Last Updated on April 13, 2022 by Allison Price
I am a trail rider and country bumpkin, and I love beer. I have a combined passion for beer and horses that has led to one of my horses drinking beer. This has led me to ask “Can Horses Drink Beer?”
This raises some questions, such as: Why would I drink beer on my horse? Which beer should I give to my horse? Is it possible for them to become alcoholics from prolonged drinking? Are they able to get drunk? What is the minimum amount of time they need to get drunk? I decided to investigate further to find out the answers to all my sudden questions.
Which Beers Are OK?
Your horse can drink almost any beer. Blackjack, my horse prefers darker beers than lighter ones. After a long ride and possibly too many cold beers, I tried to give Blackjack a popular light beer in blue cans, but he threw it away. Although I was disappointed by his apparent alcohol abuse, it could have been argued that it was my fault.
Without any evidence, I believe this could be due to the particular beer’s ingredients. Many light beers on the market today contain rice instead of hops or barley. Yum!
This means that most beer can be safely drank by horses. What about wine coolers or other alcoholic beverages? According to many articles that I have read, most of them written by veterinarians and show no problem with horses being allowed to drink alcohol. This is due to the fancy intestinal system horses have, as well as their weight. However, I’d still recommend that you exercise caution because there isn’t much scientific research on the dangers or benefits of your horse drinking alcohol.
Can horses get drunk?
According to a study by London University, the average human weight is 137lbs. Although this sounds quite light, I am not a researcher. It is a controversial topic to determine how many beers are necessary to become drunk. However, two drinks per hour is enough to keep you fully sober and three will get you drunk. This is a common statement, but horses are large animals. A horse’s average weight is about 1000 lbs, which is seven times that of an average person. This number suggests that an average horse can drink about 21 beers an hour based on its weight.
They have a remarkable metabolism, which means they can process alcohol much better than we humans. Because grass and other greenery ferments, large amounts of alcohol are made in their stomachs as they digest their food source. These animals have unique organs that can handle the fermentation process, which is not possible in our anatomy.
How much beer can my horse drink?
Horses are large, as we have already mentioned. Let’s take a look at calories. Horses require on average 20,000 calories per day. Light beer has 95 calories, while the most calorie-dense beer has just under 200 calories. This would mean that for horses to gain weight by drinking beer only, they would need at most 100 of the most heaviest beers per day.
From a calorie perspective, it’s safe to feed your horse as much as possible without any compensating grain or other food. You’ll likely run out of money before your horse begins to drink beer by itself.
It is well-known that horses can drink a lot of beer, but what about the other reasons? Your horse’s digestive system is capable of consuming far more alcohol that you can afford due to cost. However, I wouldn’t be too reckless here. It’s just wasteful.
Beer as a treatment of a disease
Anhidrosis is a condition in which horses are unable to sweat. Beer has been used as a treatment. Anhidrosis, a rare condition in which horses lose their ability to sweat, is very rare. Horses lose their body heat by sweating. Horses lose 65 to 70% of body heat by sweating alone. A dark, stout is one supplement that can be used to treat this condition. However, this is not supported by any scientific evidence.
How do I feed my horse beer the best?
Horses and glass bottles are not going to be best friends, for obvious reasons. This sounds embarrassing to me. A horse can’t drink from a can and not waste a lot of it. This is something I learned from experience. Many Irish horse owners love to mix dark lager with their horse’s grain. The solution to the problem is quite simple. Pour the drink into a bucket and let the horse drink it.
In conclusion, it’s perfectly okay to give your horse as much beer as your heart and wallet desire. Although, personally I’d like to have the alcohol myself instead of wasting it on an animal that can’t really even get drunk during this process.
