Coping on Box Rest

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BobbyMondeo

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My boy has been on box rest since the 20th November and up untill the weekend he coped really well was relatively calm and just carried on as normal.

He has always been a bit stressy at feed times but nothing worse than just a bit of neighing and pacing. But now he is pacing round his box, almost trotting round he is going so fast, he is doing little rears in the box and bucking. Seem to be able to control this by putting his feed in before i put him in. But the last few days he has just been having random outbursts and has kicked 4 holes in the wall of his stable!!

He is on rest because of a fractured splint bone so really cant afford him to be doing this. He is on a calmer that the vet has given me and i have upped the dose as recomended by the vet but it doesnt seem to be having much effect. My vet isnt working again till Monday when i will speak to her again but in the meantime does anyone have ideas of how to keep him calmer or atleast calm enough that i can take him for walks to realease some of this pent up energy he has and give him a change of scenary??

Sorry it turned out a bit long
 
Thing is he isnt wound up all the time its just like random spurts of engery then as soons as he has started he settles again. And to be honest he has been in for so long now i think if i turned him out in a small paddock when he couldnt charge about and have a play he would just jump out and do himself 10x more damage. Hes 6yo AA and very stressy even in normal situations. I think its just been that much too long for him and now its just blowing his brains poor thing
 
I see - wot about ying up some swedes on bailing twine and hanging them in his stable? Play a radio? spread his feed over the floor so he has to forage for it? Failing all that, sit and read him stories about how many rosettes he will win when he's better!
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change of toys? New toys? Giving him gorse branches to nibble on? Could you lead him out with a friend on a bridle ie one on either side?
 
I'd put swedes tied up from the roof in places where he paces so he has to dodge them or eat them! Try apple bobbing, and putting bits of carrot and parsnip in his haynet (use one with small holes so he has to work harder and eat some of the hay aswell!) You can also put a couple of tyres on the floor where he paces so he has to concentrate by picking his feet up rather than just trotting around.My horse is a serious box walker, and these tricks worked suprisingly well. Nothing stopped him 100% but he was definitely more distracted with these!
 
The trouble is, apples, carrots, parsnips etc are all quite high in energy, so not the best thing to feed to a horse that is already climbing the walls
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If he is seriously at risk of hurting himself I would talk to the vet again, or whoever is covering for him and ask for something to calm him down eg sedaline. I had to do that with one of mine and was told that it was safer than letting him get so wound up. I found even a small dose had the required effect.
 
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The trouble is, apples, carrots, parsnips etc are all quite high in energy, so not the best thing to feed to a horse that is already climbing the walls
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I agree i never give him these anyway as they just send him too crazy, and he doesnt like sweedes so thats not going to work. Im just worried for his and everyone elses safety and he is just becoming dangerous to handle because you just dont know when he is going to flip.

Think turning him out drugged up is probably the best option but i need to talk to vet about it. Its just stressing me out so much and im just not enjoying it because to be honest he is putting me on edge so much because you never what hes going to do.

Oh now its turned into a moaning about myself rant....ah dear..
 
Well they helped my horse who was climbing the walls! He'd still be nutty even with no food, so doubt giving him treats would really make that much of a difference...
 
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Well they helped my horse who was climbing the walls! He'd still be nutty even with no food, so doubt giving him treats would really make that much of a difference...

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Im not saying they didnt help and im gratefull for the advice im just saying anything with a high suger/energy content isnt good for robbie. I might try the tyres though if i can get hold of some
 
I've not read all the replies but I had similar problems with Jim 3 weeks into his box rest after colic surgery. I ended up, on my vet's advice, doping him & turning him out for a short time on a very very small patch with plenty of grass to keep him occupied. It wasn't ideal but it was all we could do in the circumstances - he was going to injure himself &/or me &/or give himself another colic attack. Even short periods of turnout made him much calmer in the stable the rest of the time.
 
I found my tyres on the side of the road! Local depot also often has a load and are grateful for anyone to take them as they have to pay for disposal.
T/O may work well. Sedalin works a treat on some horses, but if not you may need to get vet out on monday to dope him properly. Can you graze him with a lunge line and gloves on just incase he leaps around?
 
my horse on boxrest also kicked holes in the back of the stable.nightmare and very stressful.she never did it again though but was only in for a few weeks.i would speak to another vet in the practice for advice if yours is away.
 
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