Who gives tit-bits as rewards?

Kokopelli

Kokopelli

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I've noticed on a few threads about people giving horses treats when they have been good, so if they stand well at a junction they get a polo or something.

I am quite against this as I think that it encourages nipping from the horse which I hate!!
Also I've always learnt that horses, as herbivours, don't need to work for there food, like they don't need to chase a bit of grass round the field. So they don't actually see the food as a reward like we or other carnivor animals like dogs would.

Debate and discuss :)
 
I don't think it's a 'having to work for your food' thing. All animals see food as 'pleasurable' (Some more than others) so it's more a 'I do this and I get something pleasurable'... same with a cuddle and a pat etc it's a pavlov's dog thing... I do titbit and never had problems with nipping (except in a stallion I used to ride - but that's kinda stallion behaviour thing I think...)

Certainly when teaching a horse to load in a box it's a standard technique to feed in the box... if it didn't make this more pleasurable for the horse then why do this? why not just stand the horse in the trailer for hours?

Bx
 
I've used bribes as a means of getting my mare to accept coming in from the field; this, however isn't ideal, I can get her in without little snacks, but with winter coming up and her being an increasingly confident and sarcastic pony-beast I'm setting it up so that I'm not following her around a field in 3 feet of snow :D she didn't come in in her old home either and being a riding school they used the most convenient method of tricking her to come in (especially as she was a key worker and earned them a pretty penny). She is getting a little nibbly, but she knows her place. I'd rather have my mare nibbly and confident than the backwards spook she was a couple of months ago.
 
My horse will do anything for a treat bows, kisses, gets on a block in fact he probably would do handstands and cartwheels if I asked him to. When he sees the physio arrive across the yard he often bows in a carrot stretch just at the sight of her.

He never nips, bites or anything like it - if he was the type that did I wouldn't use treats but as he is obsessed with food it works a treat so to speak! :D
 
I give George a polo when he has his bridle put on, it makes things so much easier as he practically opens his mouth for the bit to go in :)

He also gets a herbal treat after he has been exercised, for me it's just a way of saying thank you. ok not necessary but we both like it :)

He doesn't get any other titbits though and he's never nippy even on the rare occasion i forget his treat.
 
Agree - food reward when loading, also when encouraging to come in from field and as a treat after riding (if good!). I have a friend however who feeds polos if pony stops to look at something while out hacking, sorry but this is a recipe for disaster, she is just rewarding bad behaviour and needless to say pony is a nightmare to hack.
 
Blitz- Never thought of it that way actually I guess they do enjoy there tea when they get it :) But I had a very nibbly horse due to the fact he kept being fed over the fence so still not that keen on them

Marty- I see where your coming from, I had a naughty pony to catch but couldn't bribe him because you would then get mobbed by 10 other horses :p
 
I dont do it as i think it encourages nipping/biting aswell. Any treats my horse got were put into his feed bucket as he was already a biter and a cheeky sod when it came to food. Probably didnt help that i stabled him at a RS so wee kiddies went round giving titbits :rolleyes: they just ignore the sign saying "NO TITBITS!!!" ... With regards to titbits whilst riding i find a good owl pat is just as good.
 
attheponies said:
I have a friend however who feeds polos if pony stops to look at something while out hacking, sorry but this is a recipe for disaster, she is just rewarding bad behaviour and needless to say pony is a nightmare to hack.
Click to expand...

This is a pet peeve of mine, rewarding bad behaviour it just creates very big expensive messes :/ Does she not know its bad to do this?

Nicole- Totally with you here, whats wrong with a good pat when they behave well?
 
Mine get a carrot or 2 when I turn out and occasionally when I bring in. Whisk has an issue with loading so gets food as an encouragement to get in there!!
I never give treats when mounted or when working around the horses during general yard chores. If they have worked well they may get a polo once back in the stable and untacked. Whisk can get nippy if he's in that kind of mood so then he gets told off with a sharp voice and no sweeties. That isn't caused by feeding treats though, he's just a awkward git!! :D
 
If you read some books on clicker training you will see that treats don't necessarily mean that the horse learns to bite/mug. You first train the horse to look away before giving the treat and further training can motivate the horse to do anything!!!!!!
 
I don't give treats. But if i was too, I would put it in his dinner bowl. I normally make him back up and stand nicely before i put the bowl down. In the summer he was getting rather rude at times. I know for a fact he was getting treats as people walked past his field. I think it depends how your horse reacts to them. My old TB had lovely manners and treats wouldn't effect his behavior. My cob is a different story :)
 
I agree with you Kokopelli. There's nothing worse than a horse/pony trying to rummage through your pockets and also nipping you. If we ever feed titbits (generally don't give anything, but very occasionally a friend etc will bring up polos or carrots) it goes straight into the trough, never by hand.

And there's also a very fussy older mare who is a poor-doer, and if she's fed tit-bits she'll go off her normal feed and won't eat her feed.
 
I think using treats as rewards is a good idea, especially if your horse is food orientated. You can teach your horse anything really easily by using treats, e.g. to stand still at the mounting block. It is important that you only give treats as a reward though so the horse knows it has done something right, rather than just giving them a treat for no reason.
 
I use treats with my horse. Normally with my horse after tacking up, mounting and again before dis-mount (more to do with getting him to stretch round to his sides - old injury!) He has one when caught in the field - he can be a bugger to catch at times, so he now wants me to catch him so he can have a sweet and another when turning back out so he doesn't just p**s off at the gate.

It may seem like a lot but the turnout and catch sweets are all bribery - he is happy to get the sweets and i am happy as he has done as required. So why change that? Also because he gets the sweets at the same times for doing the same things he doesn't nip for others at different times because he know he wont get them! I treat for reasons - not just because he is standing there looking pretty.
 
I don't see giving a food treat as a reward as 'titbitting'. To me 'titbitting' is randomly giving a food treat over the stable door or fence and this can encourage nipping if the treaters respond with treats to nudges, nibbles etc. However a food reward is only given in a clearly defined situation ie stand still to be mounted and then receive one polo. I do occasionally give food rewards in this way and never found it leads to nipping or mugging. However I never randomly 'titbit' over the stable door or fence.
 
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