22hrs stabled :(

Nobody's ridiculing you, just trying to say that the horse WILL cope, and has to just get over itself. Look, you cannot "entertain" a horse - it's not a dog or a person - how much do you think is going on mentally when it's out eating grass anyway? The main problem is cutting down the energy inputs, so cutting all hard feed would be the greatest help.
 
Cortez said:
Nobody's ridiculing you, just trying to say that the horse WILL cope, and has to just get over itself. Look, you cannot "entertain" a horse - it's not a dog or a person - how much do you think is going on mentally when it's out eating grass anyway? The main problem is cutting down the energy inputs, so cutting all hard feed would be the greatest help.
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Yes, I am aware he will cope (although i'm sure many horses that are abused 'cope') however I do not like to see my horse bored and depressed to the state where he will not eat properly. Personally I think cutting down on energy input would only reduce his physical energy levels and cause him to be not eating anything.

Thank-you for your advice anyway, although I was looking for things along the lines of putting a mirror up, radio, types of toys etc which other forums have suggested :-)
 
He's possibly not eating because he doesn't need as many calories - you should be grateful for this as he's less likely to wind himself up. Look, we ALL have the same situation at the moment, I have four very sparky horses holed up in stables that are used to being tuurned out every day. I'm very lucky in that my arena is not frozen and I can get them all out for a walk, lunge or ride, but they just have to get on with it. The weather will pass, they will get out and after a bit of a buck and a kick they will have forgotten they were ever in.
 
Rupert-the-bear said:
Yes, I am aware he will cope (although i'm sure many horses that are abused 'cope') however I do not like to see my horse bored and depressed to the state where he will not eat properly. Personally I think cutting down on energy input would only reduce his physical energy levels and cause him to be not eating anything.

Thank-you for your advice anyway, although I was looking for things along the lines of putting a mirror up, radio, types of toys etc which other forums have suggested :-)
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So if you've had all these suggestions from other forums why on earth are you on here getting panicked about it all rather than putting some of the other ideas into practice?

What ever are you going to do if he has to be on box rest? One of mine did seven months before she was allowed out at all!
 
Rupert-the-bear said:
Yes, I am aware he will cope (although i'm sure many horses that are abused 'cope') however I do not like to see my horse bored and depressed to the state where he will not eat properly. Personally I think cutting down on energy input would only reduce his physical energy levels and cause him to be not eating anything.

Thank-you for your advice anyway, although I was looking for things along the lines of putting a mirror up, radio, types of toys etc which other forums have suggested :-)
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You must cut energy imput when horses are standing in my horses are still being turned out in the morning but are not getting the work they where ,so I have put them all on to a mixture of normal haylage and haylage lite they have had their oats and linseed drastically reduced to a token amount I have left their speedibeet as it was ( none get a lot ) and increased their chopped straw.
How much has your horse stopped eating and what has he stopped eating ?
Some horses are extremly good at reducing and uping their intake according to what they need ,could your boy be doing this?
If he's eating steadily all through the day if his droppings look normal if he drinking the same amount or more I would not worry about him.
 
Jools1234 said:
no turn out in the snow i would be moving yards
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Oh for goodness sake! All these posts about how people could never not turn out in the snow and it's wrong to not turn out in the snow are doing my head in! (Not just this particular post only). Unfortunately some of us are at the mercy of yard owners / managers who will not allow us to turn out for whatever reason be it not being able to see the electric, risk of sliding, risk to staff of sliding, rutted frozen ground or just because they don't want us to.

My yard is perfect for 50 weeks of the year - when we have snow they have to stay in. It's a couple of weeks, there is a horsewalker. It's not great but they'll cope. If there are enough good yards round you that you can be picky over whether you can or cannot turn out in snow then you have a lot more choice than round here!

OP: sounds like you've got all the ideas you need. I get my yard to put hay in half way through the day whilst I'm at work to break up his hay. I also bought him a treat ball the other year when they were in which he quite likes - although it only lasts about 10 minutes!
 
Mine's been in since xmas due to the weather affecting the fields badly and like yours has been mentally sharp although he's settled down quite a bit after the first couple of weeks.

Reducing feed significantly has helped but getting him out on the yard and letting him have a chat with his field mates has helped to - they've all been keen to have a little nuzzle.:)
 
Oh that's annoying that you can't turn him out. Maybe a walk in hand, can u get to a bridle path without using roads? Or if not round the yard.
Have u got a walker you could use?
Ask to turn out in the school for at least while you muck out?
Likit/jimmy likit thingys
Hang a swede up
Hide carrots/Apples in his haynet
Pony nuts/hi fibre cubes in a ball
Even going in and spending longer grooming them keeps them occupied for a bit
Or carrot stretches
Or a horse ball
Ok I'm out of ideas now :)
 
Yes walrus, & for those of us who do turn out in snow its equally irritating to see so many posts where either the horses owner or yo seems to think snow, frost, hard ground etc will somehow kill or damage anything turned out in it. They are horses, & have the physical & mental ability to cope with a bit of winter weather.
 
On phone so can't quote. But my post was at the defence of those on yards who Do Not allow turnout in the snow, there's a lot of people saying Just turn out or it's silly to ban turnout. Yes that might be the case, and I for one would love to turn out but we're Not allowed. And for 2 weeks, when the yard is great the rest of the time it's Not worth arguing.

Although turnout IN the snow seems to be a bit like barefoot or rugless turnout on this board. The people who are doing it think everyone else thinks they're cruel, however most people on the forum would agree the approach was quite common sense and Not really revolutionary.

Sorry, I've waffled enough!
 
I don't blame the owner if the yo won't allow it, & its a bit ott to suggest its cruel to keep them in. It's the whole concept that horses can't cope that I don't understand, whether that's the owner who thinks so or yo.
 
Not going to partake in all the silliness.... But as a suggestion, our YO put a giant gym ball into our indoor turnout pen yesterday.... Most of the horses loved it :)
 
Walrus said:
On phone so can't quote. But my post was at the defence of those on yards who Do Not allow turnout in the snow, there's a lot of people saying Just turn out or it's silly to ban turnout. Yes that might be the case, and I for one would love to turn out but we're Not allowed. And for 2 weeks, when the yard is great the rest of the time it's Not worth arguing.

Although turnout IN the snow seems to be a bit like barefoot or rugless turnout on this board. The people who are doing it think everyone else thinks they're cruel, however most people on the forum would agree the approach was quite common sense and Not really revolutionary.

Sorry, I've waffled enough!
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we are all entitled to our opinion and mine would be that if for 2 solid weeks of the year my horse had to stay in i would feel it necessary to change yards.
if horses can have access to an outside area to move about and interact then its not staying in to my mind. in the past on yards diy as liveries we have funded/created areas that yo have been happy for us to turn out in. where i am now my horses are allowed to live out but in return i have to maintain my own field, so i have to get road planeings put down in the gateway, restrict grazing in the summer so i have plenty for the winter, get the field topped and rolled-its horses for courses- turn out is top priority for me.

op is there an area of the yard you can clear and maybe fence off so you horse can be outside with another horse he gets on well with for a few hrs a day? offer to pay extra if you can and keep it clean and tidy
 
Rupert-the-bear said:
Thank-you for your advice anyway, although I was looking for things along the lines of putting a mirror up, radio, types of toys etc which other forums have suggested :-)
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Wonder why on earth you bothered posting in here then.....

What a rude response to Cortez's whose taken the time to give you a considered response.
 
Our horses are in 24/7 for the winter and before you all lynch me no its not ideal and its not how I would ideally keep my horses but its all the yards within about a 30 minute drive from me offer. To keep our horses as sane as possible ours have ad-lib hay/haylage, treat balls, mirrors and toys ie footballs, (my friend even gave hers an old teddy bear!) We hide carrots in hay nets, apples in water buckets. We are lucky in that we have an old paddock that we are allowed to turn out in, although its usually very muddy. So the horses can have a stretch and a buck and a roll. Walking out in hand is a great idea, but if your horse has been in for a few days then they aren't usually keen on the walking bit! How about taking him to see his best friend and letting them have a groom and scratch? Good Luck and keep positive, it will soon be spring xx
 
Our fields are frozen rutty covered in snow & paths are sheet ice.We can exercise in the indoor but thats it.It wont last for ever & they cope once they get the message that they re not going out.My boy s got 3 calves in box next to him-it s like horsy telly-he stands watching them playing :-))
 
We have a back school we can turn out in,although my big ginger mare is a few pence short of a pound and would jump out of it as soon as she was in it if i put her in! (As she did her field so now has a 8ft electric fence around it!) So i take her for a walk inhand and for a roll in the snow and she loves it :)
 
The farmer put an ash log in my girls stable yesterday... he got a bit of a shock and said: "bloody 'ell! it's like a monkey cage in here!!! Where's her swing? Do you want a tractor tyre aswell???!"
 
Well I managed to get my boy out for a leg stretch for an hour this morning while I mucked out. He's been in since last Tuesday.

He had a roll & a sniff of the snow then came & stood at the gate waiting to come back in - nearly bowled me over to get out of his field & back into the stable!!

It will soon be over OP, a swede on a string or a treat ball full of carrots can help xxx
 
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