How many treats a day?

Don't tend to use carrots or apples as they are quite high in sugar, and apples in particular are a bit too 'high value' for mine so they stop concentrating on what I'm asking them to do if I use those. I use herbal hay pellet things.

How many in a day depends on whether they are working and what they are doing. They only get treats as a reward, never as a distraction or 'just because' as that encourages bratty behaviour and biting.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I use hay cobs as rewards and give them when I deem it appropriate. Many commercial 'treats' are full of sugar and rubbish.
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Same here, I like haycobs. If we're not up to much, they don't tend to get treats, maybe a couple and a scratch if I'm just checking they're alive and feeling particularly altruistic hah. If I'm teaching them something or need a bribe, I feed them one at a time as needed to reinforce the behaviour I want.

I'm guessing you're young OP (just from the amount and content of the threads you're posting). You may find it helpful to get your hands on a few Horse Care Books/Manuals. Have a look on amazon, as you can get lots of very good book second hand for a couple of £. They're a very good source of information and handy to refer back to!
 
Nasicus said:
Same here, I like haycobs. If we're not up to much, they don't tend to get treats, maybe a couple and a scratch if I'm just checking they're alive and feeling particularly altruistic hah. If I'm teaching them something or need a bribe, I feed them one at a time as needed to reinforce the behaviour I want.

I'm guessing you're young OP (just from the amount and content of the threads you're posting). You may find it helpful to get your hands on a few Horse Care Books/Manuals. Have a look on amazon, as you can get lots of very good book second hand for a couple of £. They're a very good source of information and handy to refer back to!
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Thanks, already got loads of books but also want to back up the info with peoples views and experiences! Thanks!
 
None.

Not quite true. A few other liveries give my horse the odd carrot, but it means she acts like an obnoxious tool to them, not me, so that's ok because they don't have to ride or handle her. She's a smart enough to horse to know who's worth hassling and who isn't. If using positive reinforcement operant conditioning training to get horse to do something she is otherwise very much against (i.e. load into a small trailer) then as many as it takes. But for day-to-day stuff, as I said, none.
 
Depends on the horse.
One of mine is soooooo polite and very insecure. I give her treats quite often, as a reward, if she looks anxious but stays with me, when I feel like it.. she never changes to become mugging and tbf it doesn't matter if she has extra grub. I have grass nuts, hay cubes and before work she has a sugar lump as it makes her chew the bit 😉

I have another who gets obsessed with treats and turns into jaws if you are too liberal with them so I tend not to give any.. but . I've just started clicker training her and the difference is noticeable straight away, first lesson was not to mug me. Really useful thing to teach her.
 
Hmm that sounds useful mp as mine can be rude with them.

Handful of low sugar ones used as a reward but mostly from habit when he was fiddly with the bit and wouldn’t stand still to mount. He now does both but it’s kind of a routine for us.
 
Definitely worth a go, I was apprehensive about starting a way of training that was very dependent on edible rewards at the start, she's bitten me in the past in her enthusiasm for pocket goodies 😂 but so far, so excellent... I can give her a single grass pellet between my fingers which is unheard of with her.
 
I give carrots. I have no idea how much is too much per day. I'm not generous enough with them to have to worry about it:p
 
What do you want to treat for? What is the rest of the diet like, and the horse's condition score? All of those things affect what you might want to give as a treat and how often. If you give lots of tidbits without purpose it can lead to the horse becoming bargy and nippy. They can't really understand why yesterday they got a treat and today they didn't. Plus if you have a horse who is older, cushingoid, on the plump side or sugar sensitive you want to avoid high calorie treats
 
I've always taken something to the field to catch mine & also as a little well done after he's ridden - its personal preference. He usually has just the Bailey fibre cubes but I do take up carrots, grapes (the absolute favourite) & polo's.
 
Well I'll admit I give treats 'just because'. The shetty is a bugger and always nosing my pockets so he doesn't get them very often, but it doesn't cause any issues with my mare. Most people I know give treats just for the hell of it tbh..
 
Well I am going against the grain here, I have always given my horses treats and never found it leads to bad manners or biting. Mine get a treat after every session in the arena when I dismount, or if I come out of the dressage arena after a test or the showring, same if we go for a day ride with lunch they get a treat at lunchtime too usually a couple of apples out my saddlebags My two both love peppermints and Liquorice Allsorts! I would say the amount of sugar is negligble to a 650kg horse!
 
tankgirl1 said:
Well I'll admit I give treats 'just because'. The shetty is a bugger and always nosing my pockets so he doesn't get them very often, but it doesn't cause any issues with my mare. Most people I know give treats just for the hell of it tbh..
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A lot of people think they are giving them 'just because', but actually they are rewarding the response to a command - if you say the horse's name and it looks at you then that's a learned response and sometimes that yields the horse a treat ;). And being able to get a horse's attention can be mighty useful. Humans are quite habitual, so their treat giving is often more structured and in response to certain behaviour displayed by the horse than they think it is.
 
As a postscript, I went for a dressage lesson today with a trainer who competes very successfully at Grand Prix. I was watching the lesson before mine in which she was training her daughter who was riding one of their homebreds passage. The mare was trying hard and when she did well they would stop and give her a breather and a treat. To me it showed kindness and compassion.
 
silv said:
As a postscript, I went for a dressage lesson today with a trainer who competes very successfully at Grand Prix. I was watching the lesson before mine in which she was training her daughter who was riding one of their homebreds passage. The mare was trying hard and when she did well they would stop and give her a breather and a treat. To me it showed kindness and compassion.
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Yes, I never really understand the 'I absolutely never give my horse treats' thing being so prevalent in horses. I'm pretty sure people aren't nearly so squeamish about using treats to reward dogs. I've met many an amazing horseman/woman who was never found working a horse either in hand or ridden without a pocket full of treats, so I've never really understood it.
 
DabDab said:
Yes, I never really understand the 'I absolutely never give my horse treats' thing being so prevalent in horses. I'm pretty sure people aren't nearly so squeamish about using treats to reward dogs. I've met many an amazing horseman/woman who was never found working a horse either in hand or ridden without a pocket full of treats, so I've never really understood it.
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I own a cob. If I had a pocket full of treats he wouldn’t be able to concentrates on anything else. I tried tricker training once, he got so excited about the treat that he pretty much went into a frenzy when he knew I had them and was unable to follow basic commands that he usually does. I always know if he’s been fed by hand because he’ll go straight for my hand when I arrive (he’s not the cleverest). It does mean that i have something that will always get his attention so if he won’t be caiught etc, but he’s not a nice person if they are a regular feature.
 
I give any leftover fruits or veggies that are suitable. This could be strawberry tops, carrot tops or peelings, celery or cucumber ends, lettuce cores or leftovers, the odd slice of orange or peach, apple cores or a mushy banana. Whatever I have. They don't get it daily and they don't get a lot at a time. Equivalent of maybe 5 carrots a week each I would say.
 
DabDab said:
Yes, I never really understand the 'I absolutely never give my horse treats' thing being so prevalent in horses. I'm pretty sure people aren't nearly so squeamish about using treats to reward dogs. I've met many an amazing horseman/woman who was never found working a horse either in hand or ridden without a pocket full of treats, so I've never really understood it.
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If I routinely fed my lot treats I would be permanently mobbed by Shetlands and skint 😂 I have too many of the buggers! I do have a bag of treats that someone gave me way back in August that I still have half of. They get used for the odd days that Gray decides that going to bed isn't what he wants to do and having another 10min hooley round the field is the best idea on the planet! Trouble is he only does this on days that I really need him in as I am running late and of course those are the days that he isn't very food orientated so even a bag of sweeties isn't going to get him in!

I seee Equerry sell 15/20kg bags of treats now. If that doesn't encourage people to over treat its a miracle! Its a never ending sack! I say this but I will have just this very bag at the secretaries desk at the show I am running in July so people can grab a handful for their horse 😂😂 hypocrite alert 😂
 
I like the giant Equerry sacks, I have loads of small containers so I fill those up to keep them fresh and I shared the last bag with a friend. A big tub up at the oldies' field, one in the lorry, one on the yard.... they soon find handy homes ;)
 
meleeka said:
I own a cob. If I had a pocket full of treats he wouldn’t be able to concentrates on anything else. I tried tricker training once, he got so excited about the treat that he pretty much went into a frenzy when he knew I had them and was unable to follow basic commands that he usually does. I always know if he’s been fed by hand because he’ll go straight for my hand when I arrive (he’s not the cleverest). It does mean that i have something that will always get his attention so if he won’t be caiught etc, but he’s not a nice person if they are a regular feature.
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Oh there are absolutely some horses that you can't use them with, and others that aren't remotely interested really, and others (like a couple of mine), where you have to be careful about how and when you use them (that's why I don't use apple for example, as it's too exciting - the treats I use are basically what they get fed anyway). But I find the culture in horses of never treating on principle rather than for a specific reason a little odd.
 
I do wonder about those people who say their horses get nippy/muggy if they are hand-fed treats. I have always used treats of some kind or another to encourage desirable behaviour. Every horse we have ever had has fully understood that it is the human who is in charge of the treats. We have had plenty of food oriented horses but they have always known to be polite about treats.
 
PAS my muggy one has obviously had a very chequered history so I don't know what her earlier handling was like. I have 3 others that aren't like it, so I very much think it is her, rather than me, that is the cause ;)

She can get so excited about them that she will nip you by mistake, whereas the one in the stable next to her is the most delicate careful horse despite being equally food oriented. Agree that it's definitely something you can improve though, Miss Chompy is looking quite pleased with herself about learning to wait patiently and then she gets the goodies :)
 
DabDab said:
Yes, I never really understand the 'I absolutely never give my horse treats' thing being so prevalent in horses. I'm pretty sure people aren't nearly so squeamish about using treats to reward dogs. I've met many an amazing horseman/woman who was never found working a horse either in hand or ridden without a pocket full of treats, so I've never really understood it.
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The Spanish Riding School riders have sugar pockets in their coats.............
 
to add, I know some people would simply never treat a nippy horse but to me, it's such a useful tool. I actually taught her to expect a treat when being turned out, for instance, because it broke the cycle of her zooming off as soon as she was released which is such a dangerous habit. She likes to stand for a bit of fuss now instead and then moseys off calmly.
 
Most muggy behaviour I've seen develop irl has been as an upshot of using treats as a distraction. So horse is impatient with farrier, and instead of asking them to stand quietly and then giving a reward when they respond to your request, treats are just sort shoved under their nose while they are still knobbing about, to try to get them to stand quietly.
 
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