DIY Stall Snacks!

I bought a stall snack holder in April for Desi and it came with an apple-flavored stall snack. Well Mr. Desi with his "refined palate" wouldn't touch it. Spoiled pony... It has been sitting in my garage for months now. Since I'll be out of town again for a week in December and the hyper horse won't be getting as much exercise, I thought I'd try to revive the stall snack holder to keep him occupied when he's not turned out.

To make the thing more enjoyable, I thought it would be fun to make him a stall snack that I know he'll devour - one with alfalfa pellets and molasses. It's basically my take on an Ancle Jimmy's Licky Thing. It wasn't too hard to make (cleaning up the mess on the other hand...) and only took about 15 minutes for the actual cooking process. I think it will keep him occupied for several days, assuming that he doesn't pin it against a wall.

What you'll need:
1 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup molasses*
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup alfalfa pellets**
1 cup ground oats**

The existing stall snack with the can I used as a mold for the new one

*This recipe makes a treat similar to the Mojo Molasses flavor, for another flavor, simply omit the molasses and substitute another flavor of choice. You could try crushed peppermint, carrots, etc.
**I chose to use these grains for my stall snack but it could easily be adapted to any type of grain. Sweet feed, oats, bran, and other pelleted feeds will work well too!

You will also need:
Silicone Spatula
Medium saucepan (holds at least 5 cups)
Candy Thermometer 
Can or other shaped container
Greased dowel or stall snack stick

I chose to grind up my oats in a food processor so they acted like a binding ingredient but this step is optional.

In a medium saucepan, combine corn syrup, sugar, and molasses (if substituting something other than molasses, add with grain instead). Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove lid and bring up to 300 degrees F, stirring periodically.





When mixture reaches desired temperature, turn off heat and promptly add grains. Stir thoroughly, mixture will be thick and begin to harden.







 Promptly pour mixture into greased or lined container and gently tamp down with spatula. Insert dowel into center of container and allow to cool. Turn dowel every 20 minutes to ensure it does not stick.



Stall snack should be mostly set in about 3-4 hours but for best results, let stand overnight.

I loved how this turned out! It fits into my existing holder perfectly and is hard like the store-bought ones! Like a horsey lollipop!