Please ASK AN OFFICER before giving treats
to horses. Many of the horses have medical conditions that prohibit them from having treats, fruit, grains, or
certain vegetables.
Giving
treats is generally discouraged for several reasons. Many horses at the sanctuary are on restrictive diets and cannot
have "treats" for medical reasons. Horses also become accustomed to receiving treats and become "nippy"
sometimes biting visitors and other volunteers.
Treats are to be given to a horse when and only when
he is ready to be returned to the field. Please do so when he is by himself and not in close proximity ot other
horses. Do not go out into the fields with a handful, armful, or bucketful of treats, thinking the horses on the other
side of the field won't notice. Before you realize it, you will be in the midst of a number of horses in stiff competition
for treats!
Horses love to eat, and given the opportunity, will eat themselves sick. If
you feed the horses treats, please limit one treat per horse (example, one apple or one banana per horse).
Please
slice large fruit, such as apples and oranges. Slices should be 1/2 inch or smaller. Clean knives and return to
drawer when finished.
Do not ever feed a horse food that is slimy or moldy! Mold is toxic to
horses. If you find moldy food, throw it in a receptacle not accessible to horses. If there is a large amount
of spoiled food to be disposed of, please bury it in the large manure pile. It is best to wash fruit, which has been
in close proximity to a moldy item, as mold spores spread quickly.
If you or the horse drops the treat
or a piece of it on the ground, pick it up and rinse it off or throw it away. Horses can develop colic from sand which
adheres to the food.
Please use only treats located in the refrigerator. Sometimes boxes of food
are stored nearby, but these have not been inspected, and may contain items harmful to horses. Be sure to remove all
stickers from fruit. Do not feed the horse banana peels or the tops (greenery) from carrots.
If
you are feeding the horses "salad" (large amounts of fruit and vegetables cut up and placed out in the fields for
all the horses to enjoy), please be sure to place it ON HAY. Do not place the food on dirt or manure, as it can become
contaminated, causing the horse to colic.
Hold the treat out to the horse in the palm of your hand. Make
sure your fingers are totally extended, as far as you possibly can. Curled fingers can easily find their way into a
horse's mouth, and when he chews, it hurts!
Under no circumstances are the horses to be
fed sugar cubes, peppermints, or any similar treats. These are not "average" horses; many have digestive
problems or ailments which can be aggravated by the ingestion of these items.
