Boredom busters that don't involve food?
- Thread starter spider
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Mirror, radio, another horse nearby, day box and night box, plenty of human company, hay in a tiny holed net, horse massager 1/2 hr twice a day.
Perhaps some of those massage mitts or if you could borrow / rent an equissage may be appreciated as will a really, really good grooming / scratching session. You could also ask your vet about whether offering small amounts of herbs and / or planty / weedy things that aren't grass may be acceptable alongside soaked hay. Examples that spring to mind are nettles (normally more palatable wilted), cleavers (although perhaps heading into wrong time of year to find any), cow parsley (again ours has all died where I am), thistles (mine really appreciates sow thistle), hawthorn, willow branches or any other horse friendly trees / hedgey things you can break a branch off and either hang from something or put on the floor to forage. Would check with vet first as they know exactly how the horse is and what you're dealing with and wouldn't go mad on the amounts especially if something horse wouldn't normally have access to. When horse is comfortable enough to potter around its box you could try feeding hay from several smaller sources rather than 1 big one so that the horse moves between them all (which should hopefully make it last a little longer as well).
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Ideas for box rest
(l) stands for ok for Laminitis horses
leave a radio on (l)
float apples in water buckets
get a treat ball
hang vegetables and fruit in a home made mobile
dot treats round the stable on ledges etc for the horse to find
put likits in
boredom breaker
stable mirror (l)
put hay into a small holed haynet or hayrack
hide treats in the hay / haylage for horse to find
dog pulls can amuse some horses (l)
hang a small bottle of water on a string by the door for horse to play with (l)
put some apple juice into manger for horse to drink
put a football or horse ball in stable (l)
give the horse lunch time scoop of ready grass ( something to look forward to )
cut some fresh grass and put on the floor for him to eat
cut some dandelions and put in stable.
if you can cut some nettles and when dry put in stable.
dot some licorice around the stable the strong smell will keep him amused.
put some crushed polo's into a bottle with a screw top make a few holes in it so smell comes out
hang some wind chimes near his stable. (l)
have the owner make a cd/ cassette of his voice ( reciting a poem etc ) (l)
cut a horse friendly small branch for horse to chew on
get a small water feature, the sound of running water calms horses (l)
if at all possible try grazing or turning horses friend out in paddock where box rest horse can see him. (l)
put some clear apple juice in his water to make his drink tasty and to make sure he is keeping fluids up
hang a familiar rug over his door like his best friends or girl friend to make him for relaxed (l)
hang a Scandinavian salt block up
put a window in the back of the stable if they are due for long term box rest
Put a football in its stable
two haynets each side of stable so he can wander between them both
Have a visiting masseuse treat him weekly or once a month
Sedaline - a mild amount to keep the edge off
Get a small handfull of hay twist it both ends opposite way so like a long sausage, once its twisted as much as you can make a knot in it and pull tight, the horse will chuck it around and spin it around giving fun times.
fill a haynet and bury fruit within the hay net
I think the list was a pre-prepared one. ILuvCowParsley has added a (l) for the laminitis friendly options, top item in the list.
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Thank you Red 1 
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I thought Likits are full of sugar!? :eek3:
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Also OP when the TB was in we tied strands of baler twine with heavy knots on the end to the wall and he would spend hours trying to untie it.
Re-read ILuvCowParsley's OP, the laminitis-friendly options are highlighted with an (l) beside them!
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Yes, I read it, and it's not highlighted as laminitis sufferer friendly, hence me querying it.
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Yes it is - That is why there is no (l) beside it as you should not give it to a laminitic horse
Ideas for box rest
(l) stands for ok for Laminitis horses
leave a radio on (l)
stable mirror (l)
put hay into a small holed haynet or hayrack (i)
dog pulls can amuse some horses (l)
hang a small bottle of water on a string by the door for horse to play with (l)
put a football or horse ball in stable (l)
hang some wind chimes near his stable. (l)
have the owner make a cd/ cassette of his voice ( reciting a poem etc ) (l)
get a small water feature, the sound of running water calms horses (l)
if at all possible try grazing or turning horses friend out in paddock where box rest horse can see him. (l)
hang a familiar rug over his door like his best friends or girl friend to make him for relaxed (l)
hang a Scandinavian salt block up
put a window in the back of the stable if they are due for long term box rest (l)
Put a football in its stable (I)
Have a visiting masseuse treat him weekly or once a month (l)
Sedaline - a mild amount to keep the edge off (l)
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Do horses enjoy wind chimes? are they not just as irritated by them as the human population?
Wow! Thanks everyone, Lots of great ideas. I will be putting them into practice. There is always other horses in with him and a radio on and he can see a lot going on from his window. In fact he has been hanging out of the window so much he has a sunburnt nose! But I love some of the other ideas especially the ones that don't cost as I need to save money for vet's bills! Thank you.