My mare has done that when I’ve been away for a while. Sniffs me all over to see how and where I’ve been. Especially on those occasions when her bad behavior caused my absence. I recall the year I had the fibre glass cast on my arm (that wasn’t her fault) she was fascinated and took it in her mouth to bite down and see what it was.
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Along these same lines of blowing in nostrils, has anyone ever tried HorseSpeak (Sharon Wilsie) techniques? I bought the book online thinking it was more of a body language how-to (the reviews were so positive that I assumed there MUST be some extra juicy content in there) which it kind’ve was, and kind’ve wasn’t. The author has a whole theory about exhaling in a certain way as to communication things to your horse. Not right in a horse’s nostrils, but by breathing in and/or out in a particular rhythm.
It’s a little beyond what I’d normally feel comfortable trying, but as I’ve now already got the book in-hand, I’m curious. I’ve watched one of the associated videos on her website just to try and better understand it all, but haven’t really been able to test said theory on any horse yet other than my mare (who gave me a look along the lines of, “WTF?”).
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Horses aren’t always in a mood to chill and bond with you. You need to be there maybe in the evening when they’ve eaten their fill or on a sunny lazy day in a paddock with no grazing. Then they will hangout with you, maybe even doze off beside you. If they are wanting food or just to get on with the days activities you can’t just magically make them chill out with a technique. You need to be on their wave length. Otherwise you are just blundering through all their body language like some creepy guy at a party trying to talk about how sad you look or give you a massage.
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Hi Bebe Falcon 1, I just wanted to let you know that I have been a student of Sharon for a few years now. And I just wanted to give you this link to some of her videos that are free for you to watch. I’m an auditory/visual learner, so I have a hard time learning from books. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me .https://horse-speak.teachable.com/courses/
Joan
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Another one last week, handing-out goodies to all the horses at the barn. Unfortunately (or, fortunately) I’m becoming so accustomed to all this treat-giving - seriously, people!? - that I’m less apprehensive about saying NO and was able to ward-off the offender before the treat hit my mare’s lips 
If anyone has any suggestions as far as what to say going forwards beyond “Sorry, but she’s on a diet!” though, I’d love to hear them.
What a gentleman! Sounds like he’s well-conditioned to the routine you’ve set for him.
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As I’ve heard often “No” is a complete sentence.
If you feel you need to give an excuse, tell them your horse is prone to laminitis so you have to control everything she eats. Or she’s prone to choke so can’t have anything big enough to choke on.
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never feed someone else’s horse without permission. Nothin,not a mint, apple or cookie, nada, never,
doesn’t everyone know…
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You would think so, right? As an interesting observation (and this is just my own personal experience thus far and not a generalization), all of the offenders have been in their early 20s. Coincidentally, this is also the same age bracket that my barn manager has jokingly (or maybe not-so-jokingly) declared she won’t take-on as boarders anymore because of all the unpleasant drama they’ve created (or board bills they’ve skipped out on).
There just seems to be this attitude of, “This is what I want to do, so I’m going do it.” or “This is what I want, and I should get it.”, whether it be plying other boarders’ horses with goodies or attempting to strong-arm the barn manager into making some kind of change (then hauling out their horses the following week with no notice when they don’t get what they want).
Having said that, there are many boarders in their early 20s who are totally reasonable and seem to be able to function at the barn without making everyone else’s horse their business. But those that aren’t/do, seem to be of a certain age.
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That is hugely annoying. I had a mare who would choke on a palmful of dry pellets. I have a gelding who has a myriad of allergies. When everyone else gets a carrot, he gets an apple.
I would suggest a BIG sign on her door “I’m allergic to most goodies! PLEASE do not feed me!!” When asked, do NOT share specifics or make stuff up beyond ‘ugh, it’s a long list! Just don’t feed her anything and you won’t have to worry.’ After THAT conversation, I will have your ass if you feed my horse.
(happily mine are at home).
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I think it often stems from people not having enough experience or knowledge, and not knowing that they don’t have experience or knowledge, such that they don’t defer to others*, wrt what can go wrong if you feed a horse something it’s not supposed to have.
*who say “don’t give my horse treats”
To the untrained eye, horses look like big, strong creatures that a treat can’t possibly harm… It takes experience to see how very delicate they actually are.
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It’s also about people wanting to interact or have a Speshul Bond with horses.
I use treats for clicker training. Horses know to stand back and not mug me. It’s interesting watching people invite mugging as play.
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I think i’d a) put a sign: Do Not Feed and b) another sign: Smile! You’re on Camera and c) actually have a gamecam that could capture the entire front of my horse’s stall
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Mixed answer- I know😬
So at the show barn, horses shouldn’t be hand fed, but I’ve had a lesson mom recently confess she loves my horse & feeding him.
I noticed he’s often pushy with treats, but I know my trainer hand feeds him after rides too… It’s only after he’s done…and…it IS fun to feed horses, I’ll admit it…I feed him in his feeder. I don’t feed other horses there though. LOTS of showing & high priced horses.
I have another horse at a retirement barn. Most horses are retired (the one not retired is a new owner’s pony). Owners rarely come out- 8 horses total. Each one gets 1 cookie or mint. There was one that couldn’t have treats at the barn shortly- no rounds at that time, just a few set in my horses feeder, but that horse was pts, so back to 1 round.
I did have one of my horses choke and was on a VERY restrictive diet for a few days. I told my Dad NOOOOOO treats. He came out of the barn the next day- asked if he fed treats- yup. I was not pleased.
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I was out working in my former veggie garden in October, and I noticed my neighbor feeding two of my horses, and attempting to feed the donk, over the fence line.
For me, this is exactly like me going into your yard, and playing with your dog, or your kid, or feeding either or both.
I walked over to the fence by the yard, and stared at her. She yelled, “they won’t let me feed my donkey friend!”
I yelled back, “NOT your donkey!”
Now, the real issue is that the gelding is Cushingoid, and had a bout with laminitis this past Summer, and the mare has allergies (she is on injectable therapy for them) and she is allergic to carrots. Neither need the carrots.
I thought about it, and I stopped at the home that she rents, and knocked on both doors, so that I could explain. She has a dog that she obviously loves, and I figured I could let her know why she can’t feed them. No answer. I called the local police, explained the situation, and that I wasn’t angry- I just needed her to know. They stopped by, and let her know. She was very apologetic.
I can’t imagine me going to someone’s place, trespassing, and doing anything with their kids/animals. But here, it happens all the time.
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Lord this reminds me of when the pandemic started. I had neighbors, walkers, and just random people driving around taking sudden interest in my horses. I would be working at my kitchen table, look out at my paddock and see people leaning over my fence feeding the horses.
After numerous in person conversations (Don’t feed the horses, they’re not yours and they’re all on special diets), Facebook posts to the neighborhood page, and signs basically every few feet on my fence, I finally got them to stop. At one point, I was working in my carport which is in the paddock to keep an eye on the horses and respond instantly.
It blows my mind how many people will encourage their kids to climb fences to say hi to horses, or show up at properties to intentionally feed/pet/harass the horses. One of them even had the audacity to tell me my large pony is a “jerk” because she won’t let the others come to have their treats.
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I had some neighbors move in a couple of years ago. Their property used to be part of mine, so the fence line runs along the property line. It is basically the parents of the daughter, her husband, and their kids.
I looked out one day, and he is leaning on the fence, with the kiddies right next to him, feeding the donkey. Another time, it was the horses. When I realized that he had decided that he had moved in next to the petting zoo, I went up and had a chat with him.
I explained that if the donkey decides that his grand kids finger is a carrot, and bites it off, he will not be happy with me. And, I do not need the liability. I let him know that I could post big, ugly signs on my fence, or he could keep them away from my animals. I assured him that it was simply liability issues that caused me to take this position.
I posted elsewhere on here about other adventure with the neighbor. 
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This! my horse is a jerk…
I spoke with a neighbor who would buy a bag, a whole bag of apples and handfeed them to my horses over the fence!
She respected my wishes to stop but clearly thought I was being selfish.
I wonder what she would have thought if I had taken my meat bones to her dog?
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