Trick or Treat: Things to Think About when Giving Your Horse a Treat

being nipped. Additionally bring your hand up to the horses mouth instead of making them reach for it. By bringing the treat to them your horse will learn not to lunge for a treat. It is also important that feeding treats does not become a habit.
Figure 1. Using a bucket to give a treat instead of your hand can reduce nipping. Photo Credit Jessica McCann.
If your horse is being pushy it may be necessary to stop the current positive reinforcement method of using treats. You could use a different reward for positive reinforcement such as scratching or petting them in a place they like. You could also use other training methods to ensure your safety and the unwanted behavior of the pushy horse is mitigated.
Types of treats
Commercially available treats
There are many horse treats that tack stores and online shops sell. The options are endless with different flavors shapes textures and unique toppers like peppermints or gummies. In any tack shop there is usually a large row of treats. Some of these commercial treats have added vitamins and minerals but remember that treats should not make up the bulk of your horses diet. Forage and concentrates should supply their key nutrients do not rely on treats to supply vitamins and minerals to your horses diet.
FruitsVegetables
There are many different fruits and vegetables that can be given to horses as treats. While the most popular are apples and carrots there are other safe produce that can be given. Some safe fruit that can be given to our horses include bananas oranges pineapple pears strawberries watermelon blueberries peaches and apricot. For peaches and apricots make sure that the pits are removed since they can be a choking hazard. There are also many safe vegetables besides the popular carrot including beets corn cucumber pumpkin squash

lettuce and turnips.
While most fruits and vegetables are generally safe for horses there are some that are not safe for horses to eat. While not a complete list some fruits and vegetables that should not be fed to horses include persimmons avocados tomatoes potatoes broccoli and cauliflower. Some of these are toxic to horses and others may cause gastrointestinal issues like excessive gas.
Homemade Treats
Homemade treats are treats that owners can make at home. There are many different recipes that horse lovers can follow to bake different kinds of treats that are safe for horses to eat. Most of these recipes