Other people giving your horse treats

ditto..I too would be furious.I once rented a patch for the winter to put my COPD cob in so she could be turned out more. I kept finfing empty apple and carrot bags and then my friend caught a woman feeding her! I put up a notice saying ''do not feed. Pony on a special diet and medication'' that did stop it. Since our lami scare..Id go nuts if it happened again!
 
The fact that she's leaving rubbish is not good either but that's beside the point I suppose.
 
It does annoy me to an extent, but not enough to make a fuss about. I don't feed him treats at all (unless I am bribing/training him to do something - like putting on suncream) and he hasn't started getting nippy etc. If he did, I would put a sign on the door.[/QUOTE]

The voice of reason, amongst some pretty OTT comments IMO.In a yard environment i think we should try and be chilled in our attitudes if at all possible.
 
It does annoy me to an extent, but not enough to make a fuss about. I don't feed him treats at all (unless I am bribing/training him to do something - like putting on suncream) and he hasn't started getting nippy etc. If he did, I would put a sign on the door.

The voice of reason, amongst some pretty OTT comments IMO.In a yard environment i think we should try and be chilled in our attitudes if at all possible.[/QUOTE]

*splutters coke over keyboard* - Sorry but I would be furious. My horse believe it or not is actually allergic to carrots, has had issues with various allergies in the past and is cereal intolerant. I have a notice on her stable door explaining this and people respect this. End of the day if said horse became ill then the owner would be paying the price.

I personally would have no issues with someone giving my horse a titbit, if permission was sought from me beforehand
 
Sorry, but its not OTT when it comes to a horse developing reactions from allergies or developing laminitis and owners paying the price. You can be perfectly chilled out on a yard attitude wise with polite requests and signs on doors.
 
It does annoy me to an extent, but not enough to make a fuss about. I don't feed him treats at all (unless I am bribing/training him to do something - like putting on suncream) and he hasn't started getting nippy etc. If he did, I would put a sign on the door.

The voice of reason, amongst some pretty OTT comments IMO.In a yard environment i think we should try and be chilled in our attitudes if at all possible.[/QUOTE]

I partly agree - other than his nipping getting worse, I don't care if people fuss and pet and treat rascal - he loves the attention and doesnt suffer adversely. If I didn't have silver I would perhaps find it a little OTT.

However, my pony escaped for a couple of hours on Monday night into a field with longer grass. She now has open bleeding sores on both eyes, behind ears, on her heels and her tail. Earlier in the year she came down with laminitis after stealing a bucket of happy hoof - which is "laminitis friendly".

People do not have a "right" to feed others horses and I spend nights in tears and worrying because I can't make her feel better or itch less - all because she ate the wrong thing.
 
We had this conversation tonight. Non horsey friend takes her daughter to see some ponies along the road from them on a regular basis and gives them apples and carrots.
Horsey mate says 'you shouldn't do that as some owners don't like it as it makes the horsey nippy and expectant'
I said -' and some dont like it cause it makes them fat!'

I was treating my own horse and friend didn't have a problem with me treating hers aswell for things like applying fly spray, putting rug on, etc. Sadly this has backfired on me as friends horse will now stalk me around the field and as he's herd leader, I run after my horse who runs away from me because the Arab is chasing me for food. I now don't treat him at all but I had permission to do it. Wouldn't have done it otherwise as although I don't see it as a huge deal myself, I appreciate others can have allergies, etc. and respect that.
 
I think the problem is mostly around people who dont have or keep horses and they dont always understand about horse diets and feeding issues. Its difficult to explain to them sometimes that animals in general dont need treats and giving them sometimes can make them ill or become pushy. We all need to remember that people in general are not all horsey people and they genuinely think they are not doing any harm so with that in mind we should take the time to explain in a civilised manner and try to educate rather than castigate. I am fortunate enough not have my horses on a yard so dont have to get mixed up with all the politics and mind numbing banality that crops up from time to time on yards. However, i do get passers by stopping and shoving things down my horse mouth they mean well but when you explain they say sorry because the genuinely didnt know and signs do make an enormous difference.
 
I don't think it's limited to non-horsey people. I used to share a field and Joy always came to greet whoever turned up. One lady told me she would give joy a mint to get her to go away! I put her straight and explained how to use her body language to increase her bubble size. She had no problems after that.
 
I think the problem is mostly around people who dont have or keep horses and they dont always understand about horse diets and feeding issues. Its difficult to explain to them sometimes that animals in general dont need treats and giving them sometimes can make them ill or become pushy. We all need to remember that people in general are not all horsey people and they genuinely think they are not doing any harm so with that in mind we should take the time to explain in a civilised manner and try to educate rather than castigate. I am fortunate enough not have my horses on a yard so dont have to get mixed up with all the politics and mind numbing banality that crops up from time to time on yards. However, i do get passers by stopping and shoving things down my horse mouth they mean well but when you explain they say sorry because the genuinely didnt know and signs do make an enormous difference.

Absolutely agree with this. I remember being that pony mad child who would buy polos and apples for unknown horses when I desperately wanted one of my own.

I keep my neds at home now but Visitors often bring them treats and I know that if I explained why they couldn't have them they would understand. I think if I was on a yard I would put a polite notice on the door.
 
You should have every right as an owner to ask people not to treat your horse and expect it to be respected. There are several reasons why it might not be a good idea. I always ask before treating someone else's horse, unless it's one I know well and know the owner doesn't mind.

That said my two get treats from the yard staff and other liveries at times but I don't mind, both are polite about it and treats are part of our normal routine and training at times too.
 
Id be annoyed to, I have a strict policy at my yard no tibits to be fed to any horse yours include if they want to give them treats they must bring in and put in a bucket, then no nipping anyone
 
I'm sticking with my no treats policy, especially at the moment that one of the horses has just come in with laminitis. No carrots and no apples for a couple of months now for Honey, going to keep a strict eye, there might not be lots of grazing, but they can still get laminitis! Was a wake up call, so lets hope people respect that i have asked for them not to give Honey treats, i really don't want a huge vets bill at the moment, and do not want her to suffer!
 
When I had my old horse, I didn't mind children giving her the odd polo, but in a round about way would say she isn't allowed anymore yet these children were older so had more understanding of the matter.

However, once I went up to find a mum, dad and girl about 11 years old stood on the roadside, leaning over the gate and feeding her apple after apple from their carrier bag!! :sluggish: and my horse was on strict grazing as was prone to laminitis.

What on Earth they thought they were doing I don't know but when I got speaking to them, they had told me 'they were horsey too' - i'm sorry but if you were 'horsey' and had as much knowledge as they made out i'm pretty sure they wouldn't have been doing that!
 
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