homemade ideas to keep horse occupied?

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showpony

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So where we are took a battering weather wise today with same weather forecast for tomorrow road in places was covered in 2ft of gushing water!!
So outdoor arena is eh waterlogged as are fields so horses will be in for couple of days which my mare isn't used to but condition of fields are horrific and it would be unsafe to turnout.
So looking for some ideas of things to put in her stable to keep her amused. any suggestions?
 
Swede on a rope hung from a middle rafter
Football in a haynet, tie haynet in a knot above the ball & hang up.
Apples in water bucket like bobbing apples.
Leather Casey football in the stable.
Puzzles- eg handful of chaff in a bucket with a lid fitting loosely. Or a carrot in an empty grooming kit box that they have to lift the lid up to get. Gradually making it harder so they have to undo clips etc.
Handful of pony nuts chucked in the bed to rummage for.
Does depend on the horse though. Daughters will happily play with any random object, like a numnah or an empty bucket for ages, or stand opening & closing lids for no reason. Mine however has to have a purpose, eg food (or escape) & she tends to solve anything quickly to get the food so doesn't remain amused. Eg even a treat ball she will slide up a corner with her muzzle so the contents all empty out. Whereas the other loves the game. Just make sure if its homemade you supervise where needed.
 
When my mare was on box rest i tried the apple bobbing idea. Put the bucket in her stable, went to fetch a haynets and came back to find upturned bucket, water all over the floor, and mare happily munching apples, couldn't have taken her more than 3 mins to work out quickest way!
 
Apple bobbing is fun my I had a horse that would ask others on the yard to get the apples out for her!! Empty cardboard boxes are fun to trash, we used to stuff carrots in her haynet with the hay, you can use other fruits like pears and some horses like banana, swede, turnips and parsnips are popular with some horses. You can make a hole in an empty supplement tub and put fruit/veg in and then hang that from the ceiling they quickly learn to knock it to get the goodies out.
 
Don't know how to make one but my mare had a "pet" mouse! It was, of course, really a wild one that had adopted stable life and would happily sit on its haunches and wash its whiskers while seeming not to mind my mare's big nose surprisingly close. I spent many entranced hours sitting in an opposite corner watching the interplay of two animals not normally on each other's Christmass list!

One evening I moved and frightened Mousey and he/she shot up the boarding and disappeared through a knot hole - mare turned round slowly ..... and whoever said that horses have inexpressive faces??? YOU FirstClass are a complete PAIN! Now - bring me my haynet and GO HOME! So I sloped off to the sound of her pulling wads out with extra violence.

One day, I was mucking out and I found a very flat mouse - paid the ultimate price for sharing the space with a large personality.
 
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