I often come across horses that are under constant stress. I can tell because they can't stand still, they constantly move their heads looking in all directions in search of something. I bring my hand to their nose as a greeting, so that they can smell my scent, but the first thing they do, unlike a horse that is not suffering from stress, is to look for a candy in my hand. The candy can be sweets, carrots, sugar, or specially manufactured treats, which many humans give their horses for different purposes. In a certain sector of riding, the most common purpose is to show affection.

Candy is for humans
Horses as a species do not eat candy. In nature it only feeds itself. The candy may well be the means humans use to fill an internal void. Perhaps it is a way to secure attention, to receive the affection that they may not receive from their family or society.
For the horse, the candy creates a dependency that forces it to need the human. And it is this dependence that the human needs to feel loved, wanted and needed.
A horse's true affection for a human should be a genuine desire for companionship or affection, not an imposed dependency. It seems that horses are condemned to fill the inner emptiness that many people suffer from; to play the role of social therapists.

Giving a candy could also be a way of measuring affection towards the animal. "Look how much I love you". But, internally, it is a "look how much I need you", and needing a horse's affection in order to be at peace with oneself only denotes one's own internal lack.

The candy is far from healthy. Not only does it create a dependency that leads to stress, but it also interferes negatively with the horse's organism, eventually manifesting itself in the hoofs through damage to the lamellar structure, the white line and the frog.

Allowing the horse to be a horse is the most sincere and healthy way to love ourselves.