boredom breakers - snack balls??

L

loopyloop

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 November 2007
Messages
964
Location
leics
Visit site
My lovely mare isn't the happiest in the stable and witters/box walks. I've been looking into ways of stopping this or minimalising it........... aside from tethering her (
grin.gif
grin.gif
grin.gif
)

I spied one of those snack ball boredom breakers in our tack room yesterday and feel I have nothing to lose by chucking it in, just wondered what the best things to put in would be??

Or any other great suggestions that might help?
 
Both my two have Equine decdrohedrians (badly spelt!)
I put high fibre cubes in them, they are quite big so dont come out too easily. My two love them, Arch makes abit of a racket with his though, coz he kicks it round his stable trying to kill it!!!
 
it the best thing i have ever bought, he absolutly loves his snack ball and it keeps him going for hours.
I just put horse and pony cubes in mine .
I have also got one which is a bit different and is just a funny shape on with flat sides and one hole and i use that one too and put carrot and apple chunks in that one.
 
mine have carrots in their balls and love them I also have haylage in 2 or 3 different places to reduce boredom and my old boy has a turnip hung up which he adores the things we do to keep them happy
ooo.gif
 
I have a blue hexagonal 'ball' but the hole is too large so everything comes out within seconds. I also have a round snack a ball which my horse adores. When I put his dinner and his ball down in his stable at the same time myhorse leaves his tea and plays with his snackaball. Then as soon as it is finished he polishes off his dinner and then he is on to his haynet. If you leave the ball out he will eat his dinner and then look over his stable door for his ball.
 
I have a snackaball for Genie which I put a few treats and nuts in. She will ignore her hay completely until she gets every last bit of food out of it, unfortunately it doesn't take her too long! Like applecart's boy she will eat her dinner and then look over the door expectantly, wanting her ball.
 
Great, thanks guys!

I'll be investing in some high fibre cubes then, I've rang my Mum and asked her to get me a turnip (she didn't even need to ask why
grin.gif
) and I might just split her haynet into two one either end, bit more work to do but if it chills her out a bit I'm not going to complain!

hee hee, fihunt/applecart, I have visions of getting mugged for a snack ball in a couple of days time!
 
My boy is a fussy lad and he has a snackball to keep his head busy, he absolutely loves it but it doesn't change his normal behaviors ie weaving or getting stressed if others leave the yard. It only keeps him occupied for as long as the nuts inside last.
 
My girl has the round snack a ball. She loves it. She will leave her dinner to come and play with the ball instead. It's amazing!

I use the high fibre cubes too.
 
Well then, I've left her tonight with:

a swede hanging one side
a string of carrots/apples the other
and lots of carrots in her haynet

She can't have the snack ball till Friday when I've had time to go to the feed shop!!

Although her face when I put her in tonight was an absolute picture!!!
 
I had a very greedy horse and I used to double up his haynet, so there was one filled haynet with small holes, and another with small holes over the top so it was more of a challenge to keep him occupied! I would be worried about the snack balls if they were eating something chunky without me being around is I lost a horse though choking on a micro sized piece of chaff (whilst I was there) and would now never leave a horse alone with hard feed.

Ditto to the turnip though, great for occupying them.
 
I think if I doubled her haynet up she'd get fed up and leave it, she isn't really interested in food to the extent she'd work really hard to get it. If it turned into a chore I think she'd give up!

Sorry to hear about the loss of your horse though, not nice circumstances, I always panic if I leave before she's finished her dinner just incase, never really thought about it with regards to snack balls, hanging food etc! How naive of me!
 
When kia was on box rest i put his feed in his decahedron, basically alpha a, pony nuts and some carrot slices.

Took him a while to get at it and meant that he wasnt gobbling then having nothing later.

Nikki xxx
laugh.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top