Can you feed a horse the core from an ear of corn?

Question

it seems a shame to throw it away... but I'm afraid that it may be too hard and tasteless.

will a horse eat it?

Answer 1

I don't usually just because of choke issues but I have seen it done with no bad side effects....

Answer 2

i dont think its too good for them

Answer 3

Well my horse will eat anything that comes out of the scrap bucket (not neccesarily a good thing :P) but I guess if your horse eats it he either must like the tastes of it or hes just really bored :P either way, no harm can come from it. So I say, If he likes it- let him eat it. :) Corn has lots of nutrients.

Answer 4

Careful they can choke on it as some horses will try to swallow it whole.  For that reason even the old timers would not feed whole corn still on the cob to horses.

However you are talking about sweet corn and already boiled I presume so IF you cut it up they can eat it and do enjoy a little especially if it is not picked quite clean.  I cut mine into about one inch long pieces when I do give them to my horses.  Most often I just pitch them as they really give no nutritional value.

Answer 5

No it will die or eat you.

Answer 6

Yes, it isn't going to hurt them, but if it is just the cob that you are feeding them, it will add only fiber to your horse's diet....there isn't  a whole lot of nutrition that a horse needs in the corn cob.  Oh, by the way, horses are less likely to attempt to swallow a corn cob whole if it is in one piece than if it has been cut up in smaller pieces...in the ole days, horses were fed whole corn on the cob...no cooking, no one choked...lots of energy...horses do chew....and will likely chew less if their food is chopped up....like a corn cob cut up in smaller pieces...

Answer 7

i dont really know about that part of corn, but i do know you can feed a horse corn husks, we did it for our horses(as a treat once and a while) and they liked it (we asked our trainer first and read up on it)

Answer 8

Yes, but be sure to break it up in small pieces....we used to raise corn and would give our horses parts of the corn cob, or husk, making sure that all of it was broken down so they would not choke when they ate it.  It was a "treat" for them, not something they got every day.  Just a cob or two ....

We did the same thing with large carrots; made sure they were broken down into small pieces so our horses would not choke on them.  Baby carrots are also great for horses as you don't have to break those apart.

Answer 9

my horses eat them. They also eat watermelon...cantelope rind and all!! They eat apples whole...core and all...just give it to them and see if they will eat it. If they play with it a little, put it in their feed bucket so they will associate it with food. Some horses wont eat anything but feed and hay, and some will eat anything.

My horses always get fruit and vegetable scraps.No complaints from them or my vet.  I have a 24yo mare that has always eaten like this...and she is just as healthy as can be!! Horses dont just have to eat "premium feed", what do u think they ate in the wild? They ate bark, apples, grass, and anything else they could find.

Answer 10

It;s the "cob".  It does have some nutritional benefit but not to horses.  Horses require a lot of protein. Supplied by oats, barley, alfalfa hay, sugar cane residuals, nutritional supplements and some wheat.   Not provided by a corn cob.  they do use the cobs for fuel, a part of cattle hog, food mixtures, fiber in construction materials, absorbents for petroleum spills, and probably products I am unaware of.

Answer 11

It isn't recommended, but I've done it without any consequences.

Answer 12

Yeah but I'd be afraid of something getting caught in their throat.

Answer 13

horses are probably supposed to be feed only premium food, such as alfalfa and grain, but we used to dispose of our ears of corn by horse all the time.  another viable option is chickens. i dont know if u have chickens but chickens enjoy them as well. the horses really like them and yes it is a shame to throw them away

Answer 14

We grew corn for animal feed, mules, horses, cows, pigs and chickens.  The pigs are the only ones that chewed on the cobs.  

This was dry corn, not the fresh that you're referring to.  The mules, horses and cows would chew the corn from the cob and spit the cob out.  For the chickens, we shelled the kernals from the cob.

We used the cobs for different things:  A dried cob makes a good scrubber for buckets and such.  Ever heard of a "corn cob pipe"? They make stoppers for jugs.  Fuel for stoves and heaters.  Crushed it's good for small animal bedding and covering the bottoms of bird cages.

The Amish have a recipe for "Corn cob jelly"...

Answer 15

Yea I have been feeding my horses ears of corn for like 6 years and they are fine they do eat it which I don't understand it but they must like it, but it never hurt my horses. = )