Can Horses Have Beer?

You love your horse, and you love beer, but can the two come together? You are asking this question “Can horses have beer” because someone recently told you that it is a good thing to offer your horse some beer, but you don’t want to take a chance, which is good.

This article is aimed to educate you on all that you need to know about horses and beer, whether whatever you just learned is true, and whether and whether you really can go ahead and give your horse some beer. Read on: 

Why Do Horses Love Beer?

Why do you love beer? Beer consists of ingredients like hops and barley which are a main part of a horse’s usual meal, which only gives a horse a good excuse to love the drink. Now can you tell us why beer is so favorable for you? 

Why is Beer Ok For Horses?

For one, beer contains yeast, which further contains vitamin B, which further makes it a healthy drink (for horses only) 

Beer is also known to serve as a good treatment for a horse that is suffering from anhidrosis, a condition where the horse is not sweating in the way he should be.

If this is something your horse is going through right now, go ahead and give him a glass of beer, and he is soon going to be okay. 

How Much Beer Do I Give My Horse?

Twelve ounces is okay, they say. That makes one bottle of beer a day, but hey, that does not mean you go ahead and give your horse a beer each day. 

You were not about to do that in any case, were you? Also, the above was true only in the case of high-performance horses in the habit of running miles each day. 

If your horse is not one of them, then it would be wise to stop at half a cup each day, but again, not every day. 

Must Read: How Long Can A Horse Go Without Water?

What Beer Is Best For Horses?

Guinness Stout Beer is known to be the best for a horse. This is because it is safe and comes with a ton of benefits. 

This is mainly a kind of Irish beer that is popularly enjoyed on St Patrick’s day, so go ahead and let your horse celebrate with a drink too. 

Do Horses Drink Whiskey? 

Trying to get too experimentative, are you? The answer here is that horses can have almost all alcoholic drinks as the alcohol in them is known to not have any effect on them.

If only humans were like horses. Isn’t that what was on your mind right now? Are you jealous, Cane?

Here’s making you feel worse. Unlike us humans, horses are known to have a strong liver that does not get affected by alcohol. If by chance you are advised by a doctor to consume any whiskey or beer, you can still buy them, but make sure that your horse enjoys them instead.

What Other Drinks Can Horses Have?

There, now all this has sparked your curiosity, and you are wondering what else you can offer your horse today, as you already gave him some beer yesterday.

In that case, how about some apple cider vinegar? No, don’t give it to him directly to drink. Your horse wouldn’t like it that way, just as you wouldn’t. 

What you can do is add a little of it into his drinking water. Pour a cup or two into his bucket as it is considered to be good for their health. 

On another day, you can replace this with molasses, as this is also known to be good for a horse’s health. 

If your horse has had a lot of strenuous activity on a particular day, adding some electrolytes can help him regain the salts that he lost on that day, 

Can Horses Have Coca-Cola?

Glad you asked, for this is one drink that your horse cannot have. You can have it instead. 

The fact here is that aerated drinks contain far more sugar than your horse may stomach, so your horse may not react well to this. 

It is for this reason that you best avoid it. The good part here is that your horse is not going to neigh and make a fuss over it.

Such a good boy, your horse is, isn’t it? 

That said, coffee is another drink that you may want to avoid for its high amount of caffeine. A small amount once in a way won’t hurt, but it would be wisest if you could avoid it altogether. 

Read Also: How Often Do Mares Go Into Heat?

Can Beer Help Colic In Horses?

Beer can relieve spasmodic colic in a horse, but not all kinds of colic. What beer does here is anesthetize the gut muscles in a horse to help him relax. 

However, you first need to be sure of the kind of colic your horse is facing before offering some beer to him. 

How do you find out what kind of colic this is? For one, your horse is going to go through intense pain, and he is going to make it very obvious. He is going to be quieter than usual and sweat more than usual. 

Besides this, he will also show you external signs like pawing the ground, curling his upper lip, and making a lot of gut sounds, and if you love your horse (which you surely do), you sure are going to feel sorry for the poor thing. 

You can then consult a vet, just to be on the safer side, and then once confirmed, go ahead and let him enjoy his little treat. It will heal his colic. 

Can Horses Eat Beer Grains?

On days when you can’t serve your horse some beer, you are wondering if it would be a good idea to serve him a few beer grains. 

Go ahead; you can serve him more than a few. Beer grains do not do any harm to a horse and are a good source of protein, fiber, and various other essential nutrients. 

This way, they could be provided the kind of nutrition that a horse needs. Apart from that, they also provide a horse with the kind of energy it needs for the day, and these are the reasons it would be a good idea to add beer grains to your horse’s diet. 

Your Horse, Beer, and You

Can horses have beer? That’s all about your horse and beer. In other words, unlike what you probably had in mind when you first landed on this little article, horses do not get drunk with beer. 

Don’t worry. You can give him all the beer that he wants, as this is not going to affect his performance and send you galloping off a cliff.