What does Clinton Anderson say about feeding horses treats during trailer loading training?

Clinton Anderson has a clear and consistent position on feeding treats during trailer loading training: he does not recommend it, and he gives specific reasons why treats typically make the training process longer and less reliable rather than shorter and more solid. Anderson's primary objection to treat-based trailer loading is that it creates a horse focused on the treat rather than on learning to yield to pressure and seek comfort. A horse that enters the trailer for a carrot has not learned to enter the trailer — it has learned to follow a carrot. The moment the carrot is not there, or the moment the horse's anxiety is high enough that food becomes irrelevant, the behavior disappears because the training was built on the treat rather than on genuine confidence and communication. He also notes a practical problem: a horse that is treat-focused during trailer loading often develops pushy, mouthy behavior around the trailer and around handlers carrying food. The horse's attention is on the food source rather than on the handler's cues, which undermines the communication and leadership dynamic that makes all training work. Anderson's position does not mean he objects to all food use around trailers. He supports parking a trailer in a paddock and placing hay inside so that horses voluntarily explore and eat in the trailer on their own time, without a handler present. This kind of unsupervised positive association with the trailer environment is different from handler-led treat training because the horse is making its own decision to enter, and there is no pressure-and-release communication being muddied by food reward. The distinction is between letting a horse self-select the trailer as a comfortable place and using food to override the horse's anxiety in the moment, which he views as masking rather than resolving the problem.