In Bay Girl's case, no, she won't.
How do you get a horse to eat treats when they have no interest in them? I've never dealt with this issue before.
I, unlike many of my counterparts, do enjoy giving my horses cookies with some regularity. They are not allowed to beg, fuss, paw, wiggle, or mug me when the treat bag come out (or else they don't get one!), so their behavior remains appropriate save for the infamous cookie face I always get when I produce snacks. I've always had cookie hounds, so I've always been careful to dole them out only as I deem necessary. (Probably much to their dismay.)
But Bay Girl? Cookies won't do. Carrots won't do. Apples and peppermints won't do. If any of these items are offered to her, she sniffs them suspiciously and turns up her nose. If they are placed into her bucket with her dinner, she delicately eats around them and leaves them behind. In fact the only thing I've found that she will take out of my hand so far is a bit of sweet feed, which is what she is eating as her regular grain meal. (Not my choice... I don't do sweet feed for any reason whatsoever but she is not my horse.) I've been treating her fairly regularly for two reasons: a) it gives her a positive association with human hands, which before were instruments of torture and are now seen as nice happy things that give pets and treats and love instead of mean things, and b) it gives her a positive association with everything else that we are doing that might otherwise be unpleasant and scary. Food is a ridiculously good motivator when used appropriately. It is NOT a good choice in a lot of circumstances, but in this case for a horse with this kind of personality, I use it regularly and it works. She is always more than happy to see me, Food Lady, coming over to work with her, because Food Lady always is doing something nice like petting her or scratching her or giving her a snackie - even when that is paired with something scary like blanketing or putting on a halter or handling ears.
So now here is the question. I've never had a horse NOT want to take any sort of actual treat before. I don't really know where to begin if she won't even try them when they are mixed into her bucket with her regular feed. Having handfuls of sweet feed in my pocket is a bit unpleasant and messy, not to mention a nightmare when I forget to empty my pockets before I throw my pants into the washer.
What, my readers, would YOU do in order to get a horse to try a treat?
Yommm!
I had a mare who was not a treat eater. She would even walk away from grain. Over time (years, sorry), she learned to like treats like apples and carrots. I know you don't have years. My suggestion would be to keep trying different things. You might stumble on something that she likes. Granola, cereal, rice bran pellets, etc.
ReplyDeleteTry crumbling up a cookie and feeding her some of the crumbs along with a handful of sweet feed. If she eats it... try less sweet feed and more cookie crumbs. It may just take some imaginative "treating" until she develops a taste for other things... good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy Paint wouldn't eat peppermints when I first got him. I tried giving them to him, but he would turn away. I gave the mint to his paddock mate while he was watching, and then he would eat them. Could you give cookies to Baby Girl's pasture mates to show her?
ReplyDeleteMaybe she is just not food motivated. I do not think that I would press the issue. Find other ways to reward her that do appeal to her.
ReplyDeleteSweet feed might be so delicious that it far overshadows "treats" and they just aren't appealing in comparison.
Sugar cubes. I got my mare as a 3 1/2 year old off the pasture where she grew up with her siblings and moms with as little contact as possible. It took her a WEEK to figure out hay was edible and several before she thought of trying out some grain stuff.
ReplyDeleteSo obviously treats were also completely foreign to her. It took persistence but sugar cubes placed inside her mouth for them to dissolve is what finally did it. You will put them in and she will spit them out but eventually one will melt enough and she will realize they are beyond tasty. After that she won't think twice about things you offer her!
Apples took similar work, I had to bite a piece off first but once she got the taste it was game on.
Now her favorite treat is Pop-tarts.
Some horses like bananas, citrus fruits, and tangy treats. Give those a go!
ReplyDeleteDoughnuts too, lmao
Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal (or generic "hay bales," like my family calls them)? Every animal I know likes these - whether human, dog, horse or guinea pig. :-) They aren't perfect for stowing in your pocket but better than sweet feed!
ReplyDeleteYou may want to try a fanny pack or treat bag that attaches to your waist for the sweet feed. You could store a couple af unwrapped mints in with the feed to get the smell on the feed. Or maybe crush a little mint or carrot into the feed?
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could try baking the sweet feed into a cookie? And maybe offer it with a little sweet feed on top?
ReplyDeleteHave you tried the crunchy Nature Valley Oats 'n Honey granola bars? They are usually a big hit and you could start by breaking it into tiny pieces before working up to a cookie size.
When I was a kid, I leased a horse that literally wouldn't take anything out of your hand. Apples, carrots, peppermints, ginger snaps, cereal, donuts, nothing. I made a treat once that was a cored apple with a carrot stuck in the hole covered in molasses and rolled in sweet feed. I think I saw the other horses actually drooling over it and he wouldn't touch it! He licked the sweet feed/molasses off then stared at me. It took a few persistent weeks as well as me putting it the goodies his feed tub with his feed (crumbled if necessary like an above poster mentioned) and eventually he got the hang of it! Just keep trying. She'll warm up eventually. :)
ReplyDeleteStud Muffin cookies....almost the same as sweet feed but in cookie form. Mints I have found that some horses have to develop a taste for them. I have sucked on a mint so its sticky and blow the smell into their nose and give them the sticky one from my mouth when they show interest. Also if sweet feed works put a baggy in your pocket with the sweet feed in it to save your jeans until you can find something else. I have know horses who love warm apple cider too. I have shared more than a few cups with horses over the years.
ReplyDeleteExperiment with food. I have seen horses eat everything from Mr. Noodles to subs, fruit and veggie, different drinks and snack foods. PB&J, Crispers, chips, soups, breads, anything you eat try with her. You may stumble on something you never thought would work. The odd balls keep life interesting.
Seriously all these suggestions are good. I would definitely feed her pasture mates treats in front of her to see if that helps. My mare wouldn't eat her yucky vitamin treats (rightfully so), until her garbage disposal pasture mate ate like ten of them out of my hand in front of her. I think she got jealous or at least interested in garbage disposal mare's love of them, so she tried the cookie, spit it out, tried it again off the ground, and finally ate it. I also made her my own cookies with molasses, sweet feed, apple sauce and some other stuff rolled in sweet feed, and she ate that right out of my hand, though not without some ridiculous chewing faces.
ReplyDeleteSome horses are really weird about treats. My first horse was an arab gelding and I was 13, so I spent a lot of time sharing my lunches with him. He didn't like carrots, apples, horse cookies or mints, but he did like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, goldfish crackers, green grapes, peaches and baked rice bran. :)
In my dog's obedience classes we kept treats in canvas tool belts so we could reach them quickly.
ReplyDeleteLike this:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100166017/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
If she gets sweet feed, then she's used to the taste of molasses. Maybe if you dipped a carrot or apple in molasses. You can do that, then cover it in oats and freeze it to make a horse pop. A nice and cool treat for those hot Texas days :-)
ReplyDeleteI've had the same issue! We tried grating carrot into her feed. Just little amounts at first- hardly any, then you keep building it up until she gets used to the taste.
ReplyDeleteIt working with our youngsters!
Hi. When I got my youngster he has spent his life surviving by eating gorse bush. He had never eaten hay or any type of hard feed or tasted any treats. He got to grips with the hay but if you offered him a little handful of mix, an apple or carrot, he would sniff at it, lick and chew and then look at you as if to say thank you for bringing me that to smell. He would never attempt to try and nibble or taste it. He had antibiotic and painkiller powders to get so it was important that I found a way to get them into him. I used to grate the apple and carrot to try and tempt him to try. It took several weeks of trying, until he eventually tried to taste anything. He's never looked back since. I tend to use rosehips and herbs now as treats or linseed lozenges which my horses seem to love. You are doing a grand job with the mare.
ReplyDeleteI have a thoroughbred mare who is the same way. Most types of treats do not suit her, and she will spit a peppermint in your hair if you try to sneak one in to any type of treat. She loves two things: Equus Magnificus German Horse Muffins and Bananas. The muffins are soft and gooey. As far as bannanas go, the browner and squishier the better. I hope you find something bay girl enjoys. My girl is still not particularly swayed by food offerings, but if it is one of the above (and you're not asking her to do anything too stressful) she will accept it.
DeleteSomeone else said it but I'll repeat... I have a horse that would not take treats. In fact, if you held a carrot out he would snort and RUN AWAY! What finally got him to eat treats was seeing other horses eat them, and then he finally got curious enough to come up and try one. He is still particular about what he likes to eat, but he LOVES cookies and apples.
ReplyDeleteI second sugar cubes!! It's the absolute only thing I could get Chrome to eat when he was a weanling. Once he realized those were delicious he started trying other things and now he'll eat almost anything (after a few days of spitting it out until he gets used to it). Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHilton Herballs were the only thing I could get my two range raised guys to try at first, treat wise.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Pastures was then readily adopted!