What Treats to Use and Why

What makes a treat the right choice?

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say "clicker training doesn't work", only to find out they are using store bought treats, peppermints, or candy to train. Yikes! Not only is that a recipe for causing metabolic issues, it's also an easy way to get an over aroused horse. If you want to use food successfully, you have to understand treat value first.

The first thing to understand its that size matters.  Treats that are too large, think store bought and highly processed, will take a long time to chew (adding too much time between repetitions) and will quickly put you at risk for adding too much sugar or calories to your horses diet.  Treats that are too small (think a bit of grain or a pea sized slice of carrot) will leave your horse frustrated and unsatisfied. 

You want something in the middle, think about the size of a nickel for a piece of carrot or a quarter sized portion of tiny grain pieces.

And the type of treat you use will depend on what you want to do.  

When you’re first introducing treats, and really during any regular training you do, you want to go with low value.  That means something that’s not going to cause a great deal of excitement. For behaviors they know well, and you still want to continue to reward for some time, low value rewards are key.  

Examples of low value treats:

1. Hay (coastal, Bermuda, timothy, orchard)
2. Hay pellets or cubes (don’t forget to soak!)
3. Celery
4. Low sugar grains (NSC less than 10%)

But let’s say you want a bit of enthusiasm.  Maybe you’re working to get more energy out of an energy conserver, or you’re taking your horse on a field trip where you’d like their attention a bit more, this is where your medium value treats come into play.   

Examples of medium value rewards:

1. Carrots
2. Sweet Potatoes
3. Regular grain

And for those extra difficult things we ask, like doing a sliding stop, running to you from the back pasture, or holding focus on you when you ride past the field with the mini-donkies, you may want to use a high value reward for a limited time.  I don’t suggest sticking with a high value treat for any extended period of time, and it is never recommended if your horse has metabolic issues, but they can be super handy at different stages of training and for certain situations. 

Examples of high value rewards:

1. Apples
2. Higher sugar grains
3. Peppermints
4. Sugar cubes

On regular training days, I’m always using low value food.  This keeps things calm and uncomplicated.  If my horse is really struggling to get a snappier backup, or pick up the canter, I might go for a medium value reward to increase my chances of success.

And peppermints…those only come out for those recalls over long distances or high distraction environments.  High value rewards call for high quality (or difficulty) behaviors.

There’s no reason to make things complicated. Use things that belong in their diet on a regular basis and you'll be in good shape.