b'NUTRITIONsolutions at Purina Animal Nutrition, in Gray Summit, Missouri. That includes general feeding recommendations.Although feeding instructions are not comprehensive, says Young, they do carry the message to feed as a reward or treat to adult horses, and ingredients are also listed on the packaging.Timing of TreatsWhatever food items they prefer, Fos-ter says to consider your horses natural feeding cycle when selecting treats. Because by nature they eat all day, she says, it is not necessary to provide whatFeeding horses treats at the wrong time can unintentionally PAM MACKENZIE she calls high-value food as part ofreinforce undesirable behaviors such as pawing, begging, their training. and nosing human pockets.Many horses are just as motivated with chaff or hay as something less high-value andsomething that they have tohorse is on a special diet or has specialthe pasture (your horse is on), then take time to chew, Foster says. Thereshealth issues and should not be fed anypay attention to supplements they get, a certain satisfaction (for horses) intreats in the first place.including treats.chewing. At the same time, Foster believes She also suggests owners discourageTake-Home Message owners should understand their own begging or other unwanted behaviorsUltimately, Staniar believes ownersreasons for adding treats to their horses simply by refraining from feeding treatsshould learn what comprises the bulk ofdiets. by hand.their horses diets before deciding howRemember, horses dont need treatsInstead, put the food into a bucket andtreats figure into their dietary scheme. in fact some people dont feed their horses offer it, she says. The order isin addition to water treats at all, Foster says. But many of In addition, Foster suggests ownersforage, grain or feed, and supplements,us want to give our horses treats partly reward horses after an extensive groom- he says. So pay attention to the largestbecause we associate food with building ing session in a way that does not includeportion of your horses diet and knowand maintaining relationships, and thats feeding a treat. about the quality and quantity of theokay. Just be sure that when you do feed hFor example, when you give a horsehay youre feeding and the quality oftreats to your horse, to do it mindfully. a bath, you can reward him instead by letting him graze for 5 or 10 minutes, she says. If the bath ends with a positive experience, the horses memory of it will be more positive, as well.If you do feed special foods or com- PROVEN PROTECTION mercial treats that are rich and high in calories, Foster recommends changing the kind of reward you use for training toFOR LEAKY GUTone thats lower-value than what you offer in other situations.Finally, horse lovers should practice good treat-feeding protocol by alwaysLearn More at obtaining owners permission before feed-ing their horses treatsor anything else,Kemin.com/LeakyGut for that matter. That means refraining from passing out treats to every horse in the barn.First of all, horses in a boarding barn know that they will get treats from a certain person, and they will come to demand it by popping out of a corner, Kemin Industries, Inc. and its group of companies 2018. All rights reserved. Trademarks of Kemin Industries, Inc., U.S.A.calling, or even kicking the wall of a stall, Foster says. Also, you never know if a 72November 2018The Horse|TheHorse.com'