SmartPak Recipe: Simple Apple Pony Treats

Posted on: June 13, 2025 by Gina Fitch

As horse people, we don't have a lot of time for additional hobbies, but recently I did discover that I really enjoy making and giving my horse homemade treats. (That can be a hobby, right?) It brings me a sense of joy and comfort knowing that I have control of everything that goes into these treats.

I’m not really one for experimenting with a lot of trendy foods or ingredients, but I have found keeping ingredients few, simple, and pure works for me and my horse. This is a recipe that I recently made for my horse Two Socks, with great success!

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ cup of water
2 tablespoons of molasses
1 apple cut into chunks

Steps:

I start by mixing rolled oats, cinnamon, and water until all the oats were well-coated. I opted for the rolled oats instead of quick oats as the oats are a little bit larger and thicker flakes which are less processed. If you find that the mixture is too dry, feel free to add more water to your mixture. The consistency should be damp but not wet.
Second, add the molasses to the mixture and stir. Everything will be sticky and starting to form decent-size clumps, and this is exactly what you want! You can add more molasses if the mixture is not sticky enough to clump.
Next, create a clump (you can do this with your hands, a spoon, or a cookie scoop) and roll that mixture into a ball which will form your cookie. You can make these any size you want as long as the cookies are similar size and have enough material to form around a piece of apple. I made mine on the smaller side so I could make more treats out of the mixture.
Take a chunk of apple (or carrot!) and press it into the middle of each ball to make your cookie. You can leave some of the apple chunk sticking out of the top or cover the chunk with cookie mixture entirely.
Last, place all cookies in the freezer separated with wax or parchment paper until they harden. Pro Tip: Serving these chilled makes less of a mess.

I prefer to make smaller treats so I can offer more so feel free to make them the size you prefer. You can also double this recipe depending on your needs. I hope your horses enjoy your treats as much as mine does!