Box Rest - Ideas PLEASE!

Emshad

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Hi All,

Pony has a fractured Pedal bone injury and should be coming home next week. Obviously he is going to be box rested for a good few months so am looking for any weird and wonderful ideas to keep him entertained. The yard is pretty busy so I am lucky in the aspect that people will be around, radio will be on etc - haynets around the stable, he already has a million licks which is doesnt really like lol but they are in there, nut ball, carrots etc hidden in haynet any other ideas would be much appriciated...... xx
 

chantypanty

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Apples in his water. Watch him the first time you do it though as some horses are clever enough to try and drink all the water instead of bobbing for them!! My old lad used to spend ages trying to get the apples out of the water he loved it.
 

lucy1984

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its good using a mirror, he missed it when i took it down and kept looking round the stabledoor as he couldnt suss out whose the gorgeous reflection was! lol mine was 1.5 metre square and it cost me £25.
 

emmaln

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sorry to hear that box rest is a pig!

I used to thread things like carrots parsnips and turnips onto bailer twine and hang around the stable, also treat balls are fab!

My friend has a stall guard for her laminitic ponies so that the air can circulate the stable especially on hot days!

also gave mine ready grass as it stopped her craving grass so much (just watch it doesn't give you too much fizz!)
 

Emshad

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tracey01 - we dont know how he done it to be honest as it was done in the field, vet had said landing at the wrong angle, trip, fall, standing on something hard etc can all be causes. Lucyfer I am defo going to invest in one. With the apples in the water can the water be shallow ish (i mean bucket depth) xxx
 

Emshad

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Toffee_and_Tegan thank you! He already is on justgrass to help with the lack of grass (none) he will be getting. I was going to re-load with redigrass but that made him spooky when he wasnt on rest so i think ill stick to the just grass! Stall guard was put up last week when he was on semi-rest (they thought it was an abcess to begin with) they are nice too he stands there watching everyone! thanks guys xx
 

Marnie

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My mare has just recovered from a fractured pedal bone, her fracture was in the 'wing' of the bone. She was diagnosed just after Christmas, was on box rest until mid April when she started handwalking, and by the middle of May she was being ridden. She has now been given the all clear, is turned out and my vet has told me to treat her like any normal unfit horse.

Just wanted to show you that the box rest doesn't last for ever, hope your boy heals as quickly!
 

Ashy

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My mare fractured the wing of her pedal bone and made a full recovery. 8 weeks box rest then walking in hand built up gradually to a small pen...Good luck. I have found turnips and carrots and apples mixed with hay and double bagged in 2 small holed haynets hung in differnt places around the stable keeps them amused... Also, the snack a balls are great, but watch how much you're feeding, so the walking in hand isnt too exciting later on!!!
crazy.gif
 

Emshad

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Thank you Marnie and Ashy, its lovely to know we are not alone on this as it has felt it for the past week! with diagnosis etc. I have cut his mix down from a scoop per day divided between 2 feeds to a handful in each do you think that is sufficient? but not enoguth to make him go loopy? d&h pasture mix btw x
 

Muddywellies

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My horsie was on 5 months box rest a while ago. He loves his snack ball thing (red thing that someone else on here mentioned). I also put hay in tiny holed haynets (and even put two haynets inside each other). He was also on a low dose of ACP to keep him sane, and then went on to Kalms (human ones) - not sure they worked though.
Ive heard of people keeping bantams on the yard to give the horse something to look at (if its a quiet yard I suppose, with not much to look at)
Ive also heard that horses adapt very well to box rest, though after 5 months mine went a bit doolally. for 4 1/2 months of it he was pretty much ok with it.
 

zelli

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I had to keep a very stroppy 7 yr old showjumper on box rest for about 6 months... I kepy him sane by using lots of food based things... I was lucky as he was underweight! However I found the following useful:

Haynets everywhere

Different types of chaff in buckets clipped to hooks around stable
Hidden carrots etc around stable
Apple bobbing
Treat ball
Likits
Mollases on the walls to lick
Random things to chew
Calmers of several different kinds (he was probably overdosed... but hey ho!!! also had sedalin on stand by...)
And lots of cuddles!!

I would also swap feed to a balancer such as lo-cal or add a supplement, as the reduced levels will not provide all the nutrients required, which is highly vital at a time like this!

I will warn you though, at the end, he still kicked the stable down!!!!
 

Marnie

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I only gave Muppet hay - it was decent quality and she did absolutely fine on that. She was quite happy on box rest, our yard is quite busy and she had lots to see. I did have one of those treat balls, but to be honest she didn't really use it, was quite content just to watch the world go by!

Keep us updated on how your boy goes!
 

Emshad

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Muddywellies - that is a long time, I am hoping we dont get to that long but obviously if it needs to be it needs to be! thank you for your help.
Zelli - I was thinking of the d&h natural vitality vits and mins? I am going 'box rest' shopping tomorrow so will ask in the feed barn, he also has a vit and min pasture lick wich he loves but your right about a balancer so ill look into it - thank you! this is all so much appriciated.
Jane_Lou i hadnt heard of this supp before but sounds good. Im going to check it out tomorrow as i just want it to all go as smoothly as can be possible.

Thank you all again so much, I will keep you posted xxx
 
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