Yes, dogs can eat raw horse meat. It’s a lean red meat fed the same way as beef, and because few dog foods use it, it’s a novel protein for most dogs. In our range it’s in Wild Mix, Active Dog Mix and Breeders Mix, and Wild Mix is the one with no beef.
Horse is one of the red meats you’ll find in New Zealand raw dog food, and it surprises some people the first time they see it on a label. For dogs it’s simply another raw red meat, and for most of them it’s one they’ve never eaten before.
What horse meat is like
Horse is a dark, lean red meat. Raw feeders treat it the same way as beef or venison: it’s part of the muscle-meat portion of the 80/10/10 guide, alongside raw bone and organ.
Because most commercial dog food is built on chicken, beef and lamb, horse counts as a novel protein for most dogs. That’s a big part of why owners look for it. Our guide to novel proteins for dogs explains what that means and how to use one.
Horse in our range
Our horse comes in three blends, each minced together with other proteins:
| Blend | What’s in it | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Mix | Horse, goat, venison and alpaca, with offal | No beef, chicken, lamb, fish or tripe |
| Active Dog Mix | Beef, horse, offal and green tripe | Made with busy, active dogs in mind |
| Breeders Mix | Beef, horse, goat and offal | Built for multi-dog homes and volume feeding |
If you want horse for a dog that stays off beef, Wild Mix is the one. Active Dog Mix and Breeders Mix both contain beef as well, which suits dogs that already eat it.
All three are made from 100% New Zealand meat, made to order in the Waikato and delivered chilled across Auckland and the Waikato. Each comes in a 10 kg carton of blocks of about 500 g, bandsawn and hand cut, so the blocks vary a little but the carton always weighs 10 kg. Our mixes are $7.90 to $8.50 a kilo, and delivery is $5 an order, whatever it weighs.
Which blend suits your dog
- A dog that stays off beef or chicken: Wild Mix. It’s four less common proteins with offal, and none of the usual ones.
- A busy or working dog: Active Dog Mix. Our guide to working dog food has amounts for dogs that work hard.
- Several dogs, or a breeder: Breeders Mix, made for feeding a lot of dogs. Our guide to raw feeding multiple dogs covers how much to order.
- A puppy: Breeders Mix is one of the foods our feed calculator suggests for puppies, and our guide to how much raw food to feed a puppy has amounts by age.
In the shop, tick Beef and Veal in the filter and every product with beef, veal or green tripe in it greys out, so Wild Mix stays in the list and the other two don’t.
How much to feed
Most adult dogs eat about 2 to 3% of their body weight in raw food a day. The calculator uses 2.5% for a moderately active adult and plans about 90% of the food as a mix and about 10% as raw bones. Here’s how a horse blend works out at 2.5%.
For a 20 kg dog that’s about 500 g a day, about 450 g of it mix, so a 10 kg box lasts about three weeks. Our guides to how much raw food to feed and portioning raw dog food have every size.
A working dog sits nearer 3%, so a 25 kg working dog on Active Dog Mix eats about 750 g a day, the same as a 30 kg dog in the table. Split the day’s amount into two meals for an adult dog. Raw food from us works out about $3.40 to $4.10 a day for a 20 kg dog.
Bones to go with it
Match the bone to the rest of the diet. For a dog on Wild Mix with no beef, Goat Bones (when we have them) keep everything beef-free. For a dog on Active Dog Mix or Breeders Mix, beef brisket or neck bones fit naturally. Our guide to which raw bones dogs can eat has the full pairing table.
Our bones arrive chilled, packed in together. Most people let the box soften a little, pull the bones apart and bag them up for the freezer.
A beef-free week with horse
Here’s how a week on Wild Mix fits together for a 20 kg dog:
- The night before, move a block of Wild Mix from the freezer to the fridge, in a sealed container.
- Feed about 450 g of Wild Mix a day, split into two meals. Wild Mix has offal in it already.
- A few times a week, give a raw goat bone in place of part of a meal, so the bone stays at about 10% of the diet.
- Keep two to three days’ worth thawed at a time. Raw meat thawed in the fridge can be refrozen.
Introducing horse
Treat it like any new protein. Mix a little in with your dog’s current food and increase it over about a week, changing one thing at a time. If your dog is new to raw altogether, our guide to switching to raw walks through it.
Horse meat questions
Is horse a good option for dogs that can’t have beef or chicken?
It’s a useful one. Wild Mix gives you horse with goat, venison and alpaca, and none of the common proteins. If your vet has suggested an elimination diet, follow their plan, as a single protein is usually easier for that than a blend.
Can cats eat horse?
Our horse blends are made for dogs. For cats, we suggest the five products marked “For Dogs & Cats”, covered in can cats eat raw meat.
Can my dog eat horse every day?
Yes. A horse blend can be the everyday base of the bowl, with raw bones a few times a week. Many raw feeders also rotate in other proteins over time.
Do you sell horse on its own?
Not at the moment. Our horse comes in Wild Mix, Active Dog Mix and Breeders Mix, each minced with other proteins.
My dog has a beef allergy. Which horse blend?
Wild Mix, the only one of the three with no beef. Our guide to beef allergy in dogs covers what else to leave out, including green tripe.
More guides
Novel protein dog food: goat, horse, venison and alpaca
What counts as a novel protein, which ones we sell, and how to build a diet without beef or chicken.
Working dog food in NZ: feeding farm and sport dogs raw
How much raw food working dogs need, when to feed around work, and feeding a whole team.
Can cats eat raw meat?
How much raw food a cat needs, which of our foods suit cats, and how to switch a suspicious eater.