and why or why not?
I do. the majority of people at my barn don't treat their horses at all, and if they do they throw them in their feed. I feel like some people don't react when i do it and couldn't care less, then some people act as though i just sold my soul to the devil, like it's the most awful thing ever. I mean if i had a nippy horse, or he begged for treats, or he was rude about it, etc, i wouldn't do it. but he's good about it. he's not allowed his treat until he stands patiently. no reaching for it, no nudging me, no trying to steal it from my hand. i've been hand treating my horse for over a year and i've never had a problem with it. like, i kind of treat it the same way i do head scratching. he really does have a very itchy head, because he has sweet itch. he's very gentle about it, and if he starts to get too forceful all i have to do is push his head, and he'll rub his head on his leg. but i mean, my legs make a better scratcher than his legs, so i let it go. he's not the kind of horse who will run up behind you and pretty much shove you down to scratch their head. he's gentle.
so what about you? do you hand treat your horse? let them scratch on you? why or why not?
I do. the majority of people at my barn don't treat their horses at all, and if they do they throw them in their feed. I feel like some people don't react when i do it and couldn't care less, then some people act as though i just sold my soul to the devil, like it's the most awful thing ever. I mean if i had a nippy horse, or he begged for treats, or he was rude about it, etc, i wouldn't do it. but he's good about it. he's not allowed his treat until he stands patiently. no reaching for it, no nudging me, no trying to steal it from my hand. i've been hand treating my horse for over a year and i've never had a problem with it. like, i kind of treat it the same way i do head scratching. he really does have a very itchy head, because he has sweet itch. he's very gentle about it, and if he starts to get too forceful all i have to do is push his head, and he'll rub his head on his leg. but i mean, my legs make a better scratcher than his legs, so i let it go. he's not the kind of horse who will run up behind you and pretty much shove you down to scratch their head. he's gentle.
so what about you? do you hand treat your horse? let them scratch on you? why or why not?