Nutrition

Is carrot juice worth the squeeze?

By Adam Marcus

Sure, horses love carrots, but is carrot juice worth the squeeze? Science appears to have the answer.

Researchers in Poland wanted to see if all carrots were created equal in the eyes—well, mouth, anyway—of an equid.

The study involved giving 21 leisure horses between the ages of 3 and 22 years a total of 5 preparations of carrots: raw (whole and unprocessed), grated, boiled, dried and juiced. Scientists being scientists, the carrot products were tightly controlled—they were washed thoroughly without chemical cleaners; they were refrigerated until feeding time; they were shredded in a food processor with a 5 mm disc attachment for uniformity; and they were juiced by a high-quality slow juicer. (“The obtained juice was clear, with an intense orange color and an aroma typical of fresh carrots,” the researchers wrote.)

For the feeding tests, individual animals were led to an indoor riding arena where 5 bowls, each containing 150 g of the different preparations, had been placed. The handler then exited, leaving the horse to munch (or drink) at will.

Most horses appeared to prefer the raw, whole carrots and ate those first, followed by the grated and dried forms. Boiled carrots were the least popular (P<0.01) but went down the fastest, with a mean feeding time of 78.4 ± 15.3 seconds compared with 156.2 ± 28.7 seconds for dried carrots, according to the study.

As for that carrot juice, it “was initially rejected by most horses, but its acceptability increased in later trials,” the researchers reported.

The bottom line, according to the researchers: “The results of this study indicate that the form of carrots offered to horses influences feeding behavior,” they wrote. “A key finding of our study is that feed intake time differed between carrot forms, with boiled carrots consumed most quickly and dried carrots most slowly. Horses initially were reluctant to consume carrot juice; while acceptance increased over successive trials, it remained generally low, indicating limited appeal despite some habituation.” MeV

For more information:
Mańkowska A, Dobraczyńska BM, Szewczak J, et al. Preliminary assessment of leisure horses’ preferences for different forms of carrot (Daucus carota subsps. sativus). Animals. 2025:15(3385)
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15233385