Too Many Apples Can Kill a Wild Horse

October 4, 2016

AWHC Contributor

Horses love apples, but too many can make them sick and even result in death. While residents have been dumping the excess apple crop in the Pine Nuts, volunteers have been gathering them up.

The Danger of Apples for Wild Horses

“Recently people have been throwing out the apples from their trees on the range for the wild horses,” horse volunteer Mary Cioffi said. “These apples can kill a wild horse with colic quickly.”

Cioffi said volunteers from the Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates picked up four boxes of apples over the weekend.

“Well-meaning people are being generous but wild horses are not used to apples in their diet and it can give them a very painful death,” she said.

Cioffi said that Diane and Ken Briggs were gathering the apples, but that some horses had already found them.

Legal and Safety Concerns

“Feeding wild horses is against Nevada law,” she said. “We try hard to discourage people from feeding or watering so we can discourage the horses from being near homes and streets.”

The concern is that if the horses come into the neighborhoods, one complaint could result in their being rounded up.

Cioffi said there is plenty of water in the hills, thanks in part to it being trucked up there. Bently Nevada is in the process of removing fencing that will allow the horses access to the springs.