Robert Dover always talk about having a sugar in your pocket. Summer time I sweat a lot and even without sweating I’m thinking sticky! With my horse already having the lovely white foam mouth, I’ve kept a couple carrots in my pockets to give while riding but then I get a orange foam. I want to transition to a white treat (sugar cube) but how? How do others keep sugar in their pockets without the mess?
Maybe try “starlight” mints (the peppermint wheels that have a hard glassy character rather than the pillow-esque chalky ones). Might still stick together but wouldn’t be as crumbly as sugar cubes. I don’t think there’s enough red food color to make the foam pink, but check first.
I know a lot of people do this, but I never liked it, for many reasons including the mess. I also don’t want horses looking got treats all of the time. I find talking to them and “good” and pats are highly effective and accomplish the same thing.
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I feed grain based treats, and just wash the bits. I don’t find the treats color the foam at all.
I do clicker training in hand as well which can use up a lot of treats in a session so sugar cubes aren’t appropriate there.
My mare will turn herself inside out for a single complete feed kibble 
that isn’t in her regular menu, so I save the really “high value” treats (bulk or dollar store ginger cookies and white mints) for strategic new or difficult tricks.
I try to keep all treats in little baggies in my pockets because otherwise you end up with moldy crumbs or melted mints in the seams of your pockets. In the summer I wear a waist pouch for treats!
Finding a 6 month old carrot in your favorite winter jacket is horrible.
Edited to add: it does really depend on the horse. If they are super food motivated, a few treats can completely change their mood. If they are clicker trained they will do crazy things for a treat like play fetch, lie down, spin around.
If they are not so food motivated, but have a really good work ethic, sometimes they don’t really want to be bothered by a treat when they are working. They don’t really feel like eating.
I haven’t found much role for actual clicker training in the saddle except for opening gates.
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I carry sugar in my outer-most pocket for 9 months out of the year. In the summer when I don’t always have pockets, I ride over to the sugar box on the fence/wall and get one from there, or ride up to my trainer who always has one.
How do you give them sugar from the saddle without them taking some digits off as well? My horse swings his giant head around and it’s this gaping maw coming sideways at my hand. 
He is very polite from the ground!
Sugar washes out and my hip doesn’t sweat THAT much… yuck.
I don’t let my horses bend too far (outside rein!) and I place the sugar near the bit on the side of their mouths. The last thing I want my horses doing is learning to turn and grab.
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I feed small, durable treats that I carry in a baggie in my pocket or treat pouch - I like Buckeye Peppermint bits, Starlight mints, or small pieces of carrot.
Little ziploc baggies. My boy is a fussy critter whose favorite treat seems to rotate so I’ve learned to have a variety on me. The starlight mints from Dollar Tree come individually wrapped which is nice. Sugar cubes, apple slices, baby carrots, and granola bars. That was supposed to be a human trail snack but …well, that was the day I learned not to stand where Mr Food Thief can easily stick his head out and oh so gently pluck the granola bar right out of my hand all the while giving me these big soft bambi eyes. If he doesn’t want a particular treat he’ll spit it out so I’ve learned to keep my hand under his mouth for a few seconds lol. Then we play musical treats until he doesn’t spit it out. I’m a sucker and he’s spoiled. But he’s not mouthy or treat aggressive so I don’t mind much. Slobbery sticky hand is worth it since he gets so happy. And lets me nibble on his oh so soft ears.
I do just about everything with clicker training, both on the ground and from the saddle. I use the horse’s regular grain ration, and try to remember to empty my pockets in the feed tubs just before I leave so that the rodents won’t chew holes in my pockets to get to the grain.
I think the reason some use sugar is because it dissolves, so the horse doesn’t have to be able to chew when he’s wearing a noseband that restricts his ability to open his mouth.
I don’t have that restriction so am not limited to sugar, which is a good thing because my horses prefer grain.
I recently switched to a pelleted complete feed when I realized that the horses will work for it, but the rodents and pigeons don’t like it
I’ve begun feeding Stauffer’s animal crackers (the less sweet ones in the plastic bag, not the ones in the zoo boxcar container). They don’t stain my pockets, and they’re not sticky. They’re also long enough to hold by one end and not lose my fingertips. 
Scotch mints don’t have wrappers and it takes a LOT of sweat or rain to get them to make a mess in your pocket, but they are easy for horses to take from your hand and to chew (or suck as mine sometimes does). Bonus, only white foam no yucky mess.
I just refuse to give them the treat until they stop grabbing for it. Doesn’t take them long to figure out that grabbing will get them nowhere, while gentle lips will get the treat into the mouth faster. I actually have a lot more trouble with the horses with thick lips, as they have a hard time bending around and taking the treat without dropping it. I use bigger treats with them, and end up kind of stuffing them in.
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:o
There is no head swinging in treat giving, no pawing in crossties, no crying in baseball, and no shying at cats. It is the law.
Hold your reins in one hand with sufficient tension that you can resist a head turn if necessary. Lean forward, tap horse’s shoulder, lean more forward and put your open hand with the treat directly under the horse’s lips. The should tap is not totally necessary, but it can alert them to get their gentle lips ready so they don’t get surprised by your hand and end up using their rude and obnoxious lips.
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duh … so simple, you guys – “keep tension on outside rein” – yet obviously I needed it spelled out. :sigh: this is why the people of COTH are so brilliant. he also has thick lips so putting the treat on the side of mouth might work well.
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You could also look into treat bags for dog training. They come with a belt or snap onto your existing belt, and some have a drawstring top to keep them closed.
I always just keep mine in my left pocket, whether that’s in my breeches or in my zip-up for cold weather. I just remember to keep my phone in my right pocket. :lol: I’ve never had an issue with sweat, just the literal sugar granules that end up in my pocket. No big deal.
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After dinner mints make a pretty good hardy substitute for sugar cubes, and because they are pastel colors, they don’t make bright colored foam.
Every article of clothing I own seems to have sugar cubes in the pockets…
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I would be concerned about feeding carrots to a horse with a bit in their mouth. You want to feed them something that dissolves and carrots do not dissolve. That could be a choking hazard.
M requires payment to be ridden, and he also gets reward when we are done. I always carry sugar cubes or mints in my pocket. The downside to the mints are all the waste (wrappers) it leaves behind.
As far as heat and melting go, yeah, I have had the cubes get a little wet in my pockets but never something I can’t feed. But really, what I would suggest instead would be a light riding vest with pockets. They look so smart and then you can put things like the sugar cubes in an easy to access pocket.
I use a small baggie (I think it was designed for a dog poop bag roll storage) that clips to my waist, either with a carabiner or just the clip against a belt. I use a grain based cookie, but have carried sugar before. But I like the cookies better because they hold their shape better when squished tight.
My horse has an extremely food motivated attitude, but he has developed a phenomenal work ethic these last few years. He will never turn his head around to beg for treats. He waits until theres a walk break, I bring him to a halt and start to outreach my hand. Then he turns around! He is gentle with fingers so I just give them however it happens.
I like the small bag because I can wear it with anything, summer or winter. And keeps things contained!
This time of year I buy out the half price candy canes. Break off a piece as needed and slip out of the wrapping. One piece to come to me in the pasture, one after she grabs the bit, one when I dismount, one to put the halter back on, one to stand after the halter comes off in the pasture. If we are outside and I am riding back to the barn I use the tap on the shoulder trick to get her to turn her head around to pick it out of my hand. Yes my horse is spoiled. But she does not nip, and is very food motivated. She is incredibly easy to catch in the field, bridle and halt. I have told her that she will continue to be spoiled as long as she behaves.
Sugar and sugar based candy like starlight mints will dissolve when I wash the coat at the end of winter. Those carrot pieces are disgusting when they are old and rubbery. I move to them in summer. Except for her taking the bit (sugar cubes in a ziplock bag in my grooming bag) and a starlight mint for the last halt and dismount.
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