box rest tips

M

melissa1971

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 November 2008
Messages
133
Visit site
Anytips for keeping a horse happy on box rest,

my gelding is going to be on 3 mths box rest following surgery, the problem is he is only happy in the stable when all the horses are in..he gets really stressy runs round the stable and just seems panicy,
I am going to put my 2 ponies on a rota to keep him company so there is always someone next to him but i still dont know if he will settle enough

any ideas, thanks
 
try feed balls to make feeds last longer. A mirror in his stable for company. Licks can also occupy as long as he doesnt go through them too quickly, a haynet with the really small holes will make hay last longer. I had my old horse stabled for a long time due to injury and I used most of these things to help him. He did really well considering.
 
Thanks will look into getting a feed ball, he had one of thoses lick it things the ball with 3 licks, put it in on christmas day by boxing day all 3 had gone so think i will give thoses a miss, maybe i could get one of thoses vitamin licks in a bucket instead.
 
Unless he has a broken leg, after the first couple of weeks I would either make a pen on the yard so he is outdoors and can see the others or make a pen in the paddock so he can graze and see the others. I have never felt box rest indoors in a stable with a stressy horse to be preferable to a happy horse, outside but contained so he cant run around! Honestly, it works and my vet is fine with that too!!
 
the 3 months will go quite quickly. My friends mare was on box rest for 7 months!

lellyw said:
try feed balls to make feeds last longer. A mirror in his stable for company. Licks can also occupy as long as he doesnt go through them too quickly, a haynet with the really small holes will make hay last longer. I had my old horse stabled for a long time due to injury and I used most of these things to help him. He did really well considering.
Click to expand...

dont buy a lickit feedball thing as the holes inside are so small that you can only put very small treats in. Me and my friend just put all of her mares feed in it (nuts and chaff) the chaff didnt really come through and the nuts wouldnt fit through. the treat balls are really good, just make sure that the feed will come through it.
for haynets, you could try triple netting them. we did this, but only because she did get laminatic at times.
in stead of the lickits, you could try the blocks of salt. my loaned mare loved hers and because it was solid it didnt crumble when she bit it and it also didnt disintergrate when it got wet.

hope you have a speedy recovery :D
 
pony next door is a great idea.
radio on all the time on Classic FM (i kid you not).
daily massage, fuss, extended grooming session.
sitting in the stable reading a book for hours... (at least it's summer)
hang interesting things up such as empty plastic bottles (caps off so he can't swallow them if he chews 1 off) and pillows, so he can rub his back and neck on them.
lots of hand-picked grass, milk thistles, dandelions etc make them happy.
good luck!
 
JoBird said:
Unless he has a broken leg, after the first couple of weeks I would either make a pen on the yard so he is outdoors and can see the others or make a pen in the paddock so he can graze and see the others. I have never felt box rest indoors in a stable with a stressy horse to be preferable to a happy horse, outside but contained so he cant run around! Honestly, it works and my vet is fine with that too!!
Click to expand...

Ditto!
 
I have just done 6 months box rest with my mare and she was a cow pretty much through all of it!!!! The only things I found that helped was having a radio on throughout the day and hanging swedes, parsnips, apples, carrots etc. (pretty much anything i could think of)!!!

Also after about a week she settled and got into her new routine which worked wonders but if i did anything differently it would take me another 3/4 days to settle her again!!

Hope that helps :D
 
JoBird said:
Unless he has a broken leg, after the first couple of weeks I would either make a pen on the yard so he is outdoors and can see the others or make a pen in the paddock so he can graze and see the others. I have never felt box rest indoors in a stable with a stressy horse to be preferable to a happy horse, outside but contained so he cant run around! Honestly, it works and my vet is fine with that too!!
Click to expand...

I agree. Mine went out yesterday after she concussed me as it was turning her into a monster being locked in all day everyday. She is much happier out in a stable sized pen, next to her buddy with grass to pick at.

( i did try the boxrest like vet asked but I think if it results in me being concussed then it is above and beyond when there is a viable alternative!)
 
I do sympathise. As a youngster my boy ended up on box rest for 3 months followed by 3 months of walking in hand on concrete to prevent any dirt getting into a very nasty cut after it looks like he put his hoof through chicken wire (there wasn't any in the field that we could find but thats what the vet thought anyway).

I tried all the licks and like you found they disappearred very quickly and seemed to give him plenty of energy due to the sugar. I switch instead to Swedes and turnips which he seemed to like and as they were natural I didn't mind him going through them so quickly.

I also used to double net him. Towards the end of the 3 months I started hiding carrots in his bed but this did make him move a bit more plus I ended up with a very messy bed.

The main thing I found was just to keep varying things so he didn't get bored turning up at different times to see him so he didn't always expect me and was more surprised when I turned up to give him some fuss. I spent a lot of time grooming him and doing stretch exercises with carrots. All so he wasn't just stood on his own getting bored. He was still a bit of a maniac at times and needed strong words but at the end of day it did make him much more handleable.

Good luck with it all
 
Here is another thing I have learned this week about box rest. Don't let them get too stressed or they get blooming laminitis. Even if they are skinny TBs!!

Best of luck with it all OP
 
1horse ball
2 horselix
3 make a mobile with fruit dangling
4 put apples in water bucket bobbing apple
5 cut bits fruit or mints and dot them round ledges in his stable for him to find.
6 lickets i freeze mine so he dont take chunks out
7 buy some ready grass so he doesnt miss out o on grass
8 buy some box rest feed
9 leave a radio on
10 ask vet for sedalin
11 use magic calmer

have used all of the above in the past

12 Heras fencing makes a gr8 asset you can make a small pen i used our our penn here and cut it in half with tape and made bigger slowly. we made a round pen with it
 
Last edited:
My boy was on six month box rest with a broken leg. I would really really recommend getting a stable mirror. I cant tell you how much it helped to calm him down.

I also hung swedes/carrots etc on a swinging rope. Dont bother with licks - they dont last long enough and they give them energy they dont need.

Wishing him a speedy recovery!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top