How do you work with a horse that is too food motivated?

Is your horse a bit tooooo excited when it comes to food rewards? The nosey and pushy behaviour, as well as the "hyperfixation" on the food rewards can be enough to want to avoid using food in training all together!

But food rewards are such an incredibly tool when it comes to motivating your horse.

If you watched my recent masterclass, you know that I love incorporating food rewards, and I do adore the horses that get a bit too keen with food rewards involved ❤️

These “cookie monster” horses are amazing thinkers and doers. They just need to be shown where to direct their energy. 💡

Imagine if your horse put all of his mental and physical energy into a beautiful, balanced Spanish Walk at liberty instead of trying to tunnel his way into your pocket!

But, we do need to be a little careful because their eagerness can turn into frustration. So here are some tips to help you incorporate food rewards without the trouble:

Set your horse up for success! 🎯

Yeah, I know, I sound like a broken record, but it’s so important! How easy can you make it for your horse to learn how to behave around food rewards?

First, make sure he has a full belly before you begin. Don’t do this when he is hungry. You can even have an alternative food source available, like a hay net hanging nearby that he can go to if he wants.

Also, make sure you pick a moment when he is already relaxed to introduce your horse to food rewards. Many of these horses are “stress-eaters,” so as soon as they get stressed, they feel like they need to snatch at the grass or eat a lot quickly. Choose a place and a time when your horse is already relaxed. 🧘‍♂️

Lastly, don't try this with other horses in the same space. Your horse will either become worried about another horse stealing you, or he will guard you- neither of these are ideal.

Choose your food reward wisely!

Put away the carrots, apples, sugar cubes and licorice. You want something that takes a lifetime to chew and is not all that interesting. These horses move FAST. If you give them a piece of carrot or a couple of pellets that are gloriously delicious, they will snatch, swallow, and be ready for the next one before you even have a chance to think about what to do next. Slow them down by picking something that they need to chew. Chewing also helps with relaxation.

I love using hay cubes. These are dry and so boring that some horses refuse to eat them. If that’s your horse, great! Now you have a baseline of “too boring” and you can step up to slightly less boring hay pellets instead.

Be careful with the hay cubes though! Break them up into small chunks to avoid any chance of your horse gobbling them down too quickly and ending up with choke. You can even wet them down a little bit if necessary. 

Take your time to reinforce the behaviors that you DO want

Seeking towards food is the most normal and natural thing for your horse to do. Your horse doesn’t inherently understand what being “polite” is. That is a man-made concept. You need to teach him what you want.

Reinforce moments when he gives you space, such as backing up away from you or moving his head away from you. Reward the little tries and don't ask for too much too quickly.

Also, reinforce moments of stillness and relaxation as soon as you get the chance. 🌿

Incorporate a marker/bridge signal

Clarity of what behavior is being reinforced is key! I’ll write about this in another email because it’s a big topic. The marker signal, like a clicker, is a sound that happens at the time of the desired behavior and is followed by the reward. It shows your horse exactly what behavior caused you to give him his reward.

Be quick

A horse’s association time is SHORT – 3 seconds at best. You need to reinforce immediately after the behavior happens, especially in the beginning when your horse is learning how to learn with positive reinforcement. The marker signal happens at the time of the behavior, and (at this stage of training) the food reward should be in his mouth no more than 1 or 2 seconds later! ⏱️

Bring the food reward TO your horse

You may need to lean or move towards your horse. Do not wait for your horse to bring his nose to you for his food reward- this is not what you would like to reinforce.

I hope this gives you some food for thought when working with food-motivated horses! In the Essence of Liberty Online Academy, we dive deep into the science and all of the details surrounding this topic.

I hope you have a wonderful week, and that you get some time to spend with your beautiful horses! 🦄

- Nadine