Who all rewards with food.....when riding?!

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el_Snowflakes

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Just having a read about this in another forum & must say
It's something Iv never done. So, do you do it & do I find it helpful....or not?!
 
i do occasionally. My horse can be tricky to get on, and doesn't like you leaning forward, so I started leaning forward and giving him a treat when I got on, just to break the Squawk/Panic cycle. Now of course, he expects it -so the head comes round as soon as i' in the saddle, but I've decided to embrace it as a good stretch. i also tap on one side of his neck, and he has to turn that way to get the treat. If he doesn't - I eat it!

i will also occasionally treat from the saddle part way through a schooling session, particularly if the horse is finding something difficult and getting tense. Stopping, having a scratch and getting something delicious to eat seem to rebalance the mind a bit, and its another good lateral stretch.

Both mine are pretty bendy!

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I do with my new pony to reinforce the idea that riding is fun I am nice and all is well. It's working well. He is over cooked speed show jumper and responds much better to "carrot" rather than "stick"
 
My old riding instructor always had a pocket full of sugar lumps, he would give to the riding school horses to increase saliva and get them to soften to give us novices a chance to feel what it was like for them to soften and accept the contact so we knew what we were aiming for. Worked for me!
 
I do.

My horse was quite whizzy when I got him and wouldn't stand to be mounted, or on hacks , eg at junctions.
I carry nuts in my pocket and he has 3 after mounting from right/left/right hand; he won't move until he's had them. He also gets one after halting when we're out. He stands beautifully now.
 
cauda equina said:
I do.

My horse was quite whizzy when I got him and wouldn't stand to be mounted, or on hacks , eg at junctions.
I carry nuts in my pocket and he has 3 after mounting from right/left/right hand; he won't move until he's had them. He also gets one after halting when we're out. He stands beautifully now.
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Same. Ex racer. Will wait now for nuts or if I ask him to stand on a hack if cars are coming
 
I don't do it often but did to start with for big horse, he was just out of professional eventing and didn't like to listern when it didn't suit him so rather than a massive fight in the road something to distract him worked well, the odd polo after a nice clear round would be the extent of it now (if he weren't broken :0(

It's amazing how quickly they can forget about an escallating tantrum when they are fiddling round trying to get a small nut out of your hand to the side. just another tool in the toolbox that works for some.
 
My youngster used to be very nervous around big traffic such as tractors with big trailers on and artics. If one was coming I'd pull off the road (where we are they have very wide verges) and give him a mint as it passed. It distracted him and it's got to the point now where a scratch on the withers is enough :)
 
I reward with a clickered treat for mounting (and now have a horse that parks himself), standing still once mounted, opening a gate calmly (having trained turn on the forehand with it), standing still when something challenging goes by, and sometimes just looking beautiful.
 
I'm actually very stingy with treats in general, especially hand fed as the boy is mouthy enough. But i have recently started using one to reward standing for mounting (ex racer) and it works a treat. Saves me hanging off the side while he sets off merrily in a direction of his choosing and the only downside is a very close up view of his open mouth as soon as my bum hits the saddle. Loves his mints :)
 
Shy has various points on our hacks where he stops and has a snack - usually at pine trees, as this is his favourite. Good for his internals and I think letting them have a bit of nature is self- medicating.

We are very happy hackers, he is allowed to stop for a poo, and he's allowed a bit of foraging - but not grass- when we're out. :D
 
Not me, my horse is far too greedy at the best of times, stopping to give her snacks (for whatever reason) would not be a good thing. Maybe after a sponsored ride I'll give her a few horse treats/polos but only after I've dismounted.
 
I found myself in a position of having to last year. I had a car speed past me flicking up new laid road chippings, scared my horse to death. I did report driver. After that even when he heard a car engine he would tense up then spin when car came near. This horse was 17 and fab in traffic til then. I hack alone so needed a way to overcome this. I took a pocket full of treats and when a vehicle came I asked him to stand, gave him a treat, once car had passed and had been good he got another treat then off we went. Worked brilliantly!! After a while though he got wise and as soon as he saw a car would stop and stand!!! Still take treats out but have cut right back as he seems to be back to normal.
 
My boy is quite stressy so atm I click and treat him when he does something calmly, like a canter/trot transition, just trot on a few nice strides then click and he stops and has a treat. Seems to be working well for him. Now when he's going nicely I can click him and rub his wither with my fingers and he puts his ears forward and is happy and stays calm then when we come back to halt next time I click again and treat.

Used to have trouble mounting and doing my girth up when mounted but after a while of click and treat if he stood still, he now stands beautifully.

I do believe in rewarding constantly, not necessarily food, especially if a greedy/bitey horse but a kind word and pat or scratch works wonders :)
 
I do, for standing like a statue when it comes to mounting.
He used to be very fidgety, but he's a saint now.

He doesn't like traffic, so I'll try it in that situation too after reading this.
 
Interesting - I did do a few times but felt unsafe when he was contorting himself to reach the polo, but I take the point about the stretches and flexions, they are always something he struggles with (big dozy wb!!). Auslander - I do hope you take mints and not pony nuts :)
 
I do. Depends on the horse but I tend to stop and give them a mint if they've worked well or mastered something, not very often - maybe once or twice a session. I always give one of mine a mint when I get on as he used to be cold backed and dumped me early on a few times, just do it automatically and he expects it now! Also give them a mint after lungeing and going in the trailer etc. just keeps them happy.
 
I do, have a bumbag of treats with me usually, and will reward for standing when asked, and for distraction with lorries and tractors if i feel him tense up. It`s always worked well for us :)
 
JillA said:
Interesting - I did do a few times but felt unsafe when he was contorting himself to reach the polo, but I take the point about the stretches and flexions, they are always something he struggles with (big dozy wb!!). Auslander - I do hope you take mints and not pony nuts :)
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Bits of carrot usually. Can rely on getting my 5 a day when he's being particularly thick!
 
Yes.

I rebacked him using food rewards - now I can leave him tacked up, stand on the mounting block and call and he walks over and lines up for me. In fact, I left him for a moment recently to help a friend who was having problems getting her own horse to line up and after a few minutes of faffing with the other horse, mine strode over to my friend who was waiting on the mounting block and lined himself up for her :D

So yes, mounting, standing relaxed at junctions, scary traffic, gates, leg yielding, walking through underpasses, over narrow footbridges... It's easier to allow the horse to learn what to do and form a pleasant association with the activity through using rewards than through just hoping they get used to something with exposure, and it's safer too. I'd rather have a horse approach a situation with an attitude of "I've done this before and nice things happened" than "I've done this before and I escaped alive" ;)
 
I do, mine gets a piece of carrot once I'm mounted and sorted, and a piece when I get off. She also gets some when we get off the main road onto the track as a let down, and I trained her to stand to do gates with carrot too. I think it's good to have treats in your pockets, I always hope that as she knows she gets some when I dismount, if I fall off, she will stand and expect the same!! So, the reward in her case is for her obeying the command to stand, and this follows through in her groundwork too.
 
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