You Don't Feed Treats to Other People's Horses .. Y/N?

[Bebe_Falcon1]

@ASB_Stars

For me, this is exactly like me going into your yard, and playing with your dog, or your kid, or feeding either or both.

100%.

Filed under “Things That Keep Me Up At Night”, this same thought occurred to me recently. Not sure why the general public thinks feeding farm animals (and horses, to many who don’t work/ride/live with them, get lumped in with other farm animals) is a free-for-all. But to me, it’s akin to someone deciding to feed all the neighbourhood dogs over/through the fence or rolling up to a school yard and handing out candy to children they don’t know nor have any responsibility for.

While fellow boarders should know better, the average Joe has no idea how expensive vet visits can get to treat a horse that’s choking, has an allergic reaction or a laminitic episode. In all honesty, I’d be tempted to create a sign that laid out all those expenses underneath a representative illustration of a horse being treated for all those possible outcomes, and post it along the fenceline for anyone who gets close enough to see.

[Bebe_Falcon1]

So it seems that “No Treats!” signs are starting to be posted up by fellow boarders on stall doors. One of the other horses is now having tummy troubles and, of course, it’s not known if it’s related to the things being fed to the mare without her owner’s knowledge.

(Which makes me very relieved I caught the treat-giver before they stuffed anything in my mare’s mouth!).

[Angela_Freda]

Ya know, I’d be inclined to hold the barn managers feet to the fire on this.
They DO know how $$ vet visits are, and how dangerous it can be to feed a horse what it’s not supposed to have.
They also, I assume, have some control over who is hanging out in the barn.

I think, maybe, people think advocating for our horses (to not be fed dangerous-to-them substances) is a symptom of horse lady snobbiness.

[cheval_convert]

If someone told me that and my horse had broken out in hives (he’s allergic to everything), I would hand them the vet bill for the Dex. If it was summer, they would also have to bathe him, and walk him to dry him but not let him have any grass. (Yes, he is allergic to clover and some types of grass.) I suspect they would never feed a horse without permission again.

[scislandsprite]

I also had to put up a “No treats” sign this year since others would hand feed my horse without asking while I wasn’t there. I wasn’t thrilled at all, especially because she was on stall rest & her surgeon had specifically said she needed to lose weight.

The sign does work, although people do sometimes complain about it but I am more concerned with my horse’s health vs their feelings about it. I didn’t catch it for a few weeks since I’ve done clicker training and my horse is very polite when I give her food, but she did start mugging the people that were doing hand-feeding unfortunately.

[173north]

I was in my pony’s stall today fixing his blanket and another boarder fed him a carrot, then seemed surprised when I asked him to please not do that. There’s a huge sign on the pony’s stall saying “no treats - do not hand feed.” I’m just amazed.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Not to psychologize people…but sometimes I honestly think people are are playing out their own issues with food with their animals. I’ve heard the “but the horses DESERVE treats,” excuse (i.e. food=love, worthiness) so many times.

[Spudsmyguy]

I used to feed my own horse treats regularly. He got very muggy and constantly checking pockets, I know I created this so ended the treat train. If I want to treat him and he’s in his stall, I put them on the stall floor in a clear section (no feed pans left in the stall). I stopped giving them to him in the cross ties and in a very short time, he’s stopped the mugging and is more polite about the treats.

[SillyHorse]

@J-Lu

He never bites unless there’s the very rare miscalculation of where your hands or fingers are.

That rare miscalculation could cost you everything when someone sues you because they or their child is now missing a finger.

[Zevida]

Ok I’ll admit occasionally I would give the pony next door a treat when I fed mine a treat. We were in the same training program and the pony had an absentee owner and didn’t get much affection. But 99% of the time I don’t feed other horses.

I also found my horse getting too muggy for my tastes and I stopped hand feeding him treats (in his feed pan or bucket) and the pony moved. So back to never feeding anyone’s horse without permission.

[Widget]

I do only if I ask the owner. I neither want to cause vet bills or encourage bad behaviors. I also am aware of the horses where I board that have medical issues and cannot have treats.

But I rarely give my horse a typical treat. She gets extra turnout while I’m there or a special water / watery mash as a treat.

[Bebe_Falcon1]

Nearly a year later and this sneaking-the-cute-pony-treats business is still happening. Signs have gone up on stall doors (not mine) and it’s even been addressed in emails sent out by the barn manager.

So when I caught a group of women hanging around my pony’s gate as I arrived, pony ears and eyes eagerly pointed in their direction, I realized that a disconcerting number of people are still not getting it. The women quickly dispersed when I arrived, but when I got back into the barn, I asked them if they’d been feeding anyone anything. A boarder admitted to giving treats to a visiting (non-horsey) guest of one of the other boarders to feed to my mare. (My mare and her buddies are in a completely different paddock than either of these other boarders horses, so they’d really gone out of their way to feed her… not to mention neither of these boarders even know who I am let alone have asked permission to do this.)

I was finally (finally!!!) able to stop over-thinking this nonsense and just said what came into my head … which is that you don’t feed horses that don’t belong to you. Period. The guest was very apologetic so I didn’t go on and on about it, but definitely made a point to hammer home to the boarders about this “Golden Rule” because they really should know better.

We have another boarder who’s an ongoing problem when it comes to feeding other horses. She’ll raid her fridge for any kind of fruit or veg (including cauliflower) to give any horse on the property that will come over to the fence line She’s been told multiple times by multiple people, under no circumstances are you to be found feeding anyone else’s horse, yet she still does it. Last time, she had a friend with her and they were both shoveling food into my pony’s mouth as they took selfies with her.

There are worse crimes to commit at a barn, I get it, but apparently this is the one that really grinds my gears! Woe be upon she who’s caught red-handed next time (dun-dun-dunnnnnn).

[demidq]

I hand feed treats to my own very polite mare, and if there is another horse in the cross ties, I’ll ask if they can have one as well. Otherwise NO- never give treats to someone else’s beast. My mare gets something when I catch her in the field. Recently all her buddies have started to come over looking for treats as well, tho they never get any from me. I suspect one of the other owners may be the culprit as the horses clearly expect a hand-out. It’s a bit unnerving being mobbed, and could get dangerous if they start disagreeing with each other. I have started bringing a dressage whip into the pasture with me.
Just don’t feed other people’s horses!

[Spudsmyguy]

I caught some ladies who stopped by the side of the road trying to feed my horse croutons! Not the plain ones, but seasoned. I could just imagine the distress it would have caused on her stomach if she actually ate them. I chased them away and told them to never feed a horse that doesn’t belong to you.

[2tempe]

I dont feed other horses treats. There is one boarder who has a love affair with my horse and she is allowed to put things in his feed bin. Thankfully she never brings anything weird! And then there is the vet…said horse has her dutifully trained to march to my locker and get a molasses cookie after which he will stand for his vaccines, adequan or whatever else comes/goes from the needle

[Bebe_Falcon1]

@2tempe

And then there is the vet…said horse has her dutifully trained to march to my locker and get a molasses cookie after which he will stand for his vaccines, adequan or whatever else comes/goes from the needle

See, I think this is genius though