Treat signs

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Beccahh

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this post is going to sound abit like nothing haha
but both my boys have started biting me and trying to search me for treats my old boy isnt to bad but my other one math has always been handy with his teeth and i managed to pretty much stop it but now hes terrible again and a few people on the yard think its fine to just give horses treats all the time and now my boys are stabled on the way to the field i think people just give them a treat on the way to the fields not realising. i have asked for them not to but they still do.im a cruel owner and my boys dont get treats alot i can make a bag last aleast a month :( but today crossed the line when i was turning out math he was frisking me for treats in my pocket and then bit me so iv got a lovely black brusie on my side. iv put signs up asking for no one to feed them anything due to allergies but there ignored :@ so does anyone have any ideas to stop them feeding treats to them. they both now are frisking people on the way to the field and also when others go to get horses in they come over due to being given treats in the field
sorry for the pointless post over somthing that seems so small
x
 
Good idea putting up the notices .... can you have a word with the yard manager?

I agree with you about other people feeding your horse ... I am the same - didn't like people feeding my last horse treats as you would be mugged the minute you walked into his stable. Luckily my current horse has a take it or leave it attitude towards treats .... much prefers a stroke or a scratch.
 
I would totally stop feeding them treats yourself - that is enough to ensure the behaviour continues whether others feed them or not. I would also put a very clear notice on their stables (DO NOT FEED should work fine!), aswell as letting the YO know that you are wanting to be strict on this.
I must admit I wouldn't dream of feeding someone elses horse!
 
yes mine were given a scratch and a fuss instead of treats and they were fine
sadly my yard doesnt have a yard owner 3 women run it and at the moment if there horse isnt concerned (sp) its not there problem :( but asoon as one of them bite someone else il have hell to pay maby i should just take a picture of my bruise and just put that up haha x
 
It blooming well isn't a small thing! How rude of people to ignore an instruction like that. Mugging is a real nuisance and such bad manners - plus you just know whose fault it would be if they took a nip out of someone else :rolleyes: It took a couple of weeks of a blanket ban on feeding from the hand to stop my new young boy being such a mugger and when someone gave him just a handful of nuts a month after I got him, we were back at square one for a few days. Blanket ban's still in place indefinitely - anything like a handful of grass or apple from a friend he gets off the floor or bucket only!

I'd speak to your yard owner - having clear instructions ignored isn't on and you've got now visible evidence that it's not helping...

ETA cross-posted with you - if you can, try speaking to other liveries directly in that case and/or replace signs with something like 'HORSE BITES - NO TREATS TO BE FED. THANK YOU.'
 
Arghhh it must drive you mad!! My youngster does it, i stopped giving him any treats, but my bl**dy mother does! As soon as we turn the horses out he goes straight over to her and will not move until she gives him something, ive told her many times not too feed him but she does! :@
 
This isn't a small thing - you have been bitten as a direct cause of them feeding treats. I would be angry if it was happening at a yard. I never give anyone else's horse a treat without checking first if it is ok. If I know a horse mugs people if given treats I would never dream of giving them anything.

I like the sign suggested above with a photo of your bruise. I hope it isn't too painful. :( Hope you get this sorted.
 
People feeding treats to my horse bloody annoys me - if i want her to have treats i will give them to her not somebody else! In fact the only treats she gets anyway are in her feed! At my last livery yard one woman used to go round all the stables giving out mints now my horse is not allowed mints so i put a big sign on her stable door saying - DO NOT FEED ME - I BITE!! this put a stop to her feeding my horse - at least while i was there anyway!;)
 
Have you spoken to the individuals who are feeding your horse? Some people respond better to that than to a sign. A face-to-face chat should make it unambiguously clear that your non-feeding rule applies to them and their behaviour.
 
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I had this problem on the yard, one of my horses can be quite savage with his biting and it went from full on attack mode with any form of food, even his dinner through to nipping if you had nothing for him. His previous owner always gave him treats and he always had food when she was doing stuff with him - haynet etc. Luckily all the people on the yard saw what he was like to kept a wide berth and finally the biting stopped and the obsession for food calmed down - apart from when he forgot himself.
Lovely new people on the yard turned up and had the stable next to his, he started biting again, I mentioned in passing without being direct that he is savage and will bite so be careful and what ever you do don't give him treats as it makes him worse. He then bit me and a friend. A few days later I was more direct with the people as although I hadn't caught them feeding treats, they feed their horses loads of treats. I said how me and my friend had been bitten hard and showed them the bruises.
A few days later they said 'oh it's all right if he has a polo' I said not unless you want your hand bitten off, they looked surprised and said 'surely not' he's never bitten us when we have given treats!! I then explained that no he wouldn't however when she didn't have the treats he would. It seemed that everytime they gave theirs one he would look out of the stable lovingly and they would give him one.

Needless to say the treats stopped and so did the biting.

My other horse has had lami, so I have a note on his stable saying even if I look hungry Do not Feed me as I am under a special diet and you will kill me. However I accept cuddles instead! Yet you still get so called knowledagble people trying to give them mints!!

Just be completely direct and tell them all not to feed your horse. My friend nearly had her finger severed in one of these biting moments, however it was partly her fault as she had been doing carrot stretches with him, one day she ran out of the carrots so he had her finger instead!
 
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