Food as a means of showing your horse love.

Flipo's Mum

Flipo's Mum

Heavy owner of a Heavy
Aug 17, 2009
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Perthshire, Scotland
Do you have to stop yourself from overfeeding just because you love your horse and don't want to see him go without?
I worry my own bad relationship with food could spill over to become a problem for my horse. I would hope that I'll never let it get bad enough to cause him serious health concerns but right through the winter I'd often catch him looking at me soulfully and I just give that extra tiny bit of hay to salve my guilt. I have no trouble in feeding the correct amount to my friend's horse so it is purely the emotional attachment and fear of that sad look in his eye. Would it be the same if you have children - I wouldn't want to inflict this on kids?

I think the best method I've found to limit the impact on my horse's weight is my mate feeding him once a day. She has no problem in saying 'Flip, you're a fat bum and we're doing something about it, you can give me that sad look but it won't have any affect.' I know I should be tougher.:redface:
 
I'm like this too!

Even tho my wee favourite pony at the RS is one of the best doers there and often slightly portly i cant help giving him more hay/carrots/treats when i see him with nothing, even thi i know it is only cos the little fatty has scoffed it all faster than all the others.

But it is the big sad eyes.....
 
Maybe although they are all slim so it is unfair to compare. I wouldnt feel bad alwyas giving a slim horse more food but Dylan is really fat just now and i even give him treats because i cant stand to disappoint him when i go over! I need to hear that little wicker:redface:

And he is so fat, his head is getting smaller and smaller.....
 
Funnily enough I am excellent at managing other people's eating habits and all our pets and everyone else in the household (apart from hubby) is pretty slim. It just goes to prove that I know how to do, I just need to practise what I preach!
 
I think I was guilty of this, then I TOUGHENED UP. I was giving ENDLESS
Hay, it was costing me a fortune, then they were both having hard feed
as well.

I took one look at Bert the other week and thought I am actually being
CRUEL he is a FAT BARSTEWARD !! and its MY FAULT !!

Sioned is about right, but Bert needs to cut down, its difficult when both
are left hay to 'ration one' but the Hard feed as such has gone........Sioned
has her 'full feed' Bert has the smallest amount of 'beet with ONE small
carrot'..............he ain't too happy about the situation, but there you go
in the long run its much kinder for him:wink: They can have as much HAY as
they like, we have very little grass at the moment.
 
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I think it's one thing I don't do actually, as the trimmer pointed out June had at some point had horrendous lami by the damage that was evident on her feet. They are both unrestricted ATM and out 12 hours a day, but don't seem to stuff them selves stupid. I also keep them in a couple of days a week to keep an eye on things like mud fever, how much they are drinking etc.

Jazz is in the middle of a growth spurt, he gets 2 slices on the floor on a night and half a slice on a morning if he is in, and half at around 3pm. June gets one on a night in a net, and half twice a day if they are in, mixed with a couple of handfuls of straw. jazz has a good covering but June is still porky! Junes neighbour also piles everything that has fallen out of her other horses net onto the floor into the corner between Junes pen and hers, meaning June grazes on this aswell. Neighbour is moving off at the weekend so the pilling will stop and I can monitor what she's eating. They are both by no means starving and June has come out of winter far to well!

I did over feed when I moved them in November, a's they had gone from living out 24/7 to being in and it was a massive routing shock, so I over fed to compensate. It was only when a friend came down a fortnight or so later and told me that June had gone from leanish to fat in a fortnight I started cutting down and monitoring!
 
Ed is a good-doer (currently a nice weight!), but I spend my life restricting what ge loves best ib life..... Food :giggle:

I don't give him hand-fed snacks often as he's a bit of a 'mugger' and can nip at times. So, the best he ever gets is the odd carrot....
 
no, because i donrt want to literally kill them with kindness. an obese horse is at risk of health problems (many very painful, like lami!), so why would i create these out of 'love'? dont hand treat mine either, really.
 
I probably overfeed Ziggy at the moment, but it's really difficult giving skinny Mattie hay and not giving any to Ziggy, especially as Mattie eats r e a l l y r e a l l y s l o o w l y :help:
 
I find it hard - but I have to be strict. Weight exacerbates all madams issues so would prefer she is kept slimmer. She is ok in weight at the moment but is stabled 24/7. I find it really hard to judge weight in winter with thick coats. Her hips look a bit sticky outy but still got her lovely wither fat pads.

I slip up sometimes but it always smacks me in the face if I do and then I get back on track. I don't do it through guilt, neither of mine do puppy dog eyes for food. In fact neither of them do it at all (unless pig has been sent to the naughty corner!!). I do it because "she's sick" or "they might get cold"... Both things which having her two percent ration willbe fine with!
 
I see where you're coming from FM and I think I would probably be the same if I hard fed Roxy, which I don't. I used to give her some chaff with a touch of mix in it last winter but to be honest it was a waste as she didn't need it. But even then it was a tiny amount.

When it comes to hay I don't mind her eating until her heart's content. Becasue it's forage, the effects of them eating lots of it doesn't cause the same problems of them stuffing their faces with hard feed (although I appreciate this can differ from horse to horse). When she was in during the very cold, snowy spell we had I'd give her SO much hay it was unreal - because if she needs it, she'll eat it. If she doesn't need it, she won't eat it. So with hay, I'm happy for her to do what she feels is necessary. However, I don't give her regular hay at the moment any more - not unless she's in.
 
I love my 3 horses to bits but all they get is haylage and really nothing else. No hard feed, only the odd treat as when I feel like it but not very often. They do get oodles of haylage in the winter though and plenty of grass in spring/summer so they are happy.

I actually find our relationship is better through work and not spoiling them.

To spend time lunging my boy and free schooling the pony etc makes them like me more believe it or not. If I was to feed them endless treats etc the pony would still try to charge at me when I go in the paddock and turn her bum at me, but once she has been schooled we do join up at the end and she follows me all round the school with no lead rope. It's great!!
 
I am quite good about giving Izzy treats. I do have a bucket of treats always there as well as fruit or veg treats but he doesn't get much.

He gets half a scoop of non molasses chaff for brekky and tea. He has the least of all the horses on the yard but has to have something for his joint supplement and while the others have theirs. I do feel bad for him as his doesn't even cover the bottom of the bowl and he spends ages licking and licking while the others are scoffing their racehorse feed! :bounce:

He gets a treat for his bridle and a carrot or apple when he goes on the lorry. Usually when we have worked I give him a piece of fruit in his bowl.

But he does work 6 days a week and on the weekend we are often hacking for 2 - 3 hours.

I wish I only allowed myself carrots and apple as treats - I would be lovely and slim!
 
I'm pretty disciplined about his bucket feed - I don't have a problem about sticking to the measurements (in actual fact I feed less than recommended on the bag - but thats because my trimmer advised feed even less - he's a supplier of this specific feed.)
The one thing I am guilty of is putting any carrot, parsnip or turnip peelings from my own dinner in to liven it up a bit. But we're talking the peelings from one carrot (or a couple if I've made soup!)
I think I was talking more specifically about hay so its quite interesting that you say you feed as near to ad lib as possible Roxy's Mum. I guess I'm not as bad as I thought I was - its probably born of my trimmer saying stop feeding hay altogether but the arab still needs some so Flip gets a little bit and we restrict grazing in the summer which I have no problem with.
He gets a carrot once back in the field after work and we've been doing clicker training which does involve treating but I'm strict on how many treats I bring as only do concentrated five minute bursts of work every two days.
Actually I guess I'm not that bad after all! (Or do some think otherwise?!) I get the whole lammi and killing with kindness risk - that's really I guess why I'm posting this in an attempt to exercise self awareness and keep from going overboard - I don't want my emotional needs to ruin my horse's life.
 
Thank you to Roxy's mum and Claire for answering a question I have been wondering about, but too embarrassed to ask :redface:. I wasn't sure if you had to feed hard feed, or if grass in summer and ad lib hay in winter was enough so long as you had mineral licks and fresh water (dependant on the horse of course).

FM, I think it is quite a natural thing. In very simple terms I know if somebody comes to visit me I like to feed them! If I go up to my Grandma's she always wants to know what time we will be there and if we need dinner. If I have people for dinner I make enough to feed an army and obsess over what to make them. I think it's a way of showing we care...like, if we know they are fed, then they must be ok.

My mum is the worst for it! We don't have a horse, but we do have a dog and she is constantly cutting up our left over's and adding them to his dish...she even leaves a little bit aside so she can put it in with the dogs food! It doesn't matter that these left over's will inevitably give the poor dog the 'runs', she will still add "just a spoonful to give his dinner a bit of flavour". When at the stables the other week she felt guilty for having a massive faff with one of the ponies rugs (he didn't care by the way, just stood there half asleep) so picked up a handful of his next door neighbours hay and went to feed it to him. The roles were reversed and I told her off for it.

So you're not alone. And if it helps, my mum doesn't have an unhealthy relationship with food, and neither do my brother or I :happy:.
 
Well call me a meany but I don't actually feed Roxy anything!

Unless she's in or will be stood for a long time I will give her hay - but otherwise nothing. She's a good doer and because of her breed she naturally fattens up in the spring & summer but she does drop it over winter. She's now at her slimmest. I wouldn't say she's too thin but she does drop it, however I'm not bothered by it as I feel for her it's only natural. She does well on just grass, the farrier is always happy when he comes out as is the vet for routine stuff.

Flipo's Mum said:
Actually I guess I'm not that bad after all! (Or do some think otherwise?!) I get the whole lammi and killing with kindness risk - that's really I guess why I'm posting this in an attempt to exercise self awareness and keep from going overboard - I don't want my emotional needs to ruin my horse's life.
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Fair enough FM & good you're aware of it and consciously trying to not it influence Flipo in anyway. From the sounds of things, I think you're doing just fine. The odd carrot or parsnip won't do any harm. Carrots can make some horses a little loopy but agian, down to the individual.

That's why I started the thread earlier regarding the sugar cubes; I don't understand why anybody would do it or why it seems it would do a horse no harm (based on sugar cube to horse ratio) when a small amount of feed or a carrot can send some horses sky high. Maybe it's me creating an unexisting link but I'd say giving a horse a lump of pure, refined sugar is an absolute no-no.... :unsure:
 
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That's one thing I don;t do. I love my family and my pets and with having my own eating issues the one thing I do try not to do is be a feeder and make them like me. That's the last thing I want for them. :redface:
 
Food does not equal love. That's a daft human perception in my opinion (sorry). Your horse will have you sussed and will know exactly what to do to get a treat/more hay out of you! It will be a trained response. It's not a case of them loving you more but rather they have learned that by doing behaviour "x,y or z" it brings them food rewards.

I loved my horse. I showed that through looking after her to the best of my ability (and that included correct weight/diet), treating her with respect, handling her quietly and consistently, spending lots of time grooming her and setting fair boundaries and expectations for her. In return I had a happy horse who liked to spend time with me and do the things we both enjoyed. I don't think constant treats/food would have added anything into the relationship other than create a greedy horse that expected food under certain circumstances.

One of my big bug bears is people that over-feed or over-rug their horses to make themselves feel better. It can be at the detriment of the horse and it's not fair to them.
 
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I have a slightly different perspective on this, being honest food and treats are a part of our relationship. I've always used treats informally to reinforce behaviour I wanted, and also clicker train with treats too. And sometimes I will give them something for no good reason at all:frown: They're fed ad lib haylage through the winter and get bucket feeds all year round, albeit fibre rather than a mix. Both horses are polite and respectful and I don't have any problem with mugging or biting.

It's true that horses will learn a behaviour very quickly indeed if there's something nice in it for them - it's possible to harness that to help develop behaviours we want too, and influence their attitudes to things for the better. If the rest of the relationship is on a decent footing then I've certainly not found it in the least bit harmful, but that's me and my horses, everyone is in a different position and what works for one doesn't always work for another.

Should add that I've got a completely normal and healthy relationship with food too :)
 
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