Handfeeding treats

[dancing-horse]

When I give a horse a treat I had always given it to them with my hand, but a little while back I heard from someone at my old barn that handfeeding a horse a treat was wrong. She said it spoils them and teaches them to always nip at your hands expecting treats. I decided this was right, so she told everyone to put a treat in the bucket. Then I think that kind of takes the fun out of giving a horse a treat at all. is this just a superstition or have any of you ever heard it as well.

[swerve]

If it's an apple I handfeed (I don't cut them, so he needs me to hold it so he can bite it) and if its anything else I use a bowl. I don't handfeed any one else's horses

[Bay Mare]

There are different schools of thought on this one.

Personally I treat as a reward but don't treat 'ad hoc'. Saff has the potential to be quite 'muggy' as she's VERY food orientated. When I first got her she would snuffle everyone in sight in search of food, thankfully she wasn't a biter but it still wasn't good behaviour.

Clicker training uses treats as a reward and though I've not done it myself (I just can't get my head around it) I believe that muggy horses actually get better rather than worse which is what you would expect.

Saff has swapped mugging for curtseying though! If she wants a treat (I give apples rather than bought treats now) she sticks her head down between her legs! At one point she would run through her whole repertoire of stretches (which we do when I turn her out) but in record time, it was so funny.

I don't think that there is a 'right' or 'wrong' in this, it depends on the horse, it depends on the owner. As long as your horse isn't mugging everyone in sight then you make your own decisions.

[Funky MeerKAT]

I agree, there is no right or wrong. I have always hanf fed my horses with no problems, althought I would never hand fed a colt or stallion.

[Moomin]

I only handfeed my own horse because she never nips at me or abuses the privelege - she might occasionally nuzzle at my hand asking where her treat is, but that's usually if I've forgotten at the usual time - she always gets some when coming in and when going out, and a carrot after a ride. She doesn't get them willy nilly. So she always looks for them at her 'set times' but never demands them otherwise.

I find other peoples' horses don't understand this sometimes and grab at you - so best not to interfere even if you do have the owner's permission!!

Interestingly, Moo is Pony Most Likely To Be Given Treats By Visiting Children as she has a special way of receiving them - like she's won an oscar and ever so gently takes them - she's so manipulative!

[galadriel]

I've known horses to become pushy and even nippy when handfed. It's a bit dependent on the horse's own personality. If he's mouthy already, then he may become moreso.

With my horses, we have a few methods that help. One is that most of the time, they're handed a treat for doing something--behaving during handling (while tied, etc), during or after a ride, doing a trick, and so on. Even when they're not getting a direct reward, they're NOT allowed to mug for treats; as long as they're being nosey, they get nothing.

At one point one of ours did start getting a bit pushy--the bossmare :) So for a while, she got treats only out of a bucket. Once she stopped being pushy with respect to pockets or hands, we went back to hand-feeding. That worked for her. It hasn't worked for other horses of my acquaintance--and in some cases, I suspect it was because people were sneaking handfed treats behind the owner's back.

By consistency and method, we tend to have minimal problems with hand feeding. But our horses are on our own property, and we're the only ones who handle them. I would not be so relaxed about it if they were in a boarding stable, and other people had more easy access to them. I hate having to deal with other people feeding my horses, encouraging bad habits.

In a lesson program or a public stable, it's always a good idea to make sure that:
1) you have permission before feeding a treat, and
2) you know how the owner wants the horse fed.

Horses have different responses to hand feeding--and owners have different methods and ideas. And the owner will know the horse better than you do. If being frequently hand fed encourages nipping in someone's horse, then it would be incredibly bad manners to disregard their requests, and hand feed a treat.

[manfa1]

dont feed treats from your hand to much, i think some horses are ok to give hand treats to others will start to pester you for them and nip which can turn into a biting problem. depends on the individual temperment really. just stick to giving your horse a treat when you catch it, or just after its done some work.

[cazrider]

Depends on the horse and why you're doing it. The golden rule is never hand feed anyone else's horse unless they have given you permission. I am not happy if this happens, and it can sometimes as Sennie is such an old softy.

From me he has a treat (nut or the like) when I get on(and have finished fiddling about with stirrups/girth etc), when I get off, when he's turned out (he turns to face me and has headcollar removed, is given treat, then goes off into the field), and when he's caught(once the headcollar is on), or when he's being rewarded for something. He knows he doesn't get anything at any other time, and I can walk him to the field carrying an apple or some nuts in my open hand, and he walks quite happily as he knows he won't get them until he's gone into the field, turned round etc. The point is, they have a purpose. To reinforce manners and reward. He's happy, knows where he is, doesn't mug people, and people comment on his good manners.

[Mary Poppins]

I think that it depends on the horse. Troy is very food driven and if I give him a treat for no reason then he just mugs me and becomes very fidigty in search of his next treat. I tend to only give him treats at the end of a session or if he has been particularly good (for example he can be a pain to pick out his feet, so if he does it perfectly he gets a treat).

However, I give Dotty treats all the time for no reason as I just can't resist her lovely face. She never becomes a problem and would never attempt to nip to mug me. She just stands there quietly all the time. I would never give anything to someone elses horse unless they gave me permission.

[horse luver876]

some horses are good about taking trets but my pony boy is so rude he needs a bucket or he nips. at the therapy centetr i go to the horses are trained to be gentle but we still use buckets for treats

[ridingwood]

I 'do' a horse for someone else and he is hand fed treats all the time. I nerver give them to mine. Have to be careful what I say here as owner might be on this site, but, I think it makes them a bit difficult especially if you give them treats on an occasion eg when opening a gate, 'cos if you forget the treat they try to mug you for it when you haven't got it - however, I use them for things like carrot stretches as a reward.