It’s Halloween and we have collected a trick or treat bag, or should I say a cornucopia, of Horsey Halloween fun for you today.  Although we can switch off for a few moments and have a good time let us not forget that there is still a war being waged, out there, with battles on many different fronts and today we would like to highlight the fight that our attorney, Bruce Wagman, is spearheading against predatory horse slaughter on behalf of our good friends at Front Range Equine Rescue.

 First up is a story about Trick or Treat candy and horses from our good friends at Horse Nation and written by By Shara Rutberg.  Now mind you, please, we are not condoning giving horses candy as Terry and I do no such thing; in fact, sugar in any form is banned from our ranch because if it were physically present I would probably eat it.  So the horse treat of choice are nice, moist carrots.  But with that being said, this is a little piece that we are certain that you will find interesting.

Trick or Colic?: Halloween Candy & Horses

My horse will trample pasturemates, dogs and small children for candy corn. But is it safe for him to eat? Here’s a look at a few favorites:

 HARD CANDY:  Yes, in moderation.

“Hard candies like peppermints are okay in strict moderation if the horse is able to tolerate small amounts of sugar,” independent equine nutritionist and consultant Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D told HorseChannel.com earlier this week. Skip it if they have equine metabolic syndrome, Cushing’s or PSSM.

CHOCOLATE. No.

“Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine which is potentially toxic for horses,” says Getty. “The darker the chocolate, the more theobromine it contains.” The good news is that the darker the chocolate, the better it is for YOU. You’ll just have to bite the bullet, er Butterfinger, and eat the chocolate yourself.

LICORICE. Yes. But not too much. And not if you’re on the Olympic team.

Rutger’s Cooperative Extension has a handy chart to help guide how much you should freak out if your horse helps himself to something extra. According to “Odd Things Horses Eat,” licorice is safe in very limited quantities, but will cause positive drug tests. Same goes for Doritos, by the way.

GUMMY BEARS. It’s nicer not to.

In the Horse Channel story, Getty recommends against giving horses sticky candies, but not because they’re toxic, but because they’re aggravating. “I would think that (chewy candies) like gummy bears would be very frustrating for horses because the candy would stick to their molars. I would avoid those,” she says.

CANDY CORN. Probably, in very small amounts.

Rutger’s says “beware large quantities,” so don’t pour a bag in the bin to cheer up the beet pulp, but a few are OK. Rutger’s says to keep it under two to four ounces a day.

PUMPKIN. Yes!

OK, technically, it’s not a Halloween candy, but it’s the squash of the season and it’s fine for your pony. But don’t let him eat The Great Pumpkin in one sitting. A few chunks are OK, says Getty. “but don’t chop up a whole pumpkin and offer it to your horse—that’s a colic episode waiting to happen.” Saber the mini LOVES it:

Click (HERE) to comment directly at Horse Nation

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up is a website where the Admins have collected a gallery of photos where people professionally try to embarrass the living ‘you know what’ of their horses by dressing them up in idiot Halloween costumes.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I would expect a quick kick in the ass if insisted my horse wear something that was other than “stylin’ an profilin”.  Their feelings do tend to get tender when you demand that they look like idiots.  We have supplied a link, here, so that you can see how embarrassment could be considered to be a form of horse abuse.

Click (HERE) for more embarrassed horses

And speaking of costumes, several days ago we ran across some photos that we squirreled away until today as we thought you, too, would enjoy them.  This is both classy and spooky and done with great class, enjoy.

It took artist Sandy Cramer of Knot Just Rope about five hours to free-hand paint her horse Raven’s black coat with white paint. She calls her creation “Skeleton Horse” and visitors to her shop in Rockbridge, Ohio can meet this painted equine.

images via Knot Just Rope via Angela Laskod iwritten by Rusty Blazenhoff.st

And last but not least is a photo of yours truly at a Halloween party, at an undisclosed location, with several friends of mine.  I sent this photo to my good friend and fellow Wrangler Iced Tea drinking buddy, Jerry Finch, and asked him if he could pick out which person in the photo was me…well he guessed the Chinese girl costume on the left as the make-up was bad (on purpose) but I will let you decide; I still can’t figure out who the guy is that is half man half horse…Happy Halloween everyone! ~ R.T.