My horse seems to have lost interest in me if I don't have treats!!??

Question

I love my horse and I brush him and ride him and do everything I can do but if I go to brush him out in the pasture without him having a halter on and I don't have treats he will turn around and walk away. If I have treats in my tack bag he will reach down himself and eat all the treats. What do I do?

Answer 1

That isn't unusual, horses like to have a break to you know, you shouldnt spoil your horse with treats either, it gives them bad habits like nipping and biting. I've seen alot of horse ruined due to spoiling.

Answer 2

I think that your horse might be spoiled. Don't always bring treats with you when you go to him, show him that you are not going to give him a treat just to get his attention. He will come out of his habit of thinking he is the boss after he sees you are not bringing treats. And you two will get along again. He does love hes just got in his head you should always bring treats and if you don't he thinks it's a bad thing. When you do bring him treats only give two or three so that he will still feel like he is getting some.

Answer 3

Your horse doesn't respect you. For now, you need to throw all  your treats away and work with your horse until you build that respect. At that point you can give him some treats.

Let me ask a question. What do you do when he reaches down to the tack bag? Why does he eat all the treats? Because you are letting him. You need to stop this behavior. You should shoo him away when he does that. Are you riding him? Why do you think its safe to ride a horse that turns his butt on you if you don't have treats? What if you were on the trail and you fell off-but didn't have a treat. Would he let you back on or make you walk back home?

You need to build respect with body language and doing some groundwork. I would start with leading. Here are a few free articles to read:

http://www.train-horses.com/leadingyourh...

http://www.train-horses.com/horseharmony...

http://www.train-horses.com/catchingyour...

Cheers,

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...

Answer 4

he is spoiled.  you should alternate days for a week or so between treat and no treat, so he has to understand he dont always get one, also need to train him to "stay" when u tell him. its not much harder than with a dog so good luck!!!

Answer 5

Don't give him anymore treats. He's just spoiled if it continues he might start biting.

Answer 6

This is the perfect example of why I never hand feed or use food as a catching device. A horse will respond in either of two ways if a treat is denied or not supplied. He will either become overly aggressive and try either to push you around to find a treat or as your horse does, will walk or run away if a treat is not in sight.

Next time your horse goes to leave from you, take your lead rope and swing it to make your horse trot or lope off. Do this until your horse comes to a halt. Try walking up to him now. If he still wants to take off, keep making him move. Ask for a halt again and try putting a bridle on him now. Keep doing this until you have caught your horse. When you have finally caught him, give him his petting and groom him and ride him.

Leave the treats alone. Don't keep treats in his sight and if you are tempted to give him a treat, slip it in his feed bucket. Never hand feed. After a few times of you moving his body off from you, he will become easier to catch.