# Horse food and training!



## bernadettelevis (Feb 2, 2011)

Since i only use positive reinforcement for my dog now i was also rethinking the training methods of horses!
I bought my horse when he was 1 year old and i totally trained him myself! Before really knowing about clicker and positive reinforcement i think i did a pretty good job compared to all the others at my stable.
Well he is currently 5 years and doesn'T know too much yet, because i couldn't work him for more than a year now because of growth issues! He is supposed to be a show jumping horse also in competitions.
Although i think my "training methods" are pretty good compared to everyone else i know who is training horses, i still have a lot to learn and any input for people who have trained their horses with clicker would be great!

The other thing i started thinking about was horse food since i started my dog on pmr!
I never really thought much about it! At our stable they are fed 3 times a day with this sort of food :







and you can choose if you also want them to get oat! And of course hay three times a day! Now when it is nice out side he also gets to graze as much as possible.

I know that probably fresh grass and hay would be the ideal diet for a horse, but at our stable that would be pretty much impossible so i wanted to ask what opinions you have on horse food?
What should be in it? What to avoid?
I would be willing to buymy own food even if it is a lot more expensive if i know that it is better. Especially with all his growth issues...

Horse debate started  :becky:


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

There is so much more we need to know first. 

What breed is he?

How much is he getting worked a day, week?

Is it consistent work? meaning on a program for 1 hr every day/ 5 days a week?


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## bernadettelevis (Feb 2, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> There is so much more we need to know first.
> 
> What breed is he?
> 
> ...



He's a holsteiner! I don'T know if i mentioned that he is 5 years now!

Well that's the thing i just started again and he get's worked about ~30 minutes 4 times a week! I'm not allowed to work him more yet!

Other wise he is on the horse walker and i try to put him on the paddock as much as possible! 
We also sometimes do different activiteswith the clicker, but that is rather mental than physical exercise!


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Well, for the work he is doing Alfalfa pellets should be just fine, he's not doing very strenuous mental or physical work yet. Oats really have no nutritional value to them unless you add supplements and other sources to it.

Our quarter horses that are 4-5 days a week 1 1/2 hrs a day are fed 3 times a day orchard grass and local hay, stategy pellets, rice bran, and supplements plus they get turned out, they are not on the hot side though.


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