Horse on box rest with Laminitis - how to provide some entertainment :-)

[PONYPC]

Despite spotting Laminitis early, my horse went down hill very quickly and the emergency vet turned up within half an hour. One month later he has improved greatly and we are upto corrective feet triiming to align the front pedal bones which have rotated slightky. He is now getting more Bolshy in the stable as boredom and fustration kicks in as he is feeling much better. He is a horse whom is happiest out grazing and we are a long way from that. As part of his 7.5kg soaked hay allowance, we have factored in feed and 1 kg of freshly picked thistles. He has a large salt lick and just wondered if there was anything else non calorific/sugar he could have to stimuluate himself. He is a very interactive soul, kind of a large dog and loves his hacks normally. many thanks, he has been an absolute star on box rest and just wondering if there is anything else i can do, additionally to being patient.

 

[I'm Dun]

feed him his hay in a hay ball. It really slows them down and stimulates grazing a bit as well

 

[HopOnTrot]

Classical (or country)music is meant to be the most relaxing for them to have on the radio.

When mine was on box rest I would give her field mate free access to the yard so they could groom/interact over the stable door.

I also have a slow feeder (like a giant one you’d use for dogs) that I put balancer and top chop zero in.

I would speak to your physio and ask them to recommend some exercises, I do carrot stretches with my horse but advise isn’t to do them when they’ve been stabled for a while so definitely check with physio first.

Treat ball. Swede. Carrot bits hidden in haynet. Stable mirror (not near food). Lots of grooming.

 

[Spiritedly]

When my boy was in for the same reason I wanted something non food related and something he wasn't going to bash with already sore feet so I hung toys around his stable which he used to play with.
They were a mixture of horse and dog toys and a rubber duck which was/is his favourite.
For the pony who was on very limited hay...pony was caused by him being a fat little beggar whose loaner didn't exercise but horses was brought on by stress of him doing a tendon!...I double netted then suspended the net from a beam so it swayed and he had to work harder to eat it.

 

[ycbm]

A swede (vegetable, not person ) with a hole drilled through and hung from the ceiling is a good one to keep them occupied.
.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

Nettles in a hay net.
Hay pillow
tub of straw
Himalayan salt lick
Mirror

 

[holeymoley]

Mine had a mirror. I also suspended his daytime haynets from a roof beam so it swung and made it a bit trickier for him to get. Depending on how severe it is I'd be wary of adding too much that requires him to move a lot. Movement is good for healing but only once the internal structures have stabilised.

 

[Britestar]

Mine had toxic laminitis and was in for nearly 10 months.

He had a tv and got to watch dvds all day

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

I gave my boy swingers are just pressed hay and hayblox in a tiny haynet that hung from the ceiling as well any boy was in after a bad bout of lami that started as concussive lami im hoping to get the shoes off this winter

 

[Birker2020]

Here are some suggestions for you to keep your horse amused and his mind stimulated and to help pass the time.

If you are on a livery yard ask the staff to give the horse three or four small feeds (something simple like readigrass) during the day. This will give the horse something to look forward to.

Small holed nets hung all around the stable. This encourages the horse to move around in search of food mimicking its natural behaviour.

Fill the nets with pulled grass mixed with the horses usual hay/haylage (just don't store the grass beforehand or it will ferment and can cause colic).

Float a couple of apples on top of the water. That will keep them amused!

If the horse has a straw bed hide bits of carots/apples/treats in the bed to keep them amused (if their injury permits her to move around to this extent).

Leave a radio switched on to a classical station (horses don't like rock/pop music) and prefer less dramatic, slower types of music.

Ask everyone at the yard who walks past to spend five minutes giving her a fuss/talking to her. If you have a spare 20 mins sit with her in her stable and read a book or magazine. Think how grateful you have been for company stuck in a hospital bed with nothing to do.

Put a piece of log or branch with the bark left on.

Dig (I know its hard with the ground like concrete) a clump of turf and leave that in her stable. She will love that and it will have essential nutrients in it.

Mix apple/carrots/swede/polo's into her haynets.

A specially designed shatterproof horse mirror in her stable. Research has shown using a mirror has been show to curb some horses vices by as much as 75%

Swedes hung from the ceiling (no good hung from stable wall as too easily caught and eaten)

Horse licks on rollers.

Snackaball filled with treats/pony nuts. The hexagonal ones are good as they go in random directions so are harder for the horse to work the treat out. Ask if any of your friends can lend you one save buying one.

Football left in stable to kick about.

Tie an old towel to the stable wall/bars of stable which will provide the horse with endless hours of amusement for her to tug and pull at.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I wouldn't use anything on the floor or that encourages him to kick or move about too much it won't help with recovery from laminitis.

 

[Fingerontheneckstrap]

Despite spotting Laminitis early, my horse went down hill very quickly and the emergency vet turned up within half an hour. One month later he has improved greatly and we are upto corrective feet triiming to align the front pedal bones which have rotated slightky. He is now getting more Bolshy in the stable as boredom and fustration kicks in as he is feeling much better. He is a horse whom is happiest out grazing and we are a long way from that. As part of his 7.5kg soaked hay allowance, we have factored in feed and 1 kg of freshly picked thistles. He has a large salt lick and just wondered if there was anything else non calorific/sugar he could have to stimuluate himself. He is a very interactive soul, kind of a large dog and loves his hacks normally. many thanks, he has been an absolute star on box rest and just wondering if there is anything else i can do, additionally to being patient.

When my horse had a tendon injury he had to be on box rest for quite some time before hand grazing was allowed. He’s quite a fidgety horse so we hung dog toys around his box and he’d play and fidget with them but it depends on the horse - if I did the same to my mare she would get no enjoyment out of that

Also had a hay ball which trickle feeded, allowed him some movement, and kept him occupied. He had a Likit granola as well which lasted a lot longer than normal likits, however not suitable for laminitis. There might be a mineral lick online that is sugar free that can be used in place?

I think spending time with them doing things we don’t always get to do when we’re busy riding and doing usual chores is nice - giving them a really good groom every day (my boy was SHINING when he finished box rest!!), some carrot stretches, maybe teach him a trick like smiling on command - I know we don’t always have time to do this but it’s something interesting for them instead of just standing there.