Horse Treats Recipe
This crunchy homemade horse treat recipe makes about 200 1.5-inch wafers. You can stash a handful in your pocket without breaking them. They last for weeks in an airtight container.
Servings Prep Time
16dozen 1.5″ treats 20 min
Cook Time Passive Time
2-3hours 4hours or overnight
Servings Prep Time
16dozen 1.5″ treats 20 min
Cook Time Passive Time
2-3hours 4hours or overnight
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Working in batches, grind the oats in a blender or food processor. Process until the oat flakes resemble a coarse flour. Optional: For a natural appearance, only partly grind the final batch (about a heaping cup), so that oat flakes remain recognizable.
  2. Place the ground oats in a large bowl. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well.
  3. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add the molasses, honey, and oil. Mix with a large spoon or with your hands. If the dough is crumbly add water 1/4 cup at a time to form a stiff dough. The dough should be just sticky enough to form a ball.
  4. Preheat the oven to 250-degrees. Roll teaspoon-size pieces of dough into balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten the balls with a the bottom of a small jar, or the palm of your hand. I like using the curved bottom of an empty cinnamon spice container. Make uniform 1 1/2-inch wafers, about 1/4-inch thick in the center. Arrange on a cookie sheet, about 1/2 inch apart. Fill 2 sheets.
  5. Bake for 45 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking time (switching top and bottom trays, and turning front to back).
  6. Lower the oven temperature to 225 degrees. Bake for another 45 minutes, as the oven temperature adjusts naturally to the lower temperature.
  7. Rotate the baking sheets again. Bake for another 30-45 minutes.
  8. Test for doneness by removing one wafer and allowing it to cool for a few minutes. Treats are done when a cool one breaks crisply and feels firm when pressing a fingernail into the top. If the treat feels soft or moist, add more baking time as needed until they are firm or almost completely firm when tested. You may need more time (like an hour more) depending on the amount of water you have added and how your oven works. For extra crispness, leave the treats to cool on the sheets in the oven with the door closed until room temperature.
  9. Store cooled treats in an airtight container and enjoy sharing them with your horse. Your doggie friends may like them, too.
Recipe Notes

Variations:

Fennel: Grind 1.25-oz of fennel seeds (a spice jar full) with oat flakes. Reduce or eliminate cinnamon.

Anise:  Grind 1.25 oz of anise seed with oat flakes. Reduce or eliminate cinnamon.

Ginger-spice: In addition to cinnamon, add 1T nutmeg and 3T ginger to dry ingredients.