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House Sitting - Taking Care of Horses

935 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Speed Racer 
#1 ·
Hello,

My name is Flick and I will be house sitting for my Uncle-in-Law. There are 7 horses on the property that I will be looking after while my Uncle-in-Law is out of town on vacation. His Mother-in-Law and Father-in-Law live next door and will be helping me with the horses too. (unless they go somewhere as well)
Tomorrow, I'm moving in to my Uncle-in-Law's house with my boyfriend and getting a crash course on horses. I am very excited even though I know it's going to be a lot of work. I have visited these horses before and even rode on one of them. They are all good natured, one being a bit skittish but warms up to people so I'm not expecting any problems. :D

Is there any kind of special treat that I could give them over the next few days to kind of gain their friendship? I was thinking of hand-feeding a carrot or half a carrot every day. Is that okay? I thought about sugar cubes but... well.. Let's just say these horses have extra padding. :P
 
#2 ·
I would ask your Uncle about treats. If the horses are already fat they might be on a diet of some type that does not allow certain foods (carrots are relatively high in sugar).

If your Uncle is OK with treats carrots are a fine idea.

Most horses will be happy with a nice scratch on the neck.
 
#3 ·
I would ask your Uncle first. And I'm not a fan of feeding "hand treats" excessivly. It can make a horse get pushy because when he/she sees you, they'll try to find the food you've got (even if you don't have any).
If you feed treats, try putting them in a bucket or feed pan instead of feeding from your hand.

Grooming is also good way to get aqquainted with a horse!

And Welcome to the Horse Forum! :D
 
#4 ·
Grooming and hand grazing are also ways to spend time with and let the horses get better acquainted with you.

But yes, as long as your uncle gives you the go ahead, carrots are fine treats. As Knack pointed out, you might want to put it in their feed tubs instead of feeding them by hand. Horses can get mouthy if given treats by hand.
 
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