Feeding, do you handle your horses when they are eating?

millitiger said:
Do you leave your horse v.hungry all day then? :confused:

Mine have adlib hay or are on grass all day and night so shouldn't be ravenous when they get their bucket feed.

Also, I'm not my horse's 'other half', our relationship isn't 50/50.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%!

It would never occur to me not to handle my horses if I needed to at feed time. I always have to get things done as swiftly as possible, so if it is more efficient for me to change rugs/pick out feet/groom/tack up/plait whilst they are eating their breakfast or tea I get on and do it and I have never had any problems with agression or anxiousness from them. Why would I - they know I am not going to eat it or take it from them? In actual fact they are perfectly happy to share buckets with each other if they are being fed out in the field. As it happens I am generally busy doing water buckets/mucking out/feeding my chickens so they are generally finished by the time I get to them.
 
When I first got one of mine he used to pace around he's bucket and hover back legs. I've left completely alone and all mine are fed and left he soon realised no one wanted to steal he's feed and I changed he's rug over the other evening as it was getting dark and he didn't move a muscle, but generally I leave them alone in peace and quiet to enjoy there feeds :)
 
I generally leave them in peace to eat but I do expect to do whatever I like while they are eating.

EG one will not let the clippers near him unless he has a feed. Put his head in a bucket and you can do whatever you like.

If I feed them loose in the paddock and there are other horses present then everyone is left well alone.
 
I should add that my horse is "left in peace" approximately 21-23 hours per day. If I happen to be there while she happens to have her tea, I don't see a problem (and neither does she) with her having to deal.
 
Mine are out 24/7 and fed in the field so I quite often pick out feet and put on rugs if required.They are not bothered at all by this.

Feed time was the only time I handled my foal, I used this time to get him used to having feet picked up and handled all over. I tend not to fuss him much now but he's totally unfazed if I do :) At one point he wouldn't eat unless I was stood next to him, bless him :o
 
If time is tight then he is happy to go along with whatever. He would rather I picked his feet or rugged him up while he is munching rather than looking longingly at a tea bucket outside and waiting for him. If I am not in a rush I can pop in when he has finished and is onto his haylage, but he has never bothered about it and is very relaxed with people around him when eating.
 
I'm not really sure it matters what you do to be honest but I don't think it's acceptable for a horse to object aggressively to you doing something with them or being near them when they're being fed.

As said, ours are out 24/7 the majority of the year so are eating for most of those 24 hours of the day. If they are in the field eating grass, does that mean I should leave them in peace? I'd never get to ride! ;)

If i am doing something new with a young horse then i will reward them with a treat sometimes so they associate what I am doing with something nice. The same would apply to feeding in my opinion, associate a human with something positive/pleasurable is surely good. Ok, so I wouldn't be jumping on and off their back or anything daft but they shouldn't feel stressed about me being there.

I got a rescue dog last year and, although I have never had any problems with her being fiood aggressive, I make sure I can stroke her whilst she's eating without her getting aggressive or fearing I'll take it away. I guess I like to instill that same confidence in my horses.
 
fburton said:
I reckon it's best to avoid altogether the horse perceiving your presence as a pecking order issue. I definitely don't want horses to consider me a rival horse (of any ranking) - that way lies madness. That's one reason I leave them in peace when they're eating high-value grub.
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood what I'm getting at here. The point about the herd was just to visualise bad manners around food. You are not a "rival horse", but there is always a heirarchy, and that's what horses work on. If you watch owners with their horses, you have two combinations. One where the owner leads, the other where the horse is in control. Don't get me wrong, it's a partnership, but it's much like relationships between people - there's always a dominant one. If the horse respects you as this (which IMO, is paramount to good manners), he'll allow you to be in close proximity while he's eating. If he feels he's in charge, however, he's well at liberty to shoo you away from food, be that by face-pulling, biting, or double barrelling you.

Everyone will have different opinions and ideas, mine works for me. I have a horse who respects me and loves to please, and I have no issues in handling him at any given time.
 
I do loads to my Horse whilst shes eating :o not once has she ever tried to bite or kick or even lay her ears back.

I pick out her hooves, pig oil her legs, groom her, change rugs etc..

My tack room is at the back of my stable, I am quite often wondering in and out so wouldn't be able to if she was food aggressive.
 
fburton said:
I reckon it's best to avoid altogether the horse perceiving your presence as a pecking order issue. I definitely don't want horses to consider me a rival horse (of any ranking) - that way lies madness. That's one reason I leave them in peace when they're eating high-value grub.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but that is a first class ticket to getting double barrelled for being perceived as a threat.

*You* should be at the top of the pecking order. At all times. No exceptions.
 
I'm not convinced the theory they let you near if they respect you as the dominant one makes much sense. I know plenty of horses that couldn't care less about the owner around them while eating, who regularly demonstrate that they're in charge in other areas. Likewise I know plenty of high ranking horses who will allow low ranking, long standing herd members into very close proximity to their food. Imo the reason is because they are so far below them in the pecking order they aren't worthy of being considered a threat, so using the herd theory you could equally say that allowing you close by to food is a sign of disrespect.
I've also known horses who weren't at all dominant become very protective of food. And very dominant horses who weren't at all food orientated not give a monkeys who came near them. If you watch a mixed group of horses when you hay in the field, its not the case that the boss one just chases everything else away. Maybe with a regularly changing or small herd. But not with a larger fixed group with the natural herd mix of horses.
 
"Sorry, but that is a first class ticket to getting double barrelled for being perceived as a threat.

*You* should be at the top of the pecking order. At all times. No exceptions."

That's the odd thing though isn't it? Fburton is an experienced horse handler, and somehow manages to avoid getting double-barrelled regularly as far as I know, even when working with stallions.
As I said above, I also leave an anxious horse alone when he's eating, and yet mine are the nicest horses to be around you could wish for. Very safe as well, even in the open field in a howling gale, as I'm about to prove yet again... Funny isn't it how somehow the people who tend to take the least confrontational approach with horses seem to have the least worries about violence being directed towards them by the beasts.
:-))
 
p.s. I'm carefully avoiding using words like dominant or aggressive because I sincerely believe that people often jump to conclusions about the way these horses behave at feed time. I so often tends to be taken as attacking, aggression, dominance or whatever, when possibly it's more accurate to say that the behaviour stems from some sort of anxiety or stress and the horse is just expressing that.
 
Mine likes to chuck some of his food at me as I walk away - is this a dominance thing or is he saying hey Mum you can have some too? :D

I can do anything I like around him whilst he is eating if I chooseto by the way although normally I try to leave him be. I can stand there holding a stirrer over the corner of the manger so he can't toss it out but as soon as I turn away he throws some at me / on the floor - drives me mad as it has very exepensive Cortaflex in it! :o
 
I leave my lad to it...his couple of handfuls of chaff do not last long so there is no harm in leaving him to it. I have to say that people in the crappy office I work in sometimes come over and interrupt my dinner - even when I am eating and it annoys the hell out of me...so I tend to leave people and animals to eat in peace.
 
Tinypony said:
Funny isn't it how somehow the people who tend to take the least confrontational approach with horses seem to have the least worries about violence being directed towards them by the beasts.
:-))
Click to expand...

I don't have to worry about mine hurting me, they have impeccable manners but understand the concept that I'm top dog. I'm not too fond of the idea of 1/2 tonne + of horse having a superiority complex :)
 
if a horse is stabled I will handle it at feed time when its settled at the yard and if its fine with that I leave it alone unless its necesary for some reason to handle it. the foals and youngsters in the field do get their front legs handled at feedtime as its the easiest time to do it and once they learn to ignore it I only check that they are still ok every couple of weeks (ok in ok to be touched at feedtime as they are checked at least twice a day ;))
 
Tinypony said:
Funny isn't it how somehow the people who tend to take the least confrontational approach with horses seem to have the least worries about violence being directed towards them by the beasts.
:-))
Click to expand...

But I don't have any worries at all about violence being directed towards me by any of mine that I currently have, or have previously had? I wouldn't say that i take a confrontational approach to them, but they are very clear about the fact that I am in charge.
 
i remove rugs, groom and generally fuss all over Chico when he is eating his bucket feed. It's the only time he is still and he doesnt seem bothered.
 
I leave him eating hard feed, he gets emotional about it but would expect and do stuff with him when he is eating his hay.
 
my horse and both ponies can be handled when eating should I need to (I don't have unlimited time!) but I tend to let them eat in peace when possible. In a field in a group feeding situation then no, strange horses also no.
 
Tinypony said:
p.s. I'm carefully avoiding using words like dominant or aggressive because I sincerely believe that people often jump to conclusions about the way these horses behave at feed time. I so often tends to be taken as attacking, aggression, dominance or whatever, when possibly it's more accurate to say that the behaviour stems from some sort of anxiety or stress and the horse is just expressing that.
Click to expand...

totally agree that often it's a stress thing over feed time rather than real aggression, my mare will weave in the field when she sees the bucket coming, everyone see's that as a stress indicator but assumes her spikiness is aggression:confused: She does respect me because i can move her off her food if i want to, fact is i don't feel the need to ;)
I like to handle my horses in a way that suits me and them rather than how the masses think i should:)
 
I don't think horses think of it as breakfast or dinner, do they??

To me it is no different if they eating hay or grass, it's just something to eat and they should (and are) happy/comfortable with me doing whatever around them.
Mine have always been ok because it's just something other than grass and in a bucket rather than on the floor.
 
Absolutely yes. I dont think it should make a difference if I am around or not. If it was a hard feed ie after a ride I would put it down and probably go(cirumstantial) but of course if I needed to fiddle around I would expect them to let me do whatever with or without feed.

I always gave them hay when the farrier came as it gave me a good chance to over haul them ie tail trim and all other cleaing as ours live out. But most definitely yes. Good manners all the time if I anyone is around them.
 
I usually do all rug changing and grooming etc first and both of mine are fed before I leave at night and are fed before I am up in the morning. Both of mine move back out the way when they get their dinner and I tend to leave them to it when eating. If I needed I can do anything with my older boy when he has his tea or not however with my yearling who is 100% to handle in every other situation she changes when her tea is involved. After some handling with her dinner I can now touch her all over, pick up her feet, change her rug, skip out her stable etc and the only thing we are still having issues with is her moving her bum out of the way while she is eating, she will kick out which is out of character for her. We are working on this issue but I find it strange as she has never not had her bucket, has never been deprived of food and has never been overly annoyed whilst eating. Any tips are greatly welcome but we are getting there!
 
Have never really thought about it to be honest!

All horses I've had have never been possessive, I used to feed one mare on the yard (everyone else was out) and often moved her and feed, she wasn't allowed to eat whilst I moved her to another place. She knew she'd get the feed in the end, it's just good manners if I'm honest.

Youngster gets brushed, rugged, mane/tail pulled, feet picked out when being fed, fail to see how it's different to having a haynet apart from the fact that she enjoys the taste more :confused:
 
Mine have always been brushed, rugged, derugged and hoofpicked while eating as I want my neds to be as handle-able as possible in all situations.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top