Carrots and Horse Behaviour

Over the years I have advised many clients who feed their horse carrots to try an experiment and stop feeding carrots for a week to see if there was any change in their behaviour.

On average 9 out of 10 horse owners would report back that they had indeed noted a change in their horse. Sometimes it would be a small change and with others it would show a definite improvement in their behaviour. An experience from a few years back highlights the above.

An owner came to see me saying his horse would nap dangerously if they ever hacked a route they had done before; he couldn’t even hack out of the yard. He would have to transport the horse to a totally new destination in order to ride. I was fully booked for the next two weeks and made an arrangement for a visit sometime after. During our conversation I asked what he was feeding the horse and he mentioned carrots to which I suggested he cut out the carrots for a week. I made no other recommendation as I felt I would need to witness the horse’s behaviour. Four days later I received I phone call cancelling our appointment as he could now hack out of the yard.

So, if you have a problem horse or he/she shows a certain behaviour pattern, try cutting out the carrots. It’s free, does no harm and you never know - it could well make a difference to you and your horse.