Tuesday Training Tip Number 5. Feeding your horse treats.

    Todays TTT comes from my friend Sloane and her horse Blackjack.  She asked me to write about giving treats to horses because she has seen horses be very pushy with owners who were giving them treats all the time.  I know it may not seem like a training tip.  Just trust me, it is.  A common mistake made by people around horses is feeding horse treats at the wrong time or in the wrong way.  This may not seem like a big deal.
    Here is a list of problems that can all be caused by offering treats incorrectly.
-Nipping
-Crowding
-Stomping
-Severe biting
-Kicking
-Nuisance Behavior
    It is sad how many horses have hurt people severely and been put down because of bad treating habits.

    Because of the issues caused by treating many trainers and owners follow a strict no-treat policy.
    Others still offer treats every time they pass their horse.
    Food has great motivational value for horses.  Horses will almost always work better if they have promise of food for performance.  However, if the horse is busy mobbing its owner for food it wont apply itself fully to its work.
  This is how I personally control treats with my horse.

When I treat my horse.

    1.  Treats are only offered when my horse is out of my personal space and not looking for a treat.

    2.  I only give treats after my horse has done something.  I don't give treats just for treats sake.

    3.  This sort of goes hand in hand with the last two.  I don't walk up to my horse and give her a treat as the very first thing.   This could be a good approach at first if you are dealing with a shy or abused horse.  In select cases you want to make sure that your approach to the horse is a very pleasant thing.  When your horse likes you it is not a good approach because it is conditioning them that you mean food.  And if you always mean food they will want to be all over you to get more.  This lowers you to the equivalent of a vending machine in their eyes.  As I said before, food has great motivational value.  If their only motivation is to get food then they wont be ready to respect or obey you they will only be thinking about food.

    

How I give treats.

    1.  I very rarely hand feed treats.  By very rarely I mean about once every two weeks.  Because I'm not always carrying treats around and giving them to my horse she doesn't get in my way and push me around because she thinks she is going to get one.  When she does get a treat it is out of the blue and she enjoys it but doesn't go pushing me around for more cause she knows she's not going to get them.

    2.  I feed treats after each training session.  After a training session I always give her some grain as a treat.  If she has been especially good I will add some horse candy to it.  I put this into a feed tub of some sort in her stall.  Rio learns to work harder because she knows she will get food at the end.  She knows the food comes from me but it doesn't come directly from my body (pocket or hand) so she just hurries to get to her stall instead of getting all over me.

   3.  When I take her grain in I don't let her come right up to me and eat it.  Rio can be quite pushy/ aggressive about her food.  She wants it right away and has tried to pin me against the stall wall to kick me so she could get her food faster.  This is something we work on every time.  When I come in with the food she must either back up or stand still before she gets the food.  If you feed in a tub that you put on the ground you can place the tub in front of the horses chest and tell them to back up. After they back up quite a ways you can put the tub on the ground and let them eat.  After long enough, when you bring food to your horse they should back up instead of coming towards you. Since I usually feed Rio in a stationary trough I have to take the following approach which is scarier but more effective in the long run.  I go into her stall and dump the food but I stand by it guarding it.  (If your horse is already pushy or it makes you feel safer you can take a longe whip in with you when you do this.)  Every time she comes towards it to get it I jump towards her and startle her.  This is what other horses do to each other when they are eating.  I stand by the food and act threatening any time she comes near it until she gives up and stands still.  As soon as she gives up trying to get it I walk away from the food and she is allowed to eat it.  By going through this routine every time I feed her she respects me as the dominant one and lets me "eat" first.  Thus eliminating her charging me for the food.

   If your horse has serious food aggression issues please contact a professional trainer.  Aggression caused by food is one of the worst types of aggression in my opinion.