What Treats Do You Give To Your Horses?

AprilBlue

AprilBlue

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i was just looking at a recent thread about whether you do give your horses any treats ect. i was wondering, what treats do you give your horses? and what are your horses favourite treats?
whenever i try to teach my pony tricks, i use likit snacks as they are very small and can be used as a small reward for doing something. here is a link:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Likit-Snaks-500g-Apple-Cinnamon-Horse-Pony-Stable-Toys-Treats-Reward-/181042287667?pt=UK_SportingGoods_StableAccessories_SM&hash=item2a26f61433 i think they come in 2 flavours: apple and cinnamon, and mint and eucalyptus. my pony LOVES them lol :P
i always give my pony a small carrot when i finish riding as a reward also.
i heard that apparently, if you give your horse too many apples, it may get colic? is that true, and if it is, then why?
so what do you give your horse?
 
I was spending a fortune on treats. Now I just buy a 20 kg sack of bailey's high fibre nuggets. They are the same size as the expensive herbal treats and last an absolute age.
 
I do the same!

As for feeding too many apples. Unless your horse is especially susceptible you need to feed an awful lot of apples to cause colic, as in barrowloads not a dozen.
 
I VERY occasionally chuck a bag of value carrots in the trolley when shopping but otherwise I am very mean and don't feed treats. Poor Marjorie. If she could use a phone she'd be complaining about a breach of her equine rights.
 
Sugar free polos!! A tube fits nicely in my pocket and he doesnt make lots of nasty coloured slime when he gets them when he is ridden- ive found giving him polos from the saddle helps him to relax- chewing and saliva stimulates endorphin release and keeps him calm in sticky situation- especially in the warm up at shows :)
 
Erm just some herbal brand from tack shop, or carrots. I only use them to do their stretches with after work though so as to avoid them being nippy etc. And I don't feed them over the door either
 
i buy a bag of those nuggets too. i sometimes put them in a treat ball, i have bought a sack of carrots which I've been hiding in the hay nets but i don't often buy carrots.
very rarely ill take them an apple
 
herbal treats £1 a kg which i dont mind but i dont feed by hand as i have to horses who have a tendancy to bite so it just goes in their treat balls :) if not i get a 25kg sack of carrots for 25p from a friend as theyare the wrong shape and size for supermarkets so i get them instead ;)
 
Too many :o

He never knew what a treat was till I got him, still doesnt understand what to do with a polo mint or any other mints :p

He can be a bit nervous, ive found treats are a fun way to distract him from scary things and keep his attention on me.

He gets 2 carrots when im up, some spiller herb treats, and some licks of his lickit :)

and yes... I do bribe him a bit :p :o well... the way I see it is if he associates things that are scary like mounting blocks with nice treats, they wont be so scary :) is working so far :)
 
if i don't have any other treats, i quickly pop up to the tack shop (literally down the road from my yard) and i get him a likit.
but i dont always give them to my pony because he will devour them in less than 2 mins, he BITES the thing instead of licking it:D:p i thought they were called likits, not bite-its:o
 
callmelucky said:
dodson and horrell treats....equibits? u can buy a 3kg tub for about £10 or a 10kg bag for about £20 which i buy and lasts me months. horses love them too.
Click to expand...

My pony hates these. I got them to use as a healthy treat cos they've got vits and mins so I used to add a few to his feed and they wud always be left in the bottom of the bucket and if I tried to and feed them he wud take it then spit it out.

He's usually such a greedy little thing too:rolleyes:

I'm really mean, he doesn't get treats unless an occasional turnip counts.
 
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Either hi fibre nuts or small bags of herbal treats in the horse shop for one pound which are not too unhealthy, also carrots fairly often and occasionally apples bashed up in her feed if my parents are offloading them on me from the tree!

I think its just the sugar and acidity that makes them a colic risk as they can ferment too much. I once knew a rabbit that got drunk on fallen apples :-D

My horse gets pushy if you treat her though so I tend to chuck them on the floor in front of her rather than give directly! We like that game when its snowed :-)
 
Usually apples from my best friend's garden - she has too many that she can't get through them!

Herbal own branded treats fron my local tack shop and/or Spillers mint treats.

Not that he's spoilt or anything!
 
I always carried a pocket of pony nuts more in case i fell off but mine would be happy to get one or two(cos I am so generous) nuts! I am talking 1 inch of nut.
 
I don't feed treats, or anything from the hand at all. I don't feed them hard feed either, just hay, straw and a balancer in the winter. They all look grand and aren't pushy, nippy, rude or spoiled.
 
All mine get are carrots more often than not just chucked in their buckets. I dont like hand feeding treats at all ive always found they get pushy/nippy
 
Mine love equibites so they have those all year round to give them their vitamins. they are funny though as one of them will turn her head away if she is in the huff and wont take them from certain people. Loves them from me wont take them from OH or wont take them from me and will from her rider and sometimes wull onlyt ake them from OH contrary mare
 
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Mine get the odd carrot and Naf minty treats as they are pure spearmint and alfalfa. They oonly get these if I think bout it im rather mean tbh.
 
these replies are great! i might go and try out a few:p
do any of you get anything special for your horse for example: their birthday or xmas, or easter day ect.
 
ive stopped feeding fox treats by hand as he was getting very nippy. treatwise he gets his mint horselyx which absolutely goes nuts over, chooses it over his feed! and if hes been especially good ill give him polos in his feed. always gets a carrot when im catching him in the summer though haha :)
 
Pie gets the occasional apple / carrot / herbal treat. His ultimate favourite is Uncle Jimmy's squeezy buns or stud muffins. As they are stuffed with molasses he only gets them as an extra special reward when he's been very good. I'm lucky that he's very polite and doesn't mug for treats or get nippy.
 
I don't really give treats much - maybe the odd carrot or an apple (from the catering trolley at work!).

For extra special treats on his birthday, I get him some stuf muffins, which he absolutely adores. Unforunately, other people on the yard like them too, and the last tub I bought was raided by someone, even though it was in my cupboard. So, the next tub he gets (in April for his 23rd birthday) will be kept in the car!!!!
 
Fruit & veg mainly. Oldie gets them quite a lot, & at random as well as routine times. Hasn't ever so much as thought about mugging anyone, let alone nipping, so its not an issue. Sometimes as hand treats, sometimes do stuff like balance it on my head, or hold an apple in my teeth & let her grab the other side, daughter does the same with her. Not very h&s, but safe with her, she uses lips, not teeth to take treats. As a kid, I used to put polos on my lips & let her pick them up. Daughters pony gets her treats at specific times, eg a carrot at the gate when headcollar removed. Also they occasionally get stuff like cereal bars. Daughters pony also gets 1/4 cup of hot choc after a ride when daughter has it. Daughter also tends to have picnics/ teaparties with the pony & share whatever she's eating. And if we ride through McDonald's drive-thru, both get mcflurrys, & they know it!
 
Have u all checked lately what the ingredients are in the treats you feed? For instance, there is sulphuric acid :eek::eek: in jimmys sticky buns. Forgive me as I am no chemist but I always thought that this was pretty nasty stuff?
Mine get carrots, apples and veg but they have to work for it.
 
I have a little treat-bag filled with high-fibre nuts that I clip onto my jods when riding so I can hand out treats when needed. My mare loves the nuts and it's the only time she gets them.
I find using the bag helps a lot with preventing bargy behaviour at other times - earning 'sweeties' is part of 'work', the rest of the time she doesn't get them and doesn't look for them (with the exception of blagging an apple if we hack past the village shop;), but that's still 'work' of course!).
 
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