delicious.

Casey testing the treat

Casey shoving the treat into her mouth

Not only does Casey love these muffins (she scarfed down about six of these in one go), but all of the horses that I tested these on really enjoyed them. Not a single horse rejected them! Eden also tried the muffins and I think that he was a fan of the taste, but not the texture. He would nibble at them, but didn't actually chew and swallow them. He didn't like how chewy they were, which fair enough, they are pretty chewy. Since he's a dog and these are horse treats his opinions don't count for much...

Eden spots the treat

Full open mouth attack!

Eden nibbling at the treat

Please try out the recipe and let me know how your horses like them!

Horse Muffins Recipe
Yields: 48 mini muffins


Ingredients
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup flour
3 cups grated apple (3 small apples or 2 large apples, any kind, I used Fuji)
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup water

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl (oats, flour, grated apple).
3. Mix in molasses and water. Texture should be sticky, but not wet. If the mixture is too dry, add water. If the mixture is too sticky or wet, add more flour/oats (flour will make it more sticky & oats will make it less sticky).
4. Once mixture is the right consistency, drop the mixture in the mini-muffin tin. Press the mixture into each muffin spot so that it condenses and sticks together. Alternately, if you don't have a mini-muffin tin, press the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls and put on a cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 20 minutes (or until golden brown and firm to the touch).
6. Let cool before putting in a storage container.

Step 7: Shove muffins into horse's mouth

Potential Adaptations
- Replace grated apple with grated carrot.
- Replace molasses with peanut butter.
- Add crushed peppermint pieces.
- Add 1/2 cup brown sugar for added sweetness (I didn't because the apple was sweet enough).
- Add ginger (joint and digestive system support) or cinnamon (antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties).

DIY Horse Muffins