My very food motivated horse is not a problem when feeding from the saddle. I think it helps that there is a routine. When I want to reward something, I mark it verbally and then halt him. I take a sugar cube from my pocket and tap the side of his neck. This is his cue to turn his head and I slip the sugar in the side of his mouth. If he starts turning before the cue, I make him move on and he doesn’t get the treat until there is something else to reward. Then he stands like a statue waiting for the magical tap that means sugar! 
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I give peppermint 1000mg tums. I give the larger mg because the size is much bigger and easier to handle. They don’t melt, but are a little chalky with black clothing. He gets excellent foam, but not sticky like with sugar. Also benefit of a little calcium in his tummy.
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Spelled it wrong. Should read paymint I just figured this out last summer after making paymints for years. Mine requires paymint for negotiating double gates in an orderly fashion. Makes it a whole lot safer to bring in 2 at a time from the field when it requires opening and shutting a gate, walking up a narrow chute and opening and closing a 2nd gate. I got a look this summer when I wasn’t as quick as usual, “Ok, ok, your payment for good behaviour is coming … I mean payMINT!” I got another look for laughing at my own speech thereby delaying the paymint even further
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These are what I use when I feed treats. No unwrapping and they are relatively cheap (although they just went up to $2.99/lb bulk at Wegman’s).
I second scotch mints. Very little mess and they help keep a nice white foam and cleaner bit.
Starlight (red and white) peppermints do create pink/red mouth slobber, IME.
I’d use the Lifesavers peppermints, they’re all white, or the soft dinner mint thingies as previously mentioned.
Thanks for the responses. I am going to try the after dinner mints. 4lb bag for like, $14 seems reasonable on Amazon.
These are my new favorite. Nice and small, good ingredients, and no colored froth. I can squeeze a handful into a small pocket in my breeches and no melting/sticking. https://www.horse.com/item/applezz-n-oats/SLT203910/
I use mini ziploc bags also to avoid the mess.
Several years ago I was at NEDA and JRD had made some nice little leather pouches out of scraps. Is goes on the D ring and I put my sugar in there. No mess at all just every once in a while I turn it upside down and let out the loose stuff. Wish I had gotten more of them as they were free.
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I like to use peppermint Tums. They tend not to melt as easily. I’m also a big believer in verbal praise in addition to/in lieau of treats. I can feel my guy relax over his back and jaw when I praise him. You can tell he gets very proud of himself when I let him know he’s done something right. I sometimes find that to be more effective than treats.
I don’t like feeding sugar cubes - too messy and sticky for my liking. But I do always have cookies in my pockets.
I did a Bad Thing. Once when I was bringing Pony out of her stall to put her in the cross ties - gosh, I don’t even know how this happened - she sort of stretched. Wait, I do remember! She was pawing and I was ignoring it. Until the paw turned into sort of a stretch and I thought “well, stretching is good, right?” and gave her a cookie. Now she comes out of her stall and bows, with one leg forward and the other back. And I give her a cookie and then hook up the cross ties. Except she keeps trying to bow! Which I discourage and do not reward.
So for a highly food-motivated horse, be careful what you teach!
As I said, I keep cookies in my pocket and as a reward will bite of a piece of the cookie and give it to her. She doesn’t randomly stop and ask for cookies - the “movement” of asking for a cookie is very specific in that it is me going in my pocket. If I don’t reach into my pocket she doesn’t expect a cookie. Problem is, I also keep my Kleenex in my pocket so when we stop for a nose-blow, she hopes she gets a cookie. She’s wicked smart, though, and seems to know when she’s done something cookie-worthy or not. She is super food-motivated. Opening gates gets a cookie reward, so I don’t even have to manually maneuver her to the gate-opening position. When it is time she just lines herself right up and off we go! I do other under-saddle stuff with treats, too. I take the cookie out of my pocket, bite off a portion, then reach down and give it to her and she takes it nicely. Easy-peasy.
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I buy dinner mints or peppermints at the Dollar store. I don’t feed them as treats when I ride (yet). I do feed him two mints just after cinching him up and before putting his bridle on. I think it’s a good training tool for riding though and my guy is totally food motivated. Good ideas here. Thanks, everyone.
I also give carrots or apples in between lunge work directions and later plain animal cookies to my horse daily while grooming just because. Plain animal cookies are super cheap in those plastic bear jars and he loves them.
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