Lip Smackin' Good?

Before I started leasin (and eventually bought) My Boy, I looked into leasing an older Arabian gelding. I met the owner at the boarding stable where the horse was kept and she introduced me to the horse. She told me was his favorite treat were sour patch kids candy. She even showed me where in her tack locker his stash of candy was. That's right, sour patch kids.

I personally have a weird feeling about feeding my horse candy, or anything that isn't made to be fed to a horse. I snack on power and granola bars when I am horsin' around. My Boy always smells them and gets all sniffy and drools (well not real drool, probably just mental drool.) So one time I broke off a little nibble for him. That is about as extreme as I get when it comes to feeding him "people food." For him, it's strictly a snack diet of apples, carrots, and horse treats.

One the way to see My Boy yesterday, I stopped to pick up a bag of supplement at the farm store. While waiting for the cashier to ring me up, I looked at a big bag of what looked liked homemade horse cookies. I set them down and turned to sign my receipt, and the cashier handed me a little sample Ziploc of the very same treats.

They are called Bearstone Bites and are made in the Pacific Northwest, which is pretty neat. They are about the size of a fifty-cent piece and look very sticky with molasses (one of the ingredients.)

I took one of the Bearstone Bites when I went to fetch My Boy from the pasture. Here is a picture of me feeding it to him.

Notice you do not see the cookie? It was gone before I could snap the photo. Along with four of my fingers. I kid, I kid. I rarely feed my horse from my hand. I always put treats in his grain tub. I do not want to encourage him to be a nibbler. I only did it this time to get a picture.

I haltered My Boy and led him to the grooming area. And you know what he did on the whole walk there, and continued to do once I tied him up?

He licked and smacked his lips forever.

I could not tell if he liked them, or, if the sticky molasses was irritating him. I ended up giving him a handful of dandelions and once he chewed those, the smackdown ended.

These are the horse cookies I typically have on hand for My Boy:

They come in peppermint, carrot, and apple & oat flavors. My Boy isn't a fan of peppermint. I buy these because they say they are made of natural ingredients, are affordable, and I like the big tub. Once the tub is empty, it would be a good size to use for other things, like packing grain for traveling.

I think they look a little like doggie biscuits myself, but My Boy loves them. I take about 3 out every time I go catch him. I keep them in my pocket until he is haltered, then I put them in his grain bucket. Got to keep the incentive strong for a horse that is sometimes challenging to catch!

I do not think I will be taking My Boy sour patch kids, or licorice, or Popsicles (quick: what movie is that from?) anytime soon. But someday, if he's really lucky and I'm feel generous and it's a low-anxiety-about-horses-eating-people-food kind of day, I might be willing to introduce him to one of my favorite candies:

Wait, what am I thinking? I'm saving every last bottle cap for myself!