Treating your (RS) horse

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Biscotte

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I was wondering what people think about treating - carrot, apple, biscuity things - your horse before or after riding.

I ride from a pool of about 12 horses at my school, they are quite varied in terms of personality, willingness and ability.

I do really like preparing the horses, and feel they don't always get the care they might deserve. So I always try to give them a little treat after riding or if I'm passing through the stables.

It's no surprise they are really keen on getting a snack (except for the ones on some kind of restricted diet) but I wonder if it makes them see me as someone who just provides a bit of apple rather than someone who rides them, and so, as my coach has it imposes himself on them.

So what do people think: is it better to be sweet on my riding school nags or be more of a hard rider and less of a treater?
 
I would say rather than giving them treats which are a short term treat and can encourage bad habits learn the Masterson Method bladder meridian (search YouTube) and spend some time doing that with them. It will help you build a connection with them and should help them feel good 😊
 
I would never feed treats when passing through a stable, they could learn to bite. Mine get a carrot when taking bridle off and putting headcollar on, but this is my horse/mule. I would never feed treats to someone else's horses.
 
Don’t give treats to horses that you don’t own without asking permission. Some horses are much more polite about receiving treats than others. Other horses might start mugging and biting their handlers in the hope of getting their treats.

You can reward the horse in other ways. Treats often cause more hassle than they’re worth, I don’t give treats to any of mine, but they are still all happy to be caught and handled despite not being bribed.
 
I dont treat the RS horses I ride. My only riding injury (complete inexperience) was from getting bitten when treating an RS horse over the stable door.
Someone who doesnt give treats to horses is not a hard rider. But one can use a treat for a purpose. Once after a fall out hacking, I offered the mare I rode in those days a handful of grass and caught her when she came up to take it
 
I have always given my horses a treat when I get off after riding, tbh never had a problem with them mugging me. I also give a treat when I turn out but only after I have turned them towards the gate and taken their head collar off, it ensures they wait politely. The horse I was sharing was used to having a treat when his bridle went on, he always put his head down for it and he was always given a treat after riding. However, I would never treat anyone else's horse or pony because for me it's about rewarding the pattern of behaviour I want.
 
Giving a small treat doesn't make up for being a hard rider. Many horses will appreciate getting a decent groom and a bit of fuss from you (equally some won't enjoy it and I do think working horses need some complete downtime in their day). Treats can cause horses to "mug" people, particularly when they're being treated all the time by random people, so a lot of riding schools don't allow it. If allowed, I would probably give a treat straight after riding so the horse associates it with that.

For my own pony, I do give him treats, often in his feed, and he gets a feed after being ridden. Sometimes I will give him a treat "just because"- especially when cow parsley is growing in the hedgerows, because he absolutely loves that! I also know his itchy spots and will give him a long scratch when I feel he needs it. He knows he has to take anything from the hand gently and politely or he won't get another!

Horses absolutely get to know a range of different people, and they will associate all your interactions (positive and negative) with you.
 
Well there's a certainty range of views!

To be clear I certainly never feed random horses, these are horses I know and ride regularly - they all have their diets pinned on their stable doors including any warnings about biting or not feeding. The club is about 50 metres from my house so I often go there just to walk in the woods - it's in a city so green space is at a premium.

The massage thing looks interesting, most of the horses I ride like a good scratch especially now it's shedding time so I might try taking that further.

I suppose I feel the RS horses, though well enough cared for don't necessarily get a lot of love so a half an apple every now and again is not excessive. I think I'll try to only do it after riding as that seems to be better from an expectation point of view.
 
Biscotte said:
I was wondering what people think about treating - carrot, apple, biscuity things - your horse before or after riding.

I ride from a pool of about 12 horses at my school, they are quite varied in terms of personality, willingness and ability.

I do really like preparing the horses, and feel they don't always get the care they might deserve. So I always try to give them a little treat after riding or if I'm passing through the stables.

It's no surprise they are really keen on getting a snack (except for the ones on some kind of restricted diet) but I wonder if it makes them see me as someone who just provides a bit of apple rather than someone who rides them, and so, as my coach has it imposes himself on them.

So what do people think: is it better to be sweet on my riding school nags or be more of a hard rider and less of a treater?
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I always treated my horse, before a ride and after a ride. I used to do carrot stretches religiously with spillers treats or polos, and did the same with all of them.

Every single day my horse got an absolute minimum of carrots in his tea and quite often would get cabbage, swede and apple too, sometimes it would be celery, peach, or dates, usually whatever I could find in the super six at Aldi!

When we visit Lari (twice weekly) we always take him cut up carrots, swede, apple and two bananas. He gets half that visit and half mixed in his made up breakfast for the next day. My partner also gives him a couple of mint imperials although I'm trying to get him to cut him down. My horses have never mugged me, the only exception was Lari when I used to have to treat him to cooperate with 4 months of groundwork and he used to be quite nippy but we managed to nip that in the bud after a while.
 
It all depends really - personally I'd never feed treats to any animal that isn't mine unless I had the express permission of the animal's owner.

But providing that the riding school is aware that you like to give a treat to the horse you've ridden after your lesson, I can't see it being an issue. By letting the riding school know you like to reward your riding lesson horse after work, they can keep an eye on any potential new behaviour with regards to the treating etc, and I'm sure they'd be polite enough to let you know if the treating became an issue.

With regards to my own pony (and foal), I have different views. My pony came from a rough start so treats were used as positive reinforcement and I've slowly weaned them out, so now he only gets some treats when he's done a really fab job or learnt something new. When he doesn't get a treat he gets plenty of scratches and snuggles (a good itch on the withers and bum are the ultimate for sending him into a place of ecstasy aha!). That way he still always gets some sort of reward, but when he sees me coming with the polo tin, he knows that he's done an especially good job for that session.

My foal on the other hand has been raised so far with no treats being involved and I am going to be keeping it that way for a good while until we both know each other better. My concern with giving my foal treats (when I say foal I mean more like my 10 month old soon to be a yearling!) is that he could potentially learn to be nippy and as he is going to be about 16.2 when fully grown, I don't want a 500kg + horse throwing his weight around when he doesn't get a treat/ his way. However, he is a complete sucker for a good butt scratch or wither scratch, so I shall continue down this route for the mean time. This doesn't mean that I'm gunna rule out introducing him to treats (so that he has a really high value association with them), I'm just going to wait for a while.

All in all, I'd be proactive and let the riding school know what you are doing so they can keep an eye on the horses waistlines and also their behaviour around food :)
 
9tails said:
Don't be a hard rider. Full stop. You wouldn't be on their back but for their good nature.
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Sorry by this I mean doing the minimum for them as regards grooming and tacking up, just riding them then getting off again, not seeing them as a creature with it's own feelings, capacity for pain and desires.

I try very hard to go with my horse, use the minimum of reins, crops and kicks, though as a beginner no doubt I make a lot of mistakes.
 
nagblagger said:
I would never feed treats when passing through a stable, they could learn to bite. Mine get a carrot when taking bridle off and putting headcollar on, but this is my horse/mule. I would never feed treats to someone else's horses.
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Totally agree. We have one pony who is perfectly polite and has never had a weight problem. We have another pony who has had laminitis and can be nippy. I do not want someone else randomly feeding them anything.
 
Biscotte said:
Sorry by this I mean doing the minimum for them as regards grooming and tacking up, just riding them then getting off again, not seeing them as a creature with it's own feelings, capacity for pain and desires.

I try very hard to go with my horse, use the minimum of reins, crops and kicks, though as a beginner no doubt I make a lot of mistakes.
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What exactly do you mean by "use the minimum of reins"? Slopping along with no contact isn't safe or sensible.
 
So breaking it down - I think you want a) a relationship with the horse, b) to be viewed positively by the horse, c) to ride in a sympathetic kind way and d) to give the horse a moment of pleasure/enjoyment/care.

As one of many riders, the horses won't really connect with you and they certainly won't linkl whether you do/don't treat them with their view of your as their rider. But horses suss you out the instant you enter their awearness in positive or negative ways. So I think connecting with them on the grond before you ride is a great way to start a session. Take time to greet them, tack them up slowly and in a gentle, effective way not just ramming the stuff, keeping energy positive and body language inviting, giving them a scratch, leading them out, taking some time over all that etc will make a positive impact on the horse. As will then riding with sensitivity and feel which is a skill to master over a lifetime. Whether you also give them a polo or 3 is not that imprortant to them compared to how you are with them. I see no harm at all in treating horses unless there is a reason not to - nipping/mugging etc. But views differ on that.

Well done on not seeing the horse as a furry bike just there to enjoy as sport!
 
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