Treats that aren't much of a treat
Treats aren't always a great idea. Remember that sweet feed, especially in large quantities is not really very good for your
horse. If your horse is already getting a lot of sweet feed, molasses oat muffins may just be enough to tip your horse into
that "founder" he's already on the brink of. Instead of sweet feed pressed into intresting shapes, try
a plain apple or carrot, or even more exotic foods can be experimented with. Bananas? Kiwi? Sweet Potato? What intresting
tid-bit will your horse try and love? Adding these little things can add some intresting variety to his diet, avoid that founder
trap and you still get that high of spoiling your horse.
Speaking of spoiling-TIMING and HOW you treat your horse can
be important. Personally, I rarely, if ever, hand feed anything. I do "treat" my horses, just on the ground or in
their feed bucket. I have MORE trouble with pushy critters expecting a treat at any moment than I do wild horses, in general.
The pushy horse mugging you for treats pushes and leans on me, making my work so much more difficult and dangerous. If your
horse won't stand still without a treat, he needs his ground manners refreshed, not a cookie to reward difficult behavior.
If you want to treat your horse after I'm done working on his feet, by all means, please do. But if your horse is mugging
you while I work, I can't do my job to my full potential, especially if I have to worry about my ears being nibbled on.
So please, save the rewards until AFTER I'm done doing my job and your horse has stood well for me.
