Boredom Busting Ideas?

FigJam

FigJam

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 May 2005
Messages
5,716
Location
West Lothian, Scotland
teamhopalong.blogspot.com
Hi all,

My mare is on box rest due to a hind leg injury (swollen tendon area at fetlock, scans getting done on Tuesday). I've ordered a Horselyx for her and the stable manager found a stable ball kicking about to try.

Just wondering if anyone had any ideas? Both for other boredom breakers or fillings for the stable ball? The stuff we used last night just spilled out far too quickly- I want something that's more of a challenge for her and so will last longer!
wink.gif


Thanks!
 
Possible thick question- how do you get the string threaded through the swede? I remember making soup and the damn things are impossible to cut slices of with a super sharp Global knife, never mind making a hole through the middle!

Also, would it be dangerous for there to be a bit of stringe hanging from the roof if she were to demolish it overnight?
crazy.gif
 
I uusually try and core it out using an old fashioned potato pealer with the pointy end. Takes ages but is worth it. Never had a proplem with the string.
smile.gif
 
It's ok, I'm guilty of just scanning stuff too! Was a valid point though that would be easy to overlook I guess.

(knowing my luck she'll have done something stupid and broken it by the time I get up to the yard after work today anyway!
smirk.gif
)
 
My horse was/ still isnt allowed turn out. I tied a piece of string with a clip on the end from the roof, then cliped his haylage net up there. He loved grabbing the haylage out while it was swinging round.
 
Now I know that works for a lot of horses, however she got the injury (we think!) by being a grumpy madam at feeding time and kicking the stable wall. She hates having neighbours and pulls nasty faces, threatens to kick out etc if they so much as look over towards her haynet etc.

Would a stable mirror possibly upset her as she seems happy to be a loner?! She has another horse on the same stable row, but with more than one empty stable between them and seems happier! She didn't mind horses opposite her, but next door neighbours were not welcome!
 
Mine liked Radio 4 playing for company...she learned quite a bit too!
You could try burying pony nuts in the bed for some foraging activity..
Or pulling grass for him/her to eat...perhaps a turf of grass would keep him amused for a while...
Moving boxes to a room with a view breaks up the day...or if your yard allows, build an 'outdoor stable on the grass' as close as possible with high electric fence (has to be tiny to stop gallopies so same size as stable)....if your horse can walk at all. My box rested girlie was very happy in her pen as she could see the world...
Good luck
S
smile.gif
 
She gets Forth 1 (main local radio) during the day- maybe not as educational though!
wink.gif


She is on rubber matting/teeny amount of sawdust 'cos she's a mucky moo, so wouldn't take long for her to forage sadly!!

She's in the end stable of the block and so can see out onto the yard/farm area during the day as the sliding door is left open.

Outdoor stable sounds great, but concerned that she'd not respect fencing enough as she's not been turned out since start of March due to her injury. (which had been getting miles and miles better until last week sadly). May mention it to yard manager and see what she thinks though- great idea!
 
Mine just raises his eyebrows - probably at how DIY is so much more likely to happen when there's a horse involved...

BtB I've done the swede thing with 3 horses - 1 was scared to death of it and the other two devoured them in a sitting...
 
carrots and apples on string (like the suaede)?

Mine is on boxrest and is being a nightmare, but she loves this- it only took her 4 days to work out how to get the apples off LOL.

I just used a hammer and big nail to mke a whole for the string.

Carrots in her haynet are good fun too- just have them poking out at funny angles and takes them a bit longer to get them out.

If you can, divede her feed up into as many small feeds as you can. Mine gets grumpy at feed time so she gets smaller amounts at different times so she doesnt know when to expect it so much. She also has 3 smaller haynets rather than 1 big one in her stable then whole time.
 
I occasionally chuck some chopped up carrots in her haynet, hidden in amongst it all, but was worried I'd be encouraging her to try wolf it down to get at them! Worked quite well one evening when she had a big bundle of hay just on the floor, I hid them in it and she had to rummage about to find them. Hardly takes her any time though, piggy!

I get the feeling I'm going to spend all weekend stringing up the swede and then her only a matter of hours to devour it!!
 
We used to use a long screw driver to make the whole in the middle of swedes. Use the flat headed one and keep twisting - its easy - trust me!
wink.gif


We also use a veg slicer to cut up bits of swede, carrots, parsnips etc to put in his ball.
 
My horse finds Radio 4 is better for the philosophy....
She also considered not respecting the fencing in her outdoor pen, but changed her mind when it zapped her! I moved it a bit each day for fresh grass and found it kept her gut mobile.
I hope your horsey makes a speedy recovery...
S
smile.gif
 
Hmmm... don't want my horse to start outsmarting me any more than she already tries to though, she'd win hands down on the subject on philosophy I'm sure!!
wink.gif


Thanks for the get well soon wishes, it's so frustrating because she'd been getting better and better and the vet was hopin to give the go ahead to get her turned out a little hwne he cam up last week, instead he had to suggest scans.
frown.gif
Hopefully not too serious and we can find out what's at the bottom of it and how to get it better. (unfortunately whatever the scan results, box rest will be involved for a fair bit!)

Wish I could tell her to just be calm and only walk a little bit in the field to find a new patch of grass every now and then! That way she could be out in the field instead of cooped up in the box, but will she listen? No!!
tongue.gif
It's for her own good!
 
We put apples in their water bucket, they love it takes them a while to get the apples and at least you no they are drinking enough water. we also do chopped up apple, carrots ect ect in their hay nets..
 
QR

I use an electric drill to make the holes through the swede - much quicker than a potato peeler!

Just make sure you wipe it before you put it back if you "borrow" one like I do!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top