Treats at a lesson/boarding barn

[Luseride]

I have a small lesson program, board a couple of horses, and lease a couple of more to customers. Total of ten horses currently.

Personally I am not a fan of treats for horses as it can encourage them being mouthy but people will buy them. I do ask that they put them in a sealed container, I even have one available for their use.

Last month one of the ladies that leases a horse left a bag in the small tack room that services that barn. I rarely go in there as it is just her tack, along with another boarder, and some random extra things I have. Even with diligent rodent control mice found the bag of treats and brought friends to the party. I threw away what was left of the bag as it was contaminated and retreated that barn.

Earlier this week I checked another container a boarder had in the main barn. It was closed but when I opened it “moths” flew out. Again, disposed to the treats.

I hate to say never, ever, ever, bring a treat. They are useful when catching a horse in the field at an odd time. We are concerned about bugs and rodents.

What has been your experience at facilities that were not totally private?

[Calvincrowe]

Horse cookies have to be in a sealed container (like a plastic bin/tub) at our boarding barn. Otherwise, give treats only to your horse, no others without permission. I’ve had a trainer tell clients to stop feeding if the horse gets mouthy. Otherwise, no real restrictions. Carrots, apples, watermelon are favorites, too. I don’t see an issue as long as treats, like feed and supplements, are in mouse proof (ha! that’s a tough one!) containers. That’s how things are at my own home barn and after 50 years of horse ownership, I’ve never had a mouthy horse or a mouse issue.

[lenapesadie]

Certainly you can have rules about where and how treats are stored. Certainly you can have rules about how and if treats are given to horses you own. Both of those would be very normal.

Certainly you could ban all treats from your barn. It’s yours and you can have whatever rules you like. But it would be highly unusual to ban boarders from having treats for their own horses.

[mombc24]

I have played with positive reinforcement with my 2 horses and both have improved in their treat manners since then. They will turn their head away and give you a side eye when they know a treat is coming instead of getting in your face. Treats done properly don’t make a pushy horse!

I agree about the rodent control though, they have to be kept in a plastic container.

[trubandloki]

Your barn, your rules.

But I can see lots of people not liking it.

You might want to simply say no storing treats at your barn. If they want to give THEIR horse treats, they need to bring them when they come.

[Renn_aissance]

If I’m reading this right, your “treats in a sealed container” rule is working for 80% or better of your clients, assuming that each horse has 1+ person.

So you have two people who need to be reminded of your policy. Bagged treat lady needs to be told, and moth treat person needs to be informed that the current storage solution is not meeting the need and they need to find another one.

This seems like a conversation, not a need for a policy update.

(I’m a big fan of treats and so is my horse- we do a lot of carrot stretches and similar- and polite behavior around treats is just part of good equine manners in my book. “You need to keep edibles in a rodent-proof sealed container” is a very reasonable policy that has been present at most of the barns where I’ve boarded! Where it hasn’t been the rule, people have generally found out the hard way… mice chewing through their nice trunks.)

[cayuse]

I’ve never been at a barn with a no treat rule. Like everyone says, your barn your rules, but if I couldn’t give my horse treats, I wouldn’t be too happy.

[trubandloki]

@Renn_aissance

we do a lot of carrot stretches and similar-

This is a very good point I had not thought of when I first responded.

I try to do those too. They would not be very successful with no treats.

[fordtraktor]

I provide treats for my clients so needless to say we have very different treat philosophies…but I have never had a rodent or bug issue. Maybe be more aggressive in preventative measures?

[furlong47]

Where I ride, there are treats provided that can be given to the lesson horses. They’re stored in a fridge. We’re also allowed to bring our own treats (within reason of course) but in that case they’re being brought and fed within a short window and not kept there. Especially if you have one or more lesson horses with dietary restrictions, it might make sense to just provide something that all of them can safely have.

I have seen barns that require all treats be placed in the horse’s feed tub or fed from a bucket to discourage mouthy behavior.

I would not give treats to a boarder’s horse without asking that person first. Some also have signs on their stalls requesting no treats. When it comes to the boarders themselves, if they cannot follow rules about storing treats then maybe ask them to bring only what they will feed each time they come out. Or provide a large enough mouse-proof area where all are required to keep their treats (one large tub/chest/whatever and they can all place their labeled smaller treat containers inside.)

[Angela_Freda]

Boarders/lessors can keep them in their car
They only need a couple each visit

[LCDR]

At my past boarding barns I would buy a 25 pound bag of carrots at the grocery store every week and leave it on the tack room counter to share with everyone else. No one ever said anything about this to me other than “thank you.”

My grocery store cashiers thought I was raising rabbits, and I never corrected them.

[Demerara_Stables]

I provide treats and store them in the fridge (carrots) and in a (literal) cookie jar on the tack room counter. Clients also bring treats and put them in their trunks or in the fridge. I’ve never had a rodent problem from treats, but it is a small barn and I’m neurotic about sweeping up and the feed room is completely sealed so I don’t have rodent problem in general (knock wood).

[Maythehorsebewithme]

I ride a lesson horse a few times a week. Don’t lesson, just pay for rides. (I am not a great rider, but can manage by myself.)

I bring fresh treats on the days I ride and keep some horse cookies in a sealed jar in my tack trunk.

I asked if I could give him treats and got an OK from the BO. I think that is important. There was a horse at the barn who was not allowed any treats, as he was on a special diet–he could choke on air.

[fivestrideline]

@Renn_aissance

If I’m reading this right, your “treats in a sealed container” rule is working for 80% or better of your clients, assuming that each horse has 1+ person.

So you have two people who need to be reminded of your policy. Bagged treat lady needs to be told, and moth treat person needs to be informed that the current storage solution is not meeting the need and they need to find another one.

This seems like a conversation, not a need for a policy update.

This!

I think some responses have thought the question was about banning treats due to horse mouthiness rather than a pest issue. If I’m reading correctly, it’s mainly a pest control problem.

If a conversation with the two offenders doesn’t go anywhere, you may need something broader. A “sealed, airtight container” treat rule is not unreasonable. You can also add that any unsealed containers will have their contents thrown away, and perhaps three strikes = that person must bring treats from home and cannot store them at the barn. Stress that this is a health and safety concern - pests carry disease and will eat/destroy tack and gear. Also stress that it only takes ONE person not following the rule to create a problem - like feed-through fly control, it’s all or nothing.

I don’t think banning treats all together is reasonable, and I don’t think you should have to buy and store the treats in order to ensure they’re properly stored.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I’ve been at barns where they were strongly discouraged, and boarders wouldn’t feed their horses treats if the BO was there. Despite being one of the people who got yelled at, I can understand. Horses can get mouthy, and even if your horse isn’t one of them, some horses do if they see another horse getting treats, and barn staff often have to deal with mouthiness more than riders.

There was one older woman who would insist on giving every horse in the barn a treat when she rode, even though I specifically told her that the current horse I was riding would try to bite anything (i.e. me) nearby if she wasn’t getting fed when another horse was, and I asked her to at least cease and desist when I was grooming said horse.

I do feed treats, but the number, kind, and “delivery mechanism” depends on the horse and his response!

The sealed container is necessary, but for it to be effective, I’d suggest a note posted in the tack room or somewhere visible, otherwise people will not remember. Almost every barn I was at (including some nice ones) would have open bags of produce and treats lying all over the place. People who would clean their tack and boots after every ride wouldn’t throw out a damp, watery moldy bag of carrots or apples.

[beowulf]

I have one of these and it is amazing. Once a month I buy a large bag of ginger snaps and dump it in. Easy to access, open/close (no annoying tightening lid), and everyone seems to be able to follow the rules of closing it - including the 2 y/o that visits to “ride” her pony.

I agree that giving treats doesn’t make horses rude, but not training them properly does.

[Luseride]

Basically that is what I am trying to do also. The mouthy part comes from lesson kids mostly although I do have one adult that I had to tell her not to feed any by hand to her horse as there are other behavior issues.

[Luseride]

I am leaning towards the don’t store at the barn idea. It is really not the boarders that are the issue, mostly kids that ride here.

[anonevent]

Most barns I’ve been to have had a policy about treat storage. I think it is common sense to not leave treats out in a barn, but posting a policy in a common area that all treats have to be stored in the container provided wouldn’t hurt.

It’s possible that someone normally takes their treats home with them and innocently forgot, but I wouldn’t want others to see it and assume it was OK to leave treats around.

As for lesson horses, I’ve always asked for permission. Some horses were not allowed any treats, could only have low sugar treats, were only allowed to have treats if placed in their feed bucket (because they could be bitey) etc.