How to make box rest less boring

[Biscuit]

I am trying to figure out some things that can make box rest less boring for my energetic and inquisitive horse. Any good ideas? Stable toys? Also thought about stable mirrors, but not sure where to get them.

 

[vallin]

Oooo, I'd be interested in this a my mare is currently on box rest and definitely not a happy bunny atm! She's got a boredom braker which she does like and I catch her playing with quite a lot

 

[MrMeldrew]

Ad lib hay/haylage. Swedeshung around the stable. Chopped up veg around the bed/hidden in the stable.

 

[vallin]

Just to make it more challenging, mine barely eats hay (she has it ad lib) which means it doesn't keep her amused very long, though I do occasionally hang a swede from her likit holder

 

[Biscuit]

Where can you buy a sack of swedes?

 

[loz9]

second the veg handing round the stable, & also mixed in their haynet(if you use 1) so they fall out every now & then.
i got a stable mirror from ebay, much cheaper than the ones from equine catalogues! thinks its made from perspex & it worked wonders keeping my weaver happy!

 

[perryhillbay]

Stick carrots in their haynet to find, lickits, treat balls and put h&p nuts in. Maybe put some haylege in with hay in haynet to keep their attention for longer as it smell nicer...

 

[Biscuit]

Is the boredom breaker the likit toy that hangs?

 

[Biscuit]

I heard of someone putting chopped apples in a water bucket - but that sounds like a bit of a mess (though it could probably occupy her for a while)

 

[vallin]

Yup, it hangs and then it's got a ball on the bottom that you put two little likits in, if you make sure you hang it away from the wall then they can't bite it in half-I discovered this the hard way! You can also put other veg in them which works quite well

 

[vallin]

this http://www.likit.co.uk/products/equine_range/boredom_breaker

 

[posie_honey]

whole apples in water bucket - messy but keep them amused for hours... unless they are like my mare who'll go in a huff and pull the whole bucket over lol!!

 

[tangoharvey]

apple bobbing only asts 30 seconds for my new forset pony, he is an expert. But swedes threaded onto bailing twine hung up last longer!

 

[Zippydoodles]

I have a dodecahedron (sorry can't spell) for Zippy. Fill it with treats or pony nuts and he has to roll it round to empty it, bit harder than a normel treat ball as the points send it all over the place. Unfortunately Zip is getting a bit good now - he is the horseworld equivelant of David Beckham

entertaining to watch as well.

 

[geraldgiraffe]

Horslyx are good, some seem to like the radio or human company, my friends mum used to take a book and a picnic and sit in her pony's stable.

 

[supersally]

Uncle Jimmy's Hanging Balls ! but be prepared for the molases on his/her face. Hung by a rope so that they can't grab it to bite.

 

[Ladylina83]

[ QUOTE ]
I have a dodecahedron (sorry can't spell) for Zippy. Fill it with treats or pony nuts and he has to roll it round to empty it, bit harder than a normel treat ball as the points send it all over the place. .

[/ QUOTE ]

I chop up carrots in mine as they are bigger they have to work harder to get them out - well worth investing in.

Also a little radio with classic FM on works amazingly well at chilling them out in the day when no one is around my mare just slept the whole time. She was in for 6 weeks over july and august with no company.

 

[algy666]

I would also recommend the Decahedron, Dylan was box rested for 2 months last year and it really helped. We also hid carrots in his haynet and put apples in his water - this was entertaining for us as well as him, although he did eventually get fed up and tip the bucket over

 

[RobinHood]

Moving them into a stable with a different view for half the day is good because it gives them more of a routine.

 

[Biscuit]

Thank you for the advice everyone, it helped cheer me up. I hope my horse makes it so we get to the box rest stage.