Horse
meat · base score 0.8 · also listed as paard, equine
What is it?
Horse is a meat ingredient. Graded good: a real, recognisable ingredient that adds nutritional value, so it lifts a product’s score.
At a glance
- Category
- meat
- Grade
- good
- Base score
- 0.8 (from −1 to 1; higher is better)
- Found in
- 15 products
- Also listed as
- paard, equine
Common questions about horse
Is Horse good for dogs?
Yes, we grade it as a good ingredient: recognisable and nutritionally useful, so it lifts a product’s score. Bear in mind that no single ingredient decides quality; the whole recipe and its balance matter more.
How many UK dog foods contain horse?
15 UK products list horse as an ingredient in our database. The full list is shown below, sorted by rating.
What else is horse called on labels?
Manufacturers list it under several names: paard, equine. We match all of these to the same glossary entry when we read a label.
How does Open Dog Food grade horse?
We grade it good, our highest grade, reserved for recognisable ingredients that add real nutritional value. Every ingredient is converted to its dry-matter share and scored from our glossary before a recipe gets its 1-100 rating; the full method is on our methodology page.
Is horse meat good for dogs?
Horse is a lean source of protein that appears as a novel meat in some dog foods. It supplies amino acids and can suit dogs that react to more common proteins.
Why is horse used in dog food?
Horse is used as a protein source in specialist recipes where a less common meat is desired. When horse is named on a UK or EU label, the declared ingredient must genuinely be horse, so owners can identify the protein source.
