Any ideas to keep a stabled horse happy...?

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LouLou3

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Has anyone got any cheap ideas to keep a horse happy on box rest? - prize for the best idea
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Ah now someone else mentioned the carrots in hay one - I've only got normal hay nets - they can't hurt themselves can they - get their teeth caught or something stupid>??
 
Vinnie has a munch station this seems to slow his eating down a bit, so he is not without food for long. he also has a treat ball, which he goes mad for! he has a football in a haynet hung up, and a boredom breaker, and a lick.
 
My mare absolutely loves her treat ball. She gets so excited when she hears me filling it up, and it keeps her occupied for an hour or so (she is very adept at emptying it!). She is very food orientated though. My other horse was not interesed in it at all.

Perhaps try to borrow one first before buying one?.

You could also try hanging various fruit and vegatables on pieces of string and hanging from the roof and/or hiding carrots etc in haynet/manger?
 
My mare is on box rest. I bought her a big stable lick which she loves. She has a radio on of a day and I drill through turnips and thread them and hang them from the roof. I hide apples in her haynets which are soaked due to her being too FAT!!!
I got down some gorse bush for her to much on which keeps her amused for hours. She also has a small 12x12 area fenced off in a quiet area so that she can go out but only when supervised so no silly business.
Other than that she's happy eating her way through tonnes of hay. lol
 
A bit like FAB_FERN I made a hanging toy - got some baler twine and some of his fave fruit and vegetables such as carrots, turnips, swedes, apples etc. I drilled a hole in the veg/fruit, threaded the baler twine through and hung it up for him. he LOVED it, kept him amused for hours! Kind of like a hanging horsey kebab!! lol xx
 
To keep our girls company as they go out 3 times a week but are worked 6 days a week though, but they have the radio on and people to look out at all day long, they have nice big stables
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, i might try the apple bobbing thing too that could be interesting
 
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Apple bobbing in the water bucket?

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I put some apples in Ella's water bucket when she had to stay in because of the snow. i thought it would be a nice distraction for her to bob for them.

What actually happened was that she couldn't catch the apples properly, and lost her temper, kicked her water bucket over and ended up standing in a soaked bed on a night when the temperature went down to -6 !! I am sure apple-bobbing works well when your horse isnt a grumpy old ratbag with a short fuse though
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I have a stable mirror that I wouldnt be without. Up until then, my mare wouldnt go near a stable. She really believes that she has a friend in there. She eats by it, lays by it and stands by it. She is so relaxed and happy in her stable now and this has made box rest in the past so much easier and less stressful for the both of us.
 
My mare has been on complete box rest since August, I have had to be inventive to keep her happy. The biggest hit is using fibre nuggets to fill her treat ball (decahedron type) then putting it in an empty haynet and hanging up, she loves tossing it around to release the nuggest. I also put a smaller treat ball in the middle of her hay net so when she has finished her hay she can toss the treat ball around.

After putting carrots in my hayney I began to find hole in the net! so i got a long lead rope, tied a series of knots in it, then pushed the carrots into the knots, an hang in the stable, this too is a big hit mith my mare.

Himalayan salt lick and regular over the stable door 'wither rubbing' grooming visits from her favourite horse friend help to keep her happy, socialised and entertained.

Good Luck
 
Thanks everyone - my baby boy did exactly the same as Trundles Ella - he looked at the water, sniffed it, tried to get the apples (which I cut up to make it easier), drank the water (like that would help!!) and then lost his temper and knocked over the bucket...lol

Carrots in Hay net is working well though, have tried putting a couple of sections on the floor this morning with smaller chunks of carrots hidden in it - can imagine his delight when he finds those - bless.

Will try everyones ideas - think that should be enough to keep him occupied (hopefully he's only in there for a few more days) - fingers crossed
 
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