Everything you Need to Know about Treats
We all love to give our horses treats. It makes us and them feel good to show our love that way. But when our horses start to get grabby, demanding treats all the time, or develop health concerns, it might be time to reevaluate.
To be clear, I use treats in training. I use a combination of positive and negative reinforcement with my horses, and I find treats to be a great motivator in many cases. However…not all horses need treats to be motivated. And some horses turn into cookie monsters at the mere mention of a treat.
Here is what you need to know:
High Value vs High Volume
I break treats into two categories. High value treats are those that you will use sparingly, but that your horse will do backflips for. For example, Olive is a cookie monster. If I give her a sugary horse treat all she can think about is how to get another one. I can use this to my advantage by pulling out a sugary peppermint treat when I need her to have a little extra motivation, such as learning to load into a trailer or investigating something scary.
High volume treats are those that you’ll give out frequently as a means of communicating with your horse. Hay pellets make an excellent high volume treat because they are low sugar and inexpensive. They can help send positive reinforcement messages to your horse without sending them spinning on a sugar high. Another great high volume treat is TruTreats by TruBar Nutraceuticals. These treats are whole food, single ingredient fruit treats that are tasty and easy to throw in your treat pouch.
When to Feed Treats
There are some major rules that I follow regarding feeding treats that I lean on to keep my fingers safe.
Time the treat when your horse looks away
Firstly, don’t feed a horse that is begging! Although they know how to tug on our heartstrings, if your horse is physically tugging on you or nuzzling your pockets, wait until they look away. At first this may take a while, but stick with it and pretty soon your horse will learn that they get treats when they look away from you.
2. Wait until your horse takes the treat gently
Likewise, if your horse lunges or grabs at the treat in your hand, wait. Take your hand away. When they look away, try again. Continue in this manner until your horse gently takes the treat from your hand. It is good to practice this in protected contact, meaning on the other side of a fence from your horse to keep them physically separated from you.
3. Use for bonding
Assuming your horse gently takes treats, you have two options for when to feed. First is during lovey time. You and your horse are just hanging out together with no real agenda. Maybe you are in a turnout or grooming. The point here is that the treat is not linked to any behavior other than being calmly in your presence. This is especially great for shy horses or bonding with a new horse. Eventually, simply being in your presence should be reward enough without the treats needed. Your horse should choose to be near you because they feel safe and connected, part of your herd.
4. Reward wanted behaviors
The other time in which you can treat your horse is during training. You can use treats to instantly reward your horse for behaviors you are trying reinforce. For example, give a treat while you tighten the girth if your horse stands quietly for girthing (important here is that the treat comes at the same moment the girth tightens, not after). Another example would be to give a treat when your horse steps up into the trailer, another when they are tied quietly, and another when the doors are closed. The treats will begin to create a positive association with these typically negative experiences.
With all of this in mind you should now be able to safely and effectively use treats to improve your relationship with your horse and aid in positive training experiences.