how to keep him occupied? 6 months box rest, He'll go mental !

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welshsecdlover

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my section d is hot headed at the best of times . but he is now on 6 months box rest with a small amount of walking out each day. i need some ideas for keeping him amused in his stable please? he has a stable mirror which he ignores and a snack-a-ball which he kicks the hell out of !
any ideas appreciated
thanks
 
hes done something to his tendon , the vets not sure yet . but he's going to scan it this week and see. He probably injured himself whilst bronching & running round in his stable ( which he does a lot lol )
its been 4 days of his box rest and he is already looking fed up !
 
Oh dear! I hate box rest, it's so difficult to manage most horses on it!

Personally I try to avoid box rest as such because of the change in routine and the upset it causes. Is there any chance you can make a small pen for him in the field, no larger than a stable so that shouldn't make a difference, but at least he will have the 'feeling' of going out, there will be more things for him to see, other horses around and a bit of grass to graze on?

Alternatively if possible send him to a rehab yard where they are used to handling horses on box rest, although this can be a costly option.

I appreciate none of these ideas are exactly what you asked for, but every time I have tried box resting it has gone wrong, so I am not the biggest fan!!!
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I would speak to your vet about 'penning' him with a quiet mate, rather than long term box rest.

You'll know more once he's been scanned. But if he's a wind up merchant in the box - then no amount of stabling will assist the injury.

Another member on here Madhector is facing the same problem, and has opted to pen the horse, rather than stable it. Because it simply wasn't working for her. You could PM her to ask if she thinks it's a more successful option for her.
 
I have one with a tear in his DDFT - been on box rest for about 3 months so far with another 2 or 3 to go! He was a bit mad at first but has settled down and is behaving very well now. The thing that really made a difference was putting a mirror up in his stable - if anything upsets him now he rushes over and snuggles up to his friend! Have tried the usual things - radio, stable licks, carrots hidden in haynet, haylage inside 2 nets, etc. With walking I am now putting side reins and a roller on to help limit the dramatic "spooks" and using a lunge line.
Hang in there and hopefully it'll all be worth it!
 
I think box rest is hell on earth for an animal which is at home on the steppe and prairie.

Are you in a position to break his day up as much as possible or do you work full time? I am thinking of tying him outside three or four times a day for grooming, haynet, mucking etc.

Can you give him a box with small turnout or can you make him a small outside 'box' with electric tape which could be moved every few days and give him someone to talk to over the fence?
 
The pen idea sounds really smart. Other thoughts: Swedes & things hanging up in the middle of the stable so he can't just wedge them against the wall? Apples for bobbing in water bucket? One of those exercise balls for football (lots cheap on ebay when people give up!)?
 
thanks everyone
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the penning idea sounds good , i might try that , will have to ask my yard manager though . if not then i will have to go on a toy buying spree for him !
 
i work 3 full days a week , but am at the yard with him all day most of the days that im not working . it is a busy yard so he can watch the goings on but that doesnt seem to help
 
If he caused the injury bronching and running round his stable then box rest surely wont help. If its separation anxiety that makes him bronch in his stable then he will do the same and his injury wont get any rest.

Penning or putting him where he is quite is surely the best option.
 
Would you be allowed to pen a bit of the arena off so he could go out there when you are mucking out etc.? At least then hes on a soft surface
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The swedes worked really well for my old horse - not on box rest, just hated being in but waistline demanded it! My tip is to go to a market or farm shop to buy your swedes as the ones in the supermarket are all tiny and they can just grab them. Get the biggest one you can so he can't get his teeth around it and it'll keep him occupied for much longer.

I tied a leadope around the beams of the roof and then made a hole in the swede with a screwdriver (has to be a phillips as a flat head splits it). I threaded bailing cord through and tied the ends together around the outside to make a sort of handle. That was you can just hook it onto the leadrope and you don't have to keep climbing up to your stable roof every time you want to put a new swede up. It also moves around more so keeps him interested longer.
 
I agree with light sedation and calmers. Ive had horses on box rest, and they do adapt. Mine was on ACP, then on human Calms. Give them plenty of toys, feed them little, often. Even hay - dont give a full haynet twice a day. Give, say, 1 slice at a time, in a tiny tiny holed haynet.
Furthermore, he will probably paddy initially. Theres usually nothing you can do about it. Just let him paddy to himself, and ignore it. He'll soon get bored with it. People think I'm cruel, walking away from a paddying horse, but mine was an insecure nutcase, who is now stabled alone every night, and is perfectly calm and happy with it. I believe horses usually adapt well to most situations. Don't underestimate his ability to adapt. As i said, there are certainly things you can do to help, but just let him work it out himself. He will do eventually.
 
yep mine too on long box rest so far done 2 1/2 months and much the same to go agian (also tendon).she had a snak a ball which at firts really didn't get but i figgered she had long enough to work it out, now she loves it. lik its, sweads, activity lines with carrots apples polos and sweads all strung together, all the other thing speople have suggetsted. Acp has been a god send as in the beginging was broncing around stable not doing much gd for leg! but now only has a few before her walks out currently 1hr under saddle. she is also allowed two short grazes think these are keeping her sane. but theydo settle evntually!!!!!
 
mine fractured his femur and dislocated his hip and had boxrest for 12 months and it was really hard to get him to go back into field and even now 3 years later he still prefers to be in than out
 
Mine was on box rest for 6 months due to a fractured pedal bone. The things I did were:
<ul type="square">
[*]Hid carrots and apples in haynet
[*]Tied small haynets around his stable so he had different places to eat
[*]stable mirror
[*]ball full of mix (harder to get out of holes then nuts)
[*]tied up likit
[*]stable likit on floor
[*]hid carrots in his bed (he knew to go looking for them when I first put in back in there after mucking out!)
[*]tied up swedes
[/list]
 
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