Horses eat corn husk? Do you own a horse? Do you give your horse cornhusk to eat? Of course not. Right?
So let’s take a look at the article below on whether horses eat corn husk or not.
Most people do give cornhusk to the horse, which is shocking. According to vets, corn is the last thing one should think of giving as feed to a horse.
Surprised? Am I asking you to stop giving cornhusks to all animals? No, no, you took me wrong. I am talking only about the horses.
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You can give this to other animals like cows, goats, and pigs. It always serves as a great filler with other feeds.
I was wondering why I am against green cornhusk. Let’s uncover the surprising facts about the cornhusk that can be a whistleblower for the horse owners to stop feeding this chewy, green toxin.
Contents
What is cornhusk? Why is it dangerous for horses?
Cornhusk is the green covering outside the fruit, preventing grains from pests and other environmental hazards.
Usually, cornhusk, along with stalk and leaves, is often left behind when people harvest the crop. There are two reasons to leave them at the field.
The first is to stop soil erosion, and the second is for compost, which acts as a fertilizer to help the land get specific nutrients. The corn husk is decomposable as it is considered biodegradable.
Why is it concerning to know about cornhusks?
Whenever I ask different questions, the horse owners sometimes answer very professionally. Like, they are trained ones.
But sometimes they don’t know the smallest but very important information that the maize or corn crop is not the right crop to feed for horses.
Many people like to keep a horse due to its friendly nature and the loyalty it shows. This social behavior leads to more care and love in return.
Almost 80 percent of horse owners like to take care of their horses independently, from feeding to watering or cleaning.
In contrast to what normal people know: cornhusks can be
- Fatal
- Can cause colic
- It can produce behavioral and physical issues
So this is so concerning that all the horse owners should know that giving them cornhusk could be fatal.
Why is it so fatal and lethal? Let me illustrate it in the next portion.
Reasons: why should cornhusks not be given to horses?
Few impending reasons that make this feed dangerous or harmful for horses.
Mycotoxins
Mycotoxins are poisonous substances that are produced by molds. These are toxic and of some sort contaminated with chemicals that can cause sudden death. Mostly they are fumonisins which act as the causing agent.
Fungi produce molds that contaminate the cornhusks that horse eats and get infected. After that, horses get drastic and horrible diseases.
Mold causes mental disorders in horses. Horses become less productive and less active. ELEM, a neurological disease, causes many problems, like blindness. ELEM is considered a mold disease.
Equine leukoencephalomalacia breaks down the white matter of the horse’s brain, which affects the coordination ability of the horse and, in severe cases, can cause paralysis.
High fibers vs. Horse digestive system
Fibers are a necessary part of the feed. But for horses, an issue can cause severe problems when it exceeds the limit.
Under careful supervision, horses can eat fibers. The reason is very obvious the delicate digestive system of the horses. The horses can not take high fiber, in excessive amounts can cause the colic problem, which can be severe and extreme.
The horse’s digestive system is a bit long, like a tract that creates difficulty breaking down fiber. So, cornhusk is all high fiber which makes this part of the corn unfit for horses.
The structure of the cornhusk is all fibery and a bit rough, which makes it difficult to chew and swallow.
High starch intake causes the problems like diarrhea and laminitis. Grains, husks, or hay are the sources of starch.
Can horses eat sweet cornhusk?
Now the question arises of whether the sweet corn husk is different from the field corn husk or whether we can give it to the horses or not.
Sweet corn is soft, sweet, and pliable in structure when talking about grains or fruit, but the husks are fibery and about the same nature as field corn.
The basic issue with cornhusks is fumonisins; they cause the main problems like blindness and mental problems.
The fiber problem also makes horse owners hesitant to feed the sweet corn husks to the horses.
The vets and studies show that only your medical and vet bills will increase if you go with low-cost feed like cornhusk.
Can horses eat corn husks and silks?
The shiny threads on the top of the corn ear luster contain high fiber and protein with carbohydrates called corn silk.
Corn husks and silk are both comprised of fibers, and fiber causes the problems like digestion of the horses, i.e., colic.
Corn silk usually contains carbohydrates, which contains sugar and raises the issue of high starch. It can lead to bloating and laminitis.
So, sending large quantities of corn silk to the horses is not permissible.
Conclusion
In general conclusion, horses don’t like to eat cornhusks. Cornhusks can be used in the corn silage and bales, which can be fed to other animals like cows, buffalos, and pigs. They can digest these fibers more easily than horses. Other feeds are fine for horses, like oats, hay, alfalfa, grains, etc.
Usually, the cornhusk with cornstalk is used for bedding and in the compost heaps as a useful fertilizer.
Can horses eat corn husk? A big NO.
