What do you do for your horses

[RAPfrosty]

What special treats, gifts, ect. do you give to or do with your horses for the holidays? On Thanksgiving I made Fever a special feast of hay, carrots, apple cider, and store bought treats. For Christmas I'm hanging up a stocking and possible lights. As for gifts, I got this cool curry comb type thing and I may be buying a break away halter and definatly some treats and candy canes for the little guy! So what do you do for your horses?

 

[Miniv]

We've never done a lot, just hand out some apple or carrot treats to each of our 80+ minis/ponies and the 10 full sized.

MA

 

[Sun Runner Stables]

Well we are not quite as festive as Marty and The Prancers, but we usually have lights in the tack room, and the front of the barn where everyone sits, and we hang x-mas stockings on every horses door with thier name on it.

Then I usually go around x-mas eve and add goodies, and the rest of the barn does the same. We also leave gifts for each other in the tack room, and have alot of fun X-mas day with all the barn kids/students/and boarders bringing their normally horsey gifts to the barn and sharing.

My family is kinda blah about X-mas, so I live it up at the barn and try to make it fun for every one there!

 

[HJF]

I put up decorations in the barn and put up stocking up and fill them with bunches of treats.

I also put up lights in the tack room and buy them a bunch of stuff...not really sure if it's for them or me though.

 

[Jill]

Ours always get a twinkie! They love them, but only one for the minis, and a couple for the biggies.

 

[mistyrose]

We do just as we do on any other day for the horses. The dogs usually get better treats.

 

[Jean_B]

Absolutely nothing different. I rarely give my horses treats of any sort. I never feed them anything out of my hand except in the show ring and that is strictly for the purpose of getting the best "look" to their neck/topline, etc. Feed a horse out of your hand and you end up with one that starts nipping, looking for treats, and nipping is something I do not tolerate. On the rare occasion my horses are allowed a treat - it might be a small piece of carrot or small piece of apple - and only if it is placed in a bucket or in the feed bunk.

Treats are the main reason Shetlands have such a poor reputation. Too many turned their kids (or unknowing adults) loose with them with treats fed out of their hands. And when the poor pony - who doesn't know any better - got in the habit of finding treats in little fingers, and then some times those hands were empty - well, it was NOT the pony's fault that those fingers got nipped !!!!!!!!!

 

[minih]

Ours get carrots and a few like apples, not all. The life saver wintergreen mints are a good treat for them too. I take a spoon and break them in half and they love them!

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

We make cut out gingerbread 'cookies' for all of our animals, and the horses love them! We have cookie cutter shapes for all the different animals, horses, goats, dogs, and dog bones. The only time I will handfeed treats, other than some training situations.

 

[Jess P]

For the holidays I make a beet pulp soup with molasses and carrots. they get a stocking infront of their stall which I fill with grooming supplies

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Absolutely nothing different. I rarely give my horses treats of any sort. I never feed them anything out of my hand except in the show ring and that is strictly for the purpose of getting the best "look" to their neck/topline, etc. Feed a horse out of your hand and you end up with one that starts nipping, looking for treats, and nipping is something I do not tolerate. On the rare occasion my horses are allowed a treat - it might be a small piece of carrot or small piece of apple - and only if it is placed in a bucket or in the feed bunk.
Treats are the main reason Shetlands have such a poor reputation. Too many turned their kids (or unknowing adults) loose with them with treats fed out of their hands. And when the poor pony - who doesn't know any better - got in the habit of finding treats in little fingers, and then some times those hands were empty - well, it was NOT the pony's fault that those fingers got nipped !!!!!!!!!

Whoa, Jean! This was inquiring what we do to make Christmas fun at the barn, not inviting a rant on handfeeding!

We each have a right to our opinions and I respect that yours has come out of your considerable experience, but some of us do manage to handfeed our horses without creating nippy little monsters.

And funny, but I thought the reason Shetlands have such a nasty reputation was because they are too smart for their own good and get away with far too much because many are effectively trained by children?

I've heard a lot more people complaining about their childhood pony scraping them off on trees or refusing to be caught than biting.

To be ON topic, we don't traditionally do much for Christmas here other than go spend some special quiet time out in the barn with our boys just enjoying the sound of them eating.

I'd love to decorate but there are so many old cobwebs in the barn that I'm afraid of starting a fire with lights and I can't hang stockings because our barn is just three stalls (no aisle) and the horses come and go as they please and would pull them off the walls. I might try it this year anyway though! I'm in the mood. LOL

Leia

 

[Leeana]

When MARTY finds this thread she is going to have a field day and we will see this thread reach its lenght limit!

I usually spoil them with love and then give them all a nice carrot and pepperment treat!

Leeana

 

[Relic]

We don't do anything special for them on the day except to make sure there is no break in the usual feeding watering etc times. They do have a tall life size santa hanging on the side of the barn wall they can look at starting the first part of next month. Freaks a few of the mares out at first but they get over it in a day or 2.

 

[Jean_B]

To be ON topic, we don't .....

Leia

507130[/snapback]

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Sorry -- thought I WAS on topic .... here are the 1st words in the original question: (quote) What special treats, gifts, ect. (end quote) And since I feel strongly that treats fed improperly ARE a large part of the problem with nippy horses....and since this is a board for the purpose of helping bring information to those who don't have a lot of experience ... I thought it important that if people ARE giving their horses treats, that they should know NOT to give them to them in their hand. Now if that is off topic .... beat me with a stick.... I can take it.

 

[Nancy G]

I don`t decorate te barn but each year for Christmas, I go out and buy lots of apples. They each get an apple on Christmas Day. The ones I take to the Christmas Eve Nativity get an extra apple that night. I love Christmas and enjoy giving, even to my horses.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[RAPfrosty]

I just want to add that I NEVER feed treats from my hands. That deffinatly wasn't what I was getting at and so that wasn't on topic. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with giving treats, it's how you present them and how often you give them that matters. Christmas is a special time of year and I just wanted to see what special things people do for their horses.