Horse Treat Debate.

Those of you who know us know how much we love our horses. We probably bore you to tears talking about them individually and their personalities. We know just what each horse likes best, Moon loves his peppermint treats, (that's peppermint, not spearmint, mind you!) Lady hates carrots, but loves most sweet treats, Maverick eats anything, Pharaoh likes carrtos and apples, Tigger loves Mrs. Patures horse cookies.

But you know all that. The question today is how best to give out the horse treats. As we all know, every minute spent with your horse is training, and that goes for treats as well. For the most part, we feed the horses treats right from our hands, (unless they each get a bucket with some grain.)

We have two trainers who are divided on this issue. One trainer insists that we should never feed treats from our hands--reasoning that the horses won't respect us if we don't use buckets. Another says it's just fine to hand out treats. We really like both of these trainers, and find that they agree on most other issues.

We should probably note that all of our horses have very nice ground manners. They're polite, don't try to push us around or run over anybody. When they're in the pasture we walk right up to them and catch them, with no grain. So, we're asking the question....what's the best way to give out treats?

Comments

[Elle]

Well at Copperhills, were I ride, you can actually get into pretty serious trouble if you are caught hand-feeding a horse. So there is that opinion and mine, i think its absolutely fine to hand feed a horse, they eat grass, and poop (occasionally) so whats wrong with hands?

[Aunt Amy]

As long as you don't rub oats all over your face for them to lick off, I think you're fine!

[Keri]

I actually posted this on a forum I am a member of, poll included, and people said both are fine. Generally if the horse is not pushy, and can respect your hands, then it is fine to do so from, the hands. However when dealing with a pushy horse, one lacking ground manners, and respect, it is a good idea to opt for a bucket until those manners are solidly established. But in addition to feeding a pushy horse treats in a bucket, it really should be done so in separation. I.e; place the bucket in it's stall or paddock before you bring him in, that way he doesn't have a chance to have his pushy behavior re-enforced.

[Sandra]

i think hand treats are fine as long as the horse dosn't start pushing you around. They have to be disciplined

[Transylvanian horseman]

I'd give a respectful horse a treat by hand every time. It's simpler, more natural, and it saves carrying a bucket around:) Plus, the horse doesn't end up associating buckets with treats. It can be awkward when you go into a field with a bucket, and two dozen horses crowd around seeking a treat. To be honest, I wonder whether barns wanting people to feed treats from a bucket has more to do with litigation over bitten fingers than training the horse.