Ideas on how to keep a horse on box rest quiet?

Holly Hocks

Holly Hocks

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I brought my TB mare home from hospital on Wednesday after a fetlock operation. She's got to have six weeks box rest. She is already going absolutely mad - bucking and rearing and she means business. I have left my other veteran in next to her today to keep her company, but it's just not an option to keep him in all the time. He's old and arthritic, so I'd like him to have at least half a day's turnout. She is only on haylage and a small fibrous feed to keep her guts moving, and she has a lick in there,but as she's so het up, she's not really eating anyway. I don't like the idea of sedating her, but it could be the only thing to do. Has anyone else been through this and got any ideas? Do I just let her get on with it and ignore the behaviour and hope it stops? I have to admit, she's a very clever mare and is unlikely to hurt herself - she knows how to do just enough not to get hurt! Thanks
 
Mine is 2 weeks into 5 weeks and doing fine. He has had a hobday and tieback. I got him a stable mirror so when my other 4 go out he doesn't feel alone. Actually a nice HHO'er gave one to me after i posted a question on here about them (i donated to WHW in return for it). He has the mirror, a snack-a-ball, and a jollyball and seems quite chilled. I also have haylage as well as hay, so he has variety. He has a mainly concentrate diet (conditioning cubes) as he isn't really aloud chaff, although i do dampen it down with hot water to make it softer. Maybe try adding a calmer? I did this with my 5 year old when they were snowed in - seemed to help him a bit. Good Luck :)
 
No, she can only see mine at night as he is next door - and they have bars at the top half of their stables so they can get quite close. If I leave the barn door open she can see the others in the field, but that seems to make her worse as she wants to get to them. When I first got her, she was fine on her own, it was only now that she knows about going out that having her in on her own has started to be a problem....I thought about a mirror, but as the stables are all bars on the top half, there isn't anywhere to put one....
 
Yes, I'm waiting for a phone call back from the vet regarding this box rest. If she could just go out with one of the ponies in the small paddock for an hour, I'm sure it's got to be better than spinning round in the box all the time......the only other option I've got, is to put her on a rehab yard where it's all in a barn and all the horses are in all the time, but I can't really afford to after all these vets fees as I still have to pay for the stable costs where I am at even if I send her away, which is understandable...
 
yeah! Luckily Ollie is still feeling very sorry for himself limping around his stable! I don't think he's to bothered about the box rest at the moment but dreading the rest of the herd going out when the bute is kicking in lol x
 
where i am we have a number of horses on box rest throughout the year, sometimes for months due to fractures and we basically leave them to get on with it, however we have also had a couple of further box rest moments to horses already on box rest by then fracturing their pedal bones due to kicking the stable walls !!?? you can get a stable lick for horses on box rest which is also a bit of a calmer just search the net under places like millbry hill and others supply it.
 
ACP! My 18-year-old was on box rest for six weeks at the beginning of the year. She had an operation on her foot, and as a result of the whole stress/ anaesthetic thing she got laminitis. They put her on ACP for the lami, and the silver lining to the huge cloud was that she was so zonked, she didn't care about being inside.
I tried to keep her in for one night after she had gone back out and come off the ACP, and she created merry hell until I gave up and let her out into the wind and rain.
I think it's cheaper to buy ACP than sedalin, even though you now have to buy it in cat/dog size, and if you get a prescription from the vet you can get it from one of the online stores (I used VioVet, who were great).
My girl is fine now.
 
I would also suggest sedalin or equivelent untill she settles. Only use the minimum you need to when your other horse goes out. I know it's not ideal but unless she can have constant company it might be your only option.
 
When my friend's horse was on box rest for the first couple of weeks we kept one horse/pony in the stable next to him on a rota basis. That way the rest all got daily turnout, just reduced by a couple of hours.

We hung a plastic milk carton by a rope and put cut up carrot in it - once they get the hang of it they can tip it to get carrot out, but it then goes back up again so it takes ages to empty.

We also made a 12 foot x 12 foot paddock and when he started to recover he had turnout next to his companions but in a contained area so couldn't run around.... but could nibble the grass!

He was also given a swede on a string and a roll ball with pony nuts in. We also found tying a hay net outside his stable where he could still reach it more interesting for him - he seemed to think he was being naughty as he thought it wasn't for him which pleased him!
 
My TB mare just came off a six week box rest. I never did sedate her but sure considered it as I was afraid she'd hurt herself worse with her behavior.

As it was, once I was able to hand walk her, she was so full of herself that she reared up, flipped over backwards and pulled me right into her front foot, breaking six bones in my face. Thankfully she wasn't hurt.

Be careful! Do what you have to do to keep safe and keep your horse from further injury. If that means light sedation for her own good, so be it and when you can take her out, consider a calmer or sedative for the first few walks depending on behavior.

Beyond that though, stall toys, snacks, that sort of thing. Also, I did a lot of simple ground exercises right in the stall - things like neck stretches or asking her to drop her head. Things she could do within the limitation of her injury. Keeping their mind occupied is good, especially TB's in my opinion because their minds don't ever seem to shut off!
 
My mare has just done 3 months box rest following colic surgery and is now out two hours a day in a stable sized paddock, so really she is still on box rest!

Firstly, my mare has always had company next door. At night my gelding comes in and during the day he is swapped for my yearling filly, who really is supposed to live out.

She has a snack a ball, which she loves. If she starts to kick off we chuck that in. Its like giving a baby a dummy!

She also (eventually, when she was allowed) has ab lib hay.

A salt lick, a hanging toy, that I put peppermint flavour on.

She is in the foaling box, so that she has a bit more room to move about, dual purpose on that one, as she has to go in there from april time anyway, so at least she is used to it. This box has a window at the back, so she can watch the stallions out in the field or she can look over the yard.

I'm not sure what else to suggest. My mare is on a magnesium calmer, which really helps her. has been for some time though, but was off it when she first went on box rest and is back on it now.

And she is arab, fairly highly strung and pregnant, so not your easy going little pony.

Good luck with yours.
 
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