How can a thoroughbred eat this many apples and not get sick?

Someone I use to know would let their thoroughbred eat all the apples off their apple tree. All the paddocks had grass and the horses were out on it 24/7. They only came in to eat their grain in the morning and at night and have a tiny bit of hay which they usually barely touched because they preferred the grass over the first cut hay. After they were done eating, they would walk back outside.

I have apple trees in my back paddock. When the fruit is in, my boys will eat the ones that fall from the trees. It's not like they're standing there, stripping the tree bare of apples. I imagine that's what went on with the other horse as well.

The rest of your post made no real sense.

I've got apple trees in my pasture too. I don't cultivate or spray the apples so they aren't gorging but they do eat them when they drop or are ripe and in reach. Bet I've got over 10 apple trees out there.

Any horse is going to prefer fresh grass and apples to dried old hay. My horses are loose 24/7 in all kinds of weather. They are used to eating real food.

The apples don't fall on one day only. They start falling then more and more.
We have Pear trees and the horses live there during late august and early september.
Any horse is going to prefer fresh green grass to hay. Shalom

What Im saying is that his diet was all grass and grain w/no hay plus about 50 apples. The owner would wait until the tree was in full bloom and then let him eat as many apples as he wanted. The branches hung low enough that he eate at least 50, including the ones on the ground. I thought horses couldn't digest that much glucose. (rich green grass has glucose also)

Were you there every single day morning, afternoon and evening to make sure they were getting no hay? Do you know what the quality of the grass was?
Honestly 'somebody you used to know' makes this a 'not-so-plausible' story if the horses were happy and healthy. They were obviously getting the food they needed. Are you concerned or just genuinely curious as to how horses can eat that many apples? (If that's the case, the question's been answered).

I forgot to add that I know the grass was at the end of its growth cycle (September) so it wasn't spring grass but the horse eate allot of apples. Although the apples crab apples so maybe that made a difference? (crab apples aren't as rich as farm grown apples you'd buy in a supermarket)

I would bet the horse's diet was not what you assume it was. I'm sure it ate more hay and not as many apples as you think. Unless you watched the horse all day, you have no real idea.

It is correct that too much sugar isn't good for a horse, but if the horse was healthy, it probably wasnt ingesting too much.
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Hi, you're correct that apples are high in sugar, so not great for gorging on, or for IR horses. It's fructans that's the sugar in grass, & fruit I think.

Boy, you guys have picky horses - my horses will indeed gorge on my apple & pear trees(& grape vines) without waiting for them to drop fruit if I let them! & Ricci, while of course OP wouldn't know for sure unless they were there & counting, I have one horse that won't touch hay, regardless of quality, if there is fresh grass around, & another who will leave the grass for any hay on offer.

I also have an apple tree in my pasture and it has never created an issue.