good bond - lucerne

Question
hello ma'am, do horses develop a good bond with us if we hand feed them lucerne? while hand feeding, they try to snatch off from our hand. may i know why? are they showing food protection?

Answer
Horses naturally are food oriented creatures, as all animals are.

I use food as a way of getting an abused horse to trust me and i do give rewards to horses in training.

However, when and if they start to develop assertive behavior, i.e. getting into the space of their handler to "demand" food, or starting to nip or bite, then it is time to stop hand feeding.

Many barns that have childern riding often have the children put any treats into the horse's feed bucket.