Carrots...

[CrazyfurAnimals]

Everytime I go to my riding lessons, I always bring pieces of a carrot with me after my lesson is all done, and he's done a good job. Well, do you think this is smart, or will it make him nippy, if I happen not to bring one?
:(

[kelsey]

I think it depends on the barn and the horse. I have ridden at places where all treats have to put in the feed bucket, no hand feeding. But I think that was to prevent small children from being nipped accidentally.

I give my horse treats all the time!

[floppy]

i always give my horse a treat if she doesnt walk away form me when i go to take her out of the stable. If she has been real good out on our ride she gets a little treat when we get back to the yard and if she is well behaved when i take her to her field and stands patiently for me to do the fence up and then take of the lead rope she gets a treat too.
Sometimes i give her treats in her feed ucket for when i put her back in her stable after a ride but she predicts it so i dont do it all the time!
i dont see anything wrong with giving treats just as long as you dont do it ALL the time and make sure you give it as a reward for good behaviour and not for bad behaviour or aggressiveness! if the hrose starts gettigna bit too nippy then stop giving treats or a while

[Peace]

As said before, it depends on the barn. At my last barn, treats were such a custom that the horses would stand there after being turned out, waiting for their treat like a bellboy waiting for his tip! Never a nip from any of them. Then again, some horses get pushy when they start associating hands with food. I'd play it by ear.

[Wally]

Giving treats by hand can be dodgy. Unless your horse has learned that to invade space is a big no no!

I don't encourage folk to give ours treats by hand, in a bucket okay, It can make them pushy and bargy as well as nippy. If you must give them treats by hand you must train them exactly as you would a dog, you'd make a dog sit and wait to be offered, it's the same with a horse, it he steps forward, or goes through your pockets it's a sign of him thinking he's above you. Make him step back to where he was and wait to be offered it, don't let him nudge or bunt, make him wait, this should stop them getting nippy too.

Having said this I occasionally spoil my own horse who has just woofed half my Maltesers! But he did ask nicely and stood quietly while I opened the packet!!

[floppy]

hehe so your horse likes chocolate Wally? or just anything you happen to eat infront of him?

[SILENT-ONE200]

How about giving your horses granola bars? ;-) Mine practically do back flips for them. I trained my horse to stand quietly and wait while I unwrapped them. I think that feeding is buckets is a good idea, especially when you have little children around.

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[fionahogg]

I rarely give my horse treats, simply because, if the treat is a reward for being good on a ride or something, the horse will not associate the treat with the reason why he's getting it. The only time a horse will understand why he's being rewarded is if you do so immediately after he's done good - like softening the contact straight away when he softens his back. I do, however, put a couple of carrots or whatever in his feed when he's been good, and occasionally spoil him - he also has a sweet tooth (like his owner, I guess!) and loves chocolate!

I wouldn't give treats by hand every time he was good for the reasons Wally mentioned.

Fiona.

[SILENT-ONE200]

Would you believe that my horses won't eat apples or carrots? They're like, "You want me to eat this?" "Yuck" and then they spit them out. Trust me, I've tried for YEARS to get them to eat apples and carrots. I don't feed them by hand. They are fed in their feeder or in a bucket and ONLY if they have done something good. Nipping can become a problem if it isn't taken in hand from the beginning. I haven't ever had a problem with that. I must be lucky as I would never tolerate it.

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[Wally]

Rossi hates apples and carrots too! anyone would think it's poison we were giving him!

The reason Ljossie got half my Maltesers was he'd just been very good while I trimmed his feet. He has terribly ticklish feet and he's a martyr to his nerves, so any time Ljossie tollerates humans doing things to him I like to make human contact as rewarding to him as possible!

My Father is a pain when it comes to turning horses naughty, I know when my Father has been round my Haflinger, He becomes pushy and pocket searching, My Dad forces Polos down him like they are going out of fashoin! The old horse then thinks anyone if fair game in the pocket department! My Father laughs at me and tell me to leave the pair of them alone!

[SILENT-ONE200]

Oh yes, apples and carrots are poison!! ;-) I'm glad to know that I am not the only one who's horses think this. My husband is such a major pain when it comes to spoiling the horses.. He doesn't get out to the barn as much, due to work, and then when he does, he's like;
"Does widdle horsies want a treat?" As much as I try to discourage him, it's a long-time battle. :-p It's gotten to the point to where I have hidden the granola bars......Hmmmm.. now, I just have to remember where I've put them. ;-)

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[floppy]

my uncle is the same..when ever he goes to his daughters house he goes and fills the 2 little poneis up with munchies and then his son in law gives him grief..only thing is the 2 ponies actually belong to my uncle not his daughter or his granddaughter or his son in law... so who wins the battle there?:)

[Miriam]

I know someone who gives her horse Pears. We gave one to Rhianna who immediately spat it out, but she does like Melons.


Miriam

[SILENT-ONE200]

Good question,Floppy! ;-) How does it work that our relatives do all the spoiling and we do all the work? ;-)

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[Moonlightrider]

Aren't horses supposed to be vegetarians? Cause DC isn't. I rode him Academy at the State Fair, and he ate part of a cheeseburger and snickers bar before I went to save my trainer.

Anyway, he eats anything: sodas, peppermints, anything chocolate, carrots and apples, of course... The only times he's nipped were when I didn't take my hand away after giving him a treat... leaving your hand practically in his mouth (drinks) isn't a very good idea :)

Um... I give the horses carrots for being good, I gave them to Dyna every time someone handles her head (she was abused at some point), and my "job" (I aucutally told my extrainer this!) is to feed DC carrots. I bring a whole bag when I bring them, but that's only about twice a month, and a single carrot every trip. Mostly for bribes :)

[SILENT-ONE200]

Maybe he was really hungry? ;-) I'll bet he probably didn't even taste the meat in the cheeseburger..... Horses typically graze and eat about 18-20 hours a day to maintain gut mobility (Helps prevent colic). I did have a shetland pony that just LOVED to drink a can of coke on a hot day. Some horses really like chocolate and peppermints... particularly the mints from England and Scotland. Mine don't like the American mints, but they ate the ones I brought back from Scotland.....

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[KarlR]

My horses favorite is flapjack. One small bite and he holds his head high with his nose curled for minutes and then follows me around hoping for more. He is very good though and although given regular and varying treats - usually just a handful of feed balancer - he never gets demanding.

On the other hand, my wife's has banned any hand feeding of her cob because he quickly become very pushy (and cribs afterwards).

It just depends on the horse.

[SILENT-ONE200]

I've heard that cobs can get "pushy"... Please pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is flapjack? Here in the US we call them "pancakes".. you know, the ones you eat with syrup and butter for breakfast. My horses like those "Altoids" mints....

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[floppy]

a pancake is a pancake..
a flapjack is ehm (i havent eaten any for years) its liek a 'sweet' made out of oats or something...just so you kwo that a panckae is not a flapjack!

[SILENT-ONE200]

Oh! I gotcha now..... We also call pancakes "flapjacks" or "skillet cakes". I understand that you all feed your horses nuts?What kind of nuts? I understand that chaff is fed, also? We used to feed our horses and cattle (Black Angus) pecans from the trees that grew on our property. We also fed them fresh grass clippings from the yards, watermelon rinds, and banana peels... We never had to worry about the scraps going to waste....and the animals were always very healthy.....

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[KarlR]

Thanks floppy - yes, flapjacks are cakes made from compressed oats with sugar syrup and usually coated in something like chocolate or caramel. One of my favorites as well as the horses although not good for the diet!

Nuts usually refers to grass nuts (pelleted dried grass with additives I think!), rather than real nuts - I'm not sure whether nuts are good for horses or not.

[Moonlightrider]

I should know this, but never feed one horse carrots in a field of a dozen. I did this twice today, and it was NOT fun. The first time was in a field of a a pony, three horses, and an April-born foal (Her age is only important b/c her barn name is April). The filly kept pushing me over (I've been visiting her since she was two days old, so she knows me pretty well), and the mom and other horses surrounded me. Luckily, three of five were over 20, and they were really laid back.

The second time, I went to give carrots to DC who knows I will give him carrots, etc, and no longer ambushes me, and I was followed by about 10 chestnuts. Don't ask me why, but for some reason, all the horses minus 2 in this pasture are chestnuts. They're all nice, and only two laid their ears back at all, but still! I have been caught in the middle of fights (who hasn't, if they're crazy enough to bring a full bag of carrots into a pasture), but I think I will go back to making DC come to the gate and not nearly being eaten.

As for eating cheeseburgers, he probably couldn't taste the meat, but he shouldn't have been hungry. He got extra grain 'cos he was at a show, and anyway, you wouldn't think he could chew bread with a bit!

[SILENT-ONE200]

Thanks so much for the information..:-) I had heard these terms, "flapjack" and "nuts", And I was wondering, "What are these things?" while I was in Ireland visiting friends and we had gone riding at a stable....

We had 15 pecan (The state tree of Texas) trees on our property while I was growing up. We picked up the pecans that had fallen and shook the trees for the rest every Fall. We shelled them, then put them in jars and gave them out for Christmas to family, friends, co-workers, etc.... Lacking a piece of bread to go catch one of the horses one day, I grabbed a handful of shelled pecans. I discovered that the horses liked them....I must've dropped some in the cattle pasture on my way to the horse pasture, as I find the cattle eating the pecans.... The cattle liked them so much, that every morning I'd find them waiting for me at the gate, hoping thatI'd give them some pecans..... Who knew that cattle would like them so much?

Moonlightrider- I can definitely relate! A few months ago, I missed breakfast in my rush to meet a friend to go riding.. I grabbed a packet of granola bars to eat as I went to go get my horse. He usually meets me at the gate whenever he sees my truck.. As soon as I hit the pasture gate, all of a sudden, I'm surrounded "circle the wagons" style by 8 horses (The largest horse being 16 plus hands and weighing at least 1500 pounds and the youngest being 8 months old weighing 125 pounds).They held me down at muzzle-point until I forked over the "goodies". Lets just say I'm never going to take food with me out to the pasture. :-p

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[Miriam]

I always though grass clippings were bad for the horse? If eaten in a large amount can give them colic.


Miriam

[SILENT-ONE200]

Grass clippings are only fed in small amounts to the horses. About as much as we can gather in our hands. We NEVER feed fresh spring grass to the colts, due to them possibly colicing (Worm eggs can be in there and that's definitely not good for foals and young colts and fillies. If you're showing youngsters, this would NOT be a good thing :-p).... The majority of the grass clippings are distributed to the cattle..... I meant to clarify that earlier.. sorry about that. :-(

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[Wally]

Hákon and Laurel love banana skins, I had a fit when I saw him being fed them, but he's been eating them for years and never had any ill effect, he likes them too, the odd one here and there does him no harm.

[SILENT-ONE200]

Oh yes! Banana peels! Our cattle loved them... We also fed them watermelon rinds, potato peelings, , bread scraps "heels",carrot peelings, anything left over from salads,corn stalks in the Fall.... We were very lucky as our animals were very healthy, and had the shiniest coats. We figure that feeding them the rinds and peelings did them no harm as they seemed to like them...Our vet okayed it. So we never had to worry about scraps being left over or having to clog up the garbage disposal.....

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[CrazyfurAnimals]

I was just wondering. Should I peel the carrots first, or is it okay to have the peel on. I do cut them into smaller sizes, and wash all the dirt out since I've heard that the dirt can cause colic. Thanks.

[SILENT-ONE200]

Crazyfur animals,

Either way you want to do it. I , personally, wash off the carrots, then peel them... That way I don't have to worry about dirt and colic. The cattle eat the peels, the horses get the carrots, and everyone is happy.

SILENT-ONE200

[floppy]

just make sure you chop them longitudinal

[SILENT-ONE200]

Can you buy some of those "Baby Carrots" at the grocery store??They're already, washed, peeled, and bagged. Those might be best in your situation....

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[appaloosagal]

my appy mare Baby absolutley LUVES carrots. She'll munch on apples alright, shes likes some sweet feed put in a bucket, but she gobbles down carrots SOOOO fast. She especially likes the fresh ones with the green tops, but she'l eat those peeled baby carrots (no pun intended! ;) ) too. I dont often give her treats, she doesn't get nippy, but i dont want her to. If I want to give her a treat and I dont happen 2 have any carrots on me, I put a handfull of sweet feed in a pail. I've learned not 2 hand feed horses 2 much, cause when my parents were looking 4 horses 4 them, 2 horses we looked at were the kind u can only catch with treats. Our trainer finally caught the horses without a treat, and the one horse bit her so hard on the shoulder, he was mad cause he didn't get a treat. That taught me 2 not 2 hand feed to much at all. sure, shes a pampered horse, put mebbe about once a month i'll give her a carrot or 2 after a good training session. other than that, she just gets petted and cooed over. (ok, sure, she gets that neway put hey :p ) Our other horse, Pocket, used 2 b hand fed treats all the time (not the same horse that bit out trainer), so he had 2 be taught not to go searching in peoples pockets (yet again, no pun intended!:D) 4 treats. Even like, 4 years later, if u give him some apple of somthing, he'll follow you around like a puppy till u leave the pasture. I hand feed my horse treats, but rarely becasue i dont want a rude, pigheaded and downright dangerous horse Of course almost all horses, Pocket a Baby especially, could use a sign around their necks that say "Will Work For Food" !!! :D

[SILENT-ONE200]

Wow! I wish I could get my horses to eat carrots or even apples, for that matter.They spit them out and act like I've poisoned them. :-p I got my horses as newly weaned foals, and from day one- I established that I would not tolerate nipping for treats. Treats are only given out for good behavior. And then, not always given out. And only at the end of my visits to the barn before I leave for home. That way they don't demanding or get "pushy". It works for me at least.

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[appaloosagal]

At our house, we don't have much kitchen garbage and other composting , 'casue weeds from the garden (minus things like used up tomatoe and potato plants, they're poisonous 2 horses, donkeys etc...) get fed 2 either the chickens or the sheep, donkey and horses (who r in the same pasture). They also get watermelon rinds, cucumbers, apple peels from making apple pies, corn cobs and any other kitchen scraps (that r safe 4 horses and the likes 2 eat, of course). Our animals r perfectly healthy, and they certainly seem 2 like the watermelon rinds, its an alternative to hay and grass! ;) . We dont feed them grass clippings though, casue who knows if some oil or gass might've gotten in2 the bag of clippings. But I must admit, its a regular sight 2 see the animals grazing on the front lawn, mebbe nibbling (much 2 my mothers discontent) on the rose bushes, at our
house! Though they do make rather large yellow spots on the lawn;) !!!!

[SILENT-ONE200]

In some areas, hay can be pretty costly, especially in times of drought or greedy hay dealers. We try to mix in Timothy Alfalfa and regular 'ol grass hay. (Alfalfa can be quite rich in Protein) My shetland pony was regular Houdini and always seemed to sneak into the yard. We'd find her happily munching on mom's rosebushes or the grass. She was never sick in the 9 years that we had her and after eating all those peelings and rinds. We really had to watch that she didn't get into mom's vegetable garden as those were sprayed routinely for bugs, disease and what-not.

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[Katie_85]

The baby carrots are good. My first lesson horse was given something after a lesson usually and he absolutely loved them. Well...he loved them once you convinced him to get his nose out of your pocket and eat the carrot!:)

[Moonlightrider]

DC has now figured out how pockets work. Including buttoned, snapped, and velcroed ones (don't ask!). And a few too many horses around here can open their doors, so I can't have carrots anywhere near me anymore!

[SILENT-ONE200]

Isn't that just like a horse? ;-) Searching for treats in places he/ she isn't supposed to be looking ..... ;-)

SILENT-ONE200

[lamprellsarah]

one horse at our stable has to have a sandwich filled with carrot and all bits and bobs every morning, he gets very annoyed if he don't and he's so happy afterwards that we have never stopped him.
with my last pony and if she even heard a rustle she used to go down my pockets, or pull off my buttons or take my zip and pull it up and down, until I gave her a treat,
a lot of horses like bananas,
my horse won't touch anything except carrots and apples, which is good, because we get the public trying to fed our horses all types of rubbish.

[JumperGirl]

Just wondering-

Has anyone else here been taught never to let a horse graze on grass that has been cut by a lawn mower? because the gas from the mower isnt good for horses? I have, I i dont let them, but just wondering.

[floppy]

i have heard that you shoudlnt give lawn mower clippings to a hrose...and that the garden grass is not good for a horse

[SILENT-ONE200]

You can give lawn clippings in small amounts (Like just enough for a handful). Just be sure that the grass hasn't been treated with weed killer. :-)

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