It is very important that once you start teaching your horse tricks that you ONLY feed your horse from your hand if he does something that you have asked him to do.  You horse needs to learn that from now on the only time he gets a treat  is if he does something you ask AND he does it correctly.

If you feed your horse treats at other times he won’t make the connection between doing something right and getting a treat.  You may also find that several other things will happen – your horse may get confused during trick training or he won’t try very hard to learn a new trick or he will be constantly mugging you for treats.

Only use a small amount of each treat (carrots are about 2.5cm long)

Many people like to give their horses a treat just because it’s a nice thing to do and because we love them, but if you are serious about trick training you need to resist the temptation to feed them treats at any time other than trick training time.

(more…)

Most horses love treats and this is the best reward you can give them when they do something right.  Some horses are more than happy with a scratch or pat as a reward but it’s usually food that really inspires them to perform.

Some favourite horse trick treats

I have tried 100’s of different treats to find the best training treat.  Most horses love carrots and there are some really yummy horse pellets that are convenient and make cheap treats.

To teach your horse tricks (in the fastest time) you need to find a treat that really gets your horse’s interest.

(more…)