Horse on box rest - need some tips

[Dexydoodle]

My mare has been kicked in the field (again! we seem to have a kicker - I know everyone always says its not like their horse to get involved but i've had mine 15 months and she's just not involved in any sort of kickiness). Bad kick, right down to the tendon so she's on box rest in a huge bandage for a month, not allowed out the stable to walk around the yard or anything.

Luckily she's very well mannered and calm so thinking that side of things shouldn't be too much trouble. Got lots of ideas for things to keep her entertained when i'm not there - swede on string, treat ball, someone suggested plastic bottle with stones hung up to play with, apple bobbing (wondering if I can replace apples with tennis balls - she's a big fat fatty but don't know if she'd be as entertained by tennis balls) etc.

But - am wondering what I can do to interact/ entertain her - other than grooming! She always has some stiffness in her pelvis so physio recommended massage so can continue with that and carrot stretches. Also sit with a book in stable just for company but a bit stumped after that. Anyone else got any other suggestions? She can see one of the others who's on box rest so its not like she's totally without anyone during the day.

Oooooooooh - and have been thinking for a while about starting clicker training - not had chance to research much about it but wondering if this might be a good way to keep her brain stimulated?

Final question please! She's a big fat fatty (has lost lots of weight since I bought her) but really struggle with her weight - she's in a grazing muzzle 24/7 in summer, and need lots of exercise to keep her weight down. Vet has recommended 12 hr soaked hay so going with that but any other ideas? She normally just has some low calorie chaff so I can get supplements in her (she has awful skin) and speedibeet when we're doing a LOT of driving. Was thinking about giving her a little speedibeet to keep her gut moving cos there looked to be less poo's than normal today - or am I just being paranoid?!

 

[jeeve]

My mare has been kicked in the field (again! we seem to have a kicker - I know everyone always says its not like their horse to get involved but i've had mine 15 months and she's just not involved in any sort of kickiness). Bad kick, right down to the tendon so she's on box rest in a huge bandage for a month, not allowed out the stable to walk around the yard or anything.

Luckily she's very well mannered and calm so thinking that side of things shouldn't be too much trouble. Got lots of ideas for things to keep her entertained when i'm not there - swede on string, treat ball, someone suggested plastic bottle with stones hung up to play with, apple bobbing (wondering if I can replace apples with tennis balls - she's a big fat fatty but don't know if she'd be as entertained by tennis balls) etc.

But - am wondering what I can do to interact/ entertain her - other than grooming! She always has some stiffness in her pelvis so physio recommended massage so can continue with that and carrot stretches. Also sit with a book in stable just for company but a bit stumped after that. Anyone else got any other suggestions? She can see one of the others who's on box rest so its not like she's totally without anyone during the day.

Oooooooooh - and have been thinking for a while about starting clicker training - not had chance to research much about it but wondering if this might be a good way to keep her brain stimulated?

Final question please! She's a big fat fatty (has lost lots of weight since I bought her) but really struggle with her weight - she's in a grazing muzzle 24/7 in summer, and need lots of exercise to keep her weight down. Vet has recommended 12 hr soaked hay so going with that but any other ideas? She normally just has some low calorie chaff so I can get supplements in her (she has awful skin) and speedibeet when we're doing a LOT of driving. Was thinking about giving her a little speedibeet to keep her gut moving cos there looked to be less poo's than normal today - or am I just being paranoid?!

Hay (and a few supplements if there is something you want to address), is fine when on box rest. The main thing is having company for her, another horse she can see. I had to stable mine (and he is normally 24/7 turnout), I had to stable our mini next to him or he would have gone bonkers. She sounds like she will handle it fine, and you sound like you are doing everything possible to help.

 

[Foxhunter49]

Hang a large branch of gorse, they will pick at it and it will amuse them for ages.

 

[dressagedreamer]

slice carrots really thinly and dot them around her stable, mix them up in her hay. The apple bobbing is a good idea as is the plastic bottles I do this too. Nettles are something horses like to nibble, hang dry nettles up in the stable.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

My mare is coming up to her 6 month box rest soon and for the foreseeable future till she sound .


i bought her a equilibrium massage pad, she loves it

there is a full list here on this site of ideas for box rest .

http://equinecare-and-control.weebly.com/relieving-boardom-on-box-rest.html





.

 

[Puppy]

Might she appreciate a radio? My mare seemed to quite enjoy it when she was stuck in

 

[Miss L Toe]

Provided she is friendly with the other horse, can they be beside each other so they can interact?
I would definitely go for the massage, every day, and a good groom at least once, plenty of little hay-nets so she is looking forward to something, do some little contact exercises, with the bridle in place. Try Dengie chaff with no molasses as it has tasty bits in it, and oat straw, there is also Safe and Sound, but my boy spat out the mineral pieces.
I think a variety of forage is a good idea, maybe one big net at night and three during the day.

 

[Equilibrium Ireland]

I had to have my jumper mare on box rest for 3 weeks when she put her leg through a gate. I honestly thought there would be no way it would work. She's also a fat fattie and has bundles of energy. But I was amazed how well she handled the situation. I did lots of homemade toys too. I kept her friend in beside her and turned her friend out with the field horses at night. The other barn horses were there to keep her company at night. But she is an attention seeker anyway and she got real bad on box rest. If she heard or saw you she whinned until you came to see her. She also starting playing the "get my Tongue if you can game."

I will have to say that I ended up taking the stones out of her bottle as she was driving the other horses mental. Me as well. She never failed to let you know she needs more attention. All in all I was very pleased as out of all my horses I thought she would be the nut.

Your mare should be just fine.
Terri

 

[charleysummer]

I ordered a clicker a few days ago,
When mine was on box rest she got

a double small netted haynet, was double soaked and rinsed though because she is a fatty.

A trickle ball with pony nuts in it (her favourite)

A mirror

Lick and restrictor

nettles hung up around the stable to eat

Carrots hidden in her bed to dig out

Radio playing quietly

Lots of fuss

Training how to wave a hoof for a treat



The double hay soaking really works,
As the water concentration of sugars outside the net will be the same as inside the net (think of all that sugar that you wash out!) So if you soak it again, the sugar concentration should half again, the water will be more yellow colour rather than browny orange in sugar. I always double soaked and she actually maintained her weight with a bit of low cal food for supplements

 

[Dexydoodle]

Hang a large branch of gorse, they will pick at it and it will amuse them for ages.

Oh i've never heard of that before - thats interesting. Right - must find some time to take myself off to find some gorse!? Anyone know anywhere near Bristol where I can find some?!

 

[Dexydoodle]

Hay (and a few supplements if there is something you want to address), is fine when on box rest. The main thing is having company for her, another horse she can see. I had to stable mine (and he is normally 24/7 turnout), I had to stable our mini next to him or he would have gone bonkers. She sounds like she will handle it fine, and you sound like you are doing everything possible to help.

She can see one of the horses just a couple of stables down on the other side, they've never been out together but she can see him. She's not a worrier normally about stuff like that - she's happy being turned out on her own etc.

Do you think keep giving her a little bit of speedibeet (someone recommended bran mash just to keep things 'moving' as it were - don't have any bran so thought speedibeet might have the same effect but worried about it having too much 'in it' if you know what I mean) - slightly concerned she's not pooing as much as normal - were only 3 in her bed this morning and normally have more than that.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

did you look at the website i posted??

 

[Dexydoodle]

I ordered a clicker a few days ago,
When mine was on box rest she got

a double small netted haynet, was double soaked and rinsed though because she is a fatty.


The double hay soaking really works,
As the water concentration of sugars outside the net will be the same as inside the net (think of all that sugar that you wash out!) So if you soak it again, the sugar concentration should half again, the water will be more yellow colour rather than browny orange in sugar. I always double soaked and she actually maintained her weight with a bit of low cal food for supplements

What is double soaking? I put mine loose (as in not in a net) in a big tub (in fact an old recycling bin from work) fill it with water in the morning and tip it all out at night (is really icky brown colour!)

 

[Dexydoodle]

Thanks for all the ideas, has given me lots to work with!

Another question I thought of - was going to clip her this weekend, she is resembling a yak. Definitely want to clip the 3 unbandaged legs (she has a chronic skin infection i've been treating since I bought her thats extremely difficult to tackle if she has her full feathers on) - but do I clip the rest of her or leave it til she's better (she is fine with clipping - reckon you could do her without a headcollar she's that quiet)? Only thing is as i can't take her out the stable i'd have to rig some sort of extension lead jungle so I could get to her or borrow some cordless clippers...........

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

D'sMum This website was created to help future H&H members its all the useful comments of products and injuries .

saves searching endlessly through all the posts


you soak hay 24 hours then rinse it through again ideas are on this website
http://equinecare-and-control.weebly.com/useful-ideas.html

 

[Dexydoodle]

did you look at the website i posted??

Just looking at it now - meant to be doing some reports for work, funnily enough the horse is more important to me!

 

[Dexydoodle]

Thanks for all the ideas, has given me lots to work with!

Another question I thought of - was going to clip her this weekend, she is resembling a yak. Definitely want to clip the 3 unbandaged legs (she has a chronic skin infection i've been treating since I bought her thats extremely difficult to tackle if she has her full feathers on) - but do I clip the rest of her or leave it til she's better (she is fine with clipping - reckon you could do her without a headcollar she's that quiet)? Only thing is as i can't take her out the stable i'd have to rig some sort of extension lead jungle so I could get to her or borrow some cordless clippers...........

Any thoughts

 

[Annagain]

If she's a fattie, I'd clip her out totally - being a bit cold will help keep her weight down!

Seem to remember somebody on here was talking about a trickle haynet as well -with tiny holes to keep them occupied longer and so they don't eat as much? Might be worth a try although I think they said they were expensive.

Some pony nuts in the bottle rather than stones might keep her more interested - just 10 or so - not enough to make her fat!

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

personally if she is on box rest i would not clip, unless the skin infection is over her body like my donkeys is i had to clip to wash her in anti biotic scrub

i would just clip infected area

my mare hasnt been clipped this year since she was 5 and she is 23 now box rest so she is so fluffy she looks like a bear, but not clipping even though she get hot sweaty i just change her rugs about

 

[Dexydoodle]

personally if she is on box rest i would not clip, unless the skin infection is over her body like my donkeys is i had to clip to wash her in anti biotic scrub

i would just clip infected area

my mare hasnt been clipped this year since she was 5 and she is 23 now box rest so she is so fluffy she looks like a bear, but not clipping even though she get hot sweaty i just change her rugs about

Yeah the infection is just patches behind her knees and in her heels so will just clip her legs off.

Not rugging her though, we're in an american barn so well protected, and she's warm enough unrugged. think if I rug she won't be using any calories to stay warm so unless it drops right off again i'm being mean and leaving her without

 

[AdorableAlice]

You have been given lots of ideas for amusement, but the big issue is gut movement.

My boy been in since 1/8/11 (see my post hind check ligament injury - sadly no one replied yet), you must must must keep her gut mobile. Lots of succulents, soaking wet hay, bran mashes. Monitor what she is drinking, keep your water buckets spotless. If you are on auto drinker, turn it off and bucket her so you can see what she has or has not consumed. tepid water might suit her better than freezing cold.

Monitor that poo !! you want soft and lots of it, not small black lumps. On the speedibeet, what I do is soak a tiny handful in a lot of water and then my boy drinks it as squash - loves it and not fattening.

Take your human feelings for boredom etc in the horse away and think gut movement first. If you think her gut is stopping speak to your vet quickly. Good luck with her recovery, my boy hopefully out of prison on 1st March, that will have been 8 months inside, all 17.2hh of him. I am the queen of poo inspection and counting !!!

 

[Dexydoodle]

You have been given lots of ideas for amusement, but the big issue is gut movement.

My boy been in since 1/8/11 (see my post hind check ligament injury - sadly no one replied yet), you must must must keep her gut mobile. Lots of succulents, soaking wet hay, bran mashes. Monitor what she is drinking, keep your water buckets spotless. If you are on auto drinker, turn it off and bucket her so you can see what she has or has not consumed. tepid water might suit her better than freezing cold.

Monitor that poo !! you want soft and lots of it, not small black lumps. On the speedibeet, what I do is soak a tiny handful in a lot of water and then my boy drinks it as squash - loves it and not fattening.

Take your human feelings for boredom etc in the horse away and think gut movement first. If you think her gut is stopping speak to your vet quickly. Good luck with her recovery, my boy hopefully out of prison on 1st March, that will have been 8 months inside, all 17.2hh of him. I am the queen of poo inspection and counting !!!

Ok will ask if i can get her auto drinker turned off cos yes she does have one. Haven't noticed as much wet as usual but YO has just put us on barley rather than oat straw and seems to soak the wet up, and she generally wees in her banks which aren't that easy to get at with her in the stable!

Yup the speedibeet i've been giving her is v wet, lots of slop! and then put her usual chaff in as well. never fed bran mash - could you give me some info on how to prepare/ how much to feed? want to give her stuff to keep the gut moving without fattening her!

Oh blimey, your poor chap! Can't help with your post i'm afraid cos have no experience but sending him lots of healing vibes!

 

[AdorableAlice]

It's poo you want, a slowing up gut won't stop her peeing but will stop her producing soft muck. It is colic you need to avoid and keeping her gut moving is key.

Horses on normal exercise and turnout keep their gut moving naturally. Horses on box rest are not in a natural environment and are not designed to stand still without long fibre to eat for hours on end. My vets advised me to keep my lad eating as much wet hay as possible to keep wet matter in his system to keep him pooing regularly. I double net it and I sourced as poor a quality as I could - not dusty crap ! but stemmy long hay rather than meadow hay. By soaking it for hours you can leach the goodness out of it thereby bringing the calories down. I then hid carrots deep in the net to help with boredom, carrots are water so more fluid going it.

Broad Bran is cheap enough to buy. I put one flat scoop in a bucket each evening with speedibeet juice and mix until it's the consitency of thick paste, I add chopped carrots and apples, a broad spectrum multivit, garlic and Top Spec calmer. Morning feed is handful of Happy Hoof with carrots/apples and more juice. He drinks 1 1/2 to 2 buckets of fresh water over night and the same in the day.

My 'bran mash' isn't what the old horseman would have used in years gone by, they would use hot water and epsom salts and them cook it for a few hours to tempt sick or very tired horses to eat. We are just trying to keep the food in our imprisoned horses tummys to keep moving from front end to back end without getting bunged up on the way. Bear in mind it takes 48 hours from mouth to stable floor.

 

[Dexydoodle]

Our hay is included with our livery and is v v good quality. She is rather keen on eating the barley straw she's bedded on (used to be oat straw and she wouldn't touch that) - read barley straw is ok for them to eat so could mix that in to bulk it out? Hay is well soaked, currently netting during day but not at night (was recommended by physio not to net as she was very sore in her neck/ poll when I bought her and apparently the action of pulling at a net is not good). Going to try to make a homemade haybar as a compromise between the two!

Ok we're off shopping in Scats later so will try to find some bran and get some of that into her as well. Will try parsnips rather than carrots & apples - she loves those and they're not as sugary - she's a v chunky (build as well as weight!) cob and puts on weight at a sniff of grass!

Oh, and need to buy some big water buckets - will do that later too.

Thanks for all the help

 

[Dexydoodle]

Bear in mind it takes 48 hours from mouth to stable floor.

Did not know this! Fascinating but also feel quite ignorant now!

The lack of poo's this morning may be explained then by the fact she didn't eat much on Wednesday night? Or would that be tomorrow morning if there aren't many? She ate half what she normally would on wed, think she wasn't feeling great after the sedation

 

[AdorableAlice]

You are anything BUT ignorant !! You will never stop learning whilst you are involved in horses. I've been at it 40 years and often feel I know nothing.

Will she eat soaked barley straw mixed with her soaked hay ? You are between a rock and a hard place really. If you keep her short of fibre to keep her weight in check you might find she will eat dry barley straw that she is meant to be resting on and not eating ! - straw can bung them up if they stuff enough in.

It sounds like you are on a yard with people about, could your friends give your horse a number of small amounts through the day to keep her occupied rather than just one bigger net in the morning. Horses are trickle feeders rather than wolf it down without taking a breath feeders, but of course, someone forgot to mention that to the wonderful cob types that serve us so well. I had a wonderful cob who would grab feed getting as much as possible in his mouth and then just swallow, he taught me all about choke and how to avoid it.

I have noticed a change in the top line on my lad since he has been in and it's interesting to hear your comment about what could be termed as a repetative strain situation caused by constantly pulling at tightly netted hay nets, I think your idea of hay bar is a good one - that will occupy hubby over the weekend.

 

[Dexydoodle]

You are anything BUT ignorant !! You will never stop learning whilst you are involved in horses. I've been at it 40 years and often feel I know nothing.

Will she eat soaked barley straw mixed with her soaked hay ? You are between a rock and a hard place really. If you keep her short of fibre to keep her weight in check you might find she will eat dry barley straw that she is meant to be resting on and not eating ! - straw can bung them up if they stuff enough in.

It sounds like you are on a yard with people about, could your friends give your horse a number of small amounts through the day to keep her occupied rather than just one bigger net in the morning. Horses are trickle feeders rather than wolf it down without taking a breath feeders, but of course, someone forgot to mention that to the wonderful cob types that serve us so well. I had a wonderful cob who would grab feed getting as much as possible in his mouth and then just swallow, he taught me all about choke and how to avoid it.

I have noticed a change in the top line on my lad since he has been in and it's interesting to hear your comment about what could be termed as a repetative strain situation caused by constantly pulling at tightly netted hay nets, I think your idea of hay bar is a good one - that will occupy hubby over the weekend.

Well been down today and she's happily eating the soaked hay out of nets with her bed looking pretty intact, but when its on the floor it gets dragged into the bed and then I think she must decide the bed is tastier. so nets for now until I get the haybar sorted.

And don't know if the anti-b's are making her feel off colour but she's not eating nearly as much as normal - hay left in both nets (in fact, both about half full) which isn't like her at all. Gave her a bran mash which she wolfed down - hoping that helps with the poo's cos there were only another 2 which makes a total of 4 today. Normally have more than that mucking out once a day

And got a big trug full of water so can monitor that now. YO is away so can't turn off the auto drinker until his return.

 

[Dexydoodle]

We had a normal (ish!) number of poos today, yay! (god I feel sad counting her poos!)

Barely touched her water though but a lot of wet so am assuming she was using the auto drinker, will get that turned off when YO is back.

And she's loving her bran mash - scoffs it right down.

Thanks for all the advice people

 

[AdorableAlice]

Excellent news, she will adapt and hopefully get well very soon. Keep counting those nice soft poo's !! Just put my boy to bed, all poo's present and correct. Roll on March and an escape from prison for him and worry for me. Good luck to your horse

 

[charleysummer]

What is double soaking? I put mine loose (as in not in a net) in a big tub (in fact an old recycling bin from work) fill it with water in the morning and tip it all out at night (is really icky brown colour!)

Double soaking is basically after tipping it out the first time, fill it back up again and leave it to soak again! It does take a lot of nutrients out, but for a low calorie belly filling 'toy' it is very good as it has hardly any sugar in it. I just supplemented my mare with light work feed to keep her nutrients up.

My vet gave it a big thumbs up to stop her getting fat as that was a huge issue with tendon problems