Hay Everyone!

I can’t wait for fall to fully arrive. Those mornings with a hint of crispness in the air make me want to kick up my heels and take off across the field! I also love to see the fun fall decorations people put up. Some of them can be a little scary, especially if they rattle in the wind. I must admit, though, those scary decorations give me the perfect excuse to show off my moves in front of the ladies. Do you know how quickly I can do a spin and launch into a gallop? It’s fast. While all of these antics are fun, my mind quickly turns to food. I’ve got to replenish all that energy I expended on the fun and games! 

The folks at the Equine Science Center have been contributing to the fall festivities by crafting fun and decorative pumpkins. Some of them are featured in this this week’s blog button and we have a whole gallery below. While it’s fun to look at the creative designs, I’ve begun to wonder if I could take a little nibble out of one or two of them. Of course, I had to found out! I did a little reading and found out horses can safely eat pumpkins!

Some festive fall creations from the Equine Science Center. We hope these designs inspire you to decorate or carve your own festive pumpkin!

If you want to feed pumpkin to your horse as a seasonal treat, you can do so. There are a couple of things to keep in mind, however. You’ll want to make sure you cut the pumpkin off into smaller pieces that your horse can easily chew without choking. Horses can safely eat the outer skin or rind of the pumpkin. It is also safe for your horse to consume pumpkin seeds, so you don’t have to worry about picking them all out. As with any treat or new feed stuff, you’ll want to offer your horse only a small amount of pumpkin. Any sudden change in feed or large amount of a treat can upset your horse’s digestive system. (I can tell you, that’s not a good feeling!)

If you don’t have a horse around to munch on your pumpkin once it’s outlived its festive lifespan, what can you do with it? One option would be to compost it, if you regularly compost! You’ll want to make sure you remove the seeds first or you might end up with a pumpkin patch in your compost bin. If composting isn’t something you do, you could just bury your pumpkin. It will eventually decompose and enrich the soil it was buried in. Once again, you’ll want to make sure you remove the seeds unless you want to grow your own pumpkin patch! The seeds you removed from your pumpkin can be put out for the birds. Many birds will gobble up this tasty treat!  

Now that you have some ideas of how to dispose of your pumpkin after it has outlived its festive lifespan, you should go decorate your own pumpkin! If you decide to carve it, I would be happy to drop by and gobble up all those leftover pieces! If you do join in the fall festivities and decorate a pumpkin, we’d love to see your finished creation! Share a picture of your pumpkin on social media and be sure to tag the Rutgers Equine Science Center using #RUESC. I can’t wait to see what fun ideas you come up with!

Happy decorating!

Your Friend,

Lord Nelson

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