Can feeding horse treats have a bad effect on your relationship?
Ok so i've been feeding my pony treats. I generally only give her one when she has done something i have asked her to do or when i first see her in the day and when i say goodnight at night.
I've had her just over a year now and have recently been really pleased with how our relationship has been going. When i got her there were a few things that she was completely frightened of, just the usual like fly spray and clipping. However i have reassured her and within a very short time she just stood still. She really trusts me and in most situations believes me when i tell her everything will be ok. Also if i tell her off about something and smack her (which isnt very often as she has excellent ground manners) she is really taken back by it and behaves herself. In the herd she is a very dominant horse. Generally to get her to do something she doesnt want to do i have to convince her she wants to do it as forcing her to do something just ends up in a argument.
So in summary i know she trusts me and have been thinking that she respects me.
HOWEVER i have been reading a book which goes through all the negative things about feeding treats. It basically says that a horse can't respect you for this as you are handing over food and the fact that there lips touch you is disrespectful as they would never be allowed to do this with the alpha of the herd. It also said that if you look around a yard about 7/10 horses dominate their owners rather than the other way around.
Its all stuck in my mind since reading this as obviously we the human have to be the dominant one, and i have been happily sailing along thinking that i was. Then on the other hand i think the very fact she lets me ride her, move her around anywhere i like from the ground and she obeys me when i tell her times up when she is grasing in hand even though she is dying just to have another few hours of chewing that lovely grass. So i'm starting to think, give her a break shes such a good girl and the occasional treat really does but a big smile on the face.
So what do you do? Also does it matter how much more dominant we are compared to our horses or that we are just that little bit more dominant than them?
Ok so i've been feeding my pony treats. I generally only give her one when she has done something i have asked her to do or when i first see her in the day and when i say goodnight at night.
I've had her just over a year now and have recently been really pleased with how our relationship has been going. When i got her there were a few things that she was completely frightened of, just the usual like fly spray and clipping. However i have reassured her and within a very short time she just stood still. She really trusts me and in most situations believes me when i tell her everything will be ok. Also if i tell her off about something and smack her (which isnt very often as she has excellent ground manners) she is really taken back by it and behaves herself. In the herd she is a very dominant horse. Generally to get her to do something she doesnt want to do i have to convince her she wants to do it as forcing her to do something just ends up in a argument.
So in summary i know she trusts me and have been thinking that she respects me.
HOWEVER i have been reading a book which goes through all the negative things about feeding treats. It basically says that a horse can't respect you for this as you are handing over food and the fact that there lips touch you is disrespectful as they would never be allowed to do this with the alpha of the herd. It also said that if you look around a yard about 7/10 horses dominate their owners rather than the other way around.
Its all stuck in my mind since reading this as obviously we the human have to be the dominant one, and i have been happily sailing along thinking that i was. Then on the other hand i think the very fact she lets me ride her, move her around anywhere i like from the ground and she obeys me when i tell her times up when she is grasing in hand even though she is dying just to have another few hours of chewing that lovely grass. So i'm starting to think, give her a break shes such a good girl and the occasional treat really does but a big smile on the face.
So what do you do? Also does it matter how much more dominant we are compared to our horses or that we are just that little bit more dominant than them?