Stop the Mugging! Using Treats in Equine Training

My trainer says feeding my horse treats has caused his poor ground manners. Should I stop?
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Stop the Mugging! Using treats in Equine Training
Giving treats to your horse has many benefits. | Photo: Photos.com
Q: My horse needed work on ground manners, so I hired a trainer who told me to stop hand-feeding treats. The trainer said the treats are making my horse pushy and mouthy and that my horse sees me as a human Pez dispenser, not a leader. Could my horse’s poor ground manners really be caused by carrots?

A: There are many good reasons to use carrots and other treats with horses. It can strengthen your relationship with the horse, and training with a food reward is an effective way to shape new behaviors and condition relaxed emotional responses.¹ Most animal training organizations endorse the use of positive reinforcement, which typically uses a food reward, as the “first line of teaching, training, and behavior change” in animals, and “associated with the lowest incidence of aggression, attention-seeking, and avoidance/fear in learners.”²

Positive methods using food is the standard approach for training most animals, but pressure-release (negative reinforcement) continues to prevail in equine training. The use of food- and hand-feeding in particular raises concerns among many horse trainers, who warn that it can promote disrespectful behavior and interfere with training

In fact, when given indiscriminately, treats can create problem behaviors, including mugging, mouthing, biting, excitement, and distraction. This concern isn’t unique to horses but might be a particular problem because of their size and strength

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Written by:

Robin Foster, PhD, CAAB, IAABC-Certified Horse Behavior Consultant, is a research professor at the University of Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington, and an affiliate professor at the University of Washington. She holds a doctorate in animal behavior and has taught courses in animal learning and behavior for more than 20 years. Her research looks at temperament, stress, and burn-out as they relate to the selection, retention, and welfare of therapy horses. She also provides private behavior consultations and training services in the Seattle area.

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