OK i have a depressed horse on my hands !

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Scoopy

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My horse is on box rest for one more week and he is sooooooooooooooooooooooo bloody depressed he loves it when im around and he has the following so far but need more ideas !

Snack a ball
Likit
I hide carrots and mints

I need things that will last more than 30mins !

Someone said about a swede ?

Any help much appreciated
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My horse loves swede, how about putting a haynet inside another haynet so it takes him longer to eat? Erm could you hang a plastic bottle in stable and when he knocks it treats fall out.
 
I give mine a huge tub trug absolutely full of hifi lite. In that i hide carrots, apples, a few treats, bits of bread, and leave him to it. I do t damp it down so it doesn't go everywhere when he sticks his nose right down in to it. it takes several hours for him to eat and ferret out all the bits and it is non fattening as just fibre.
 
How many times a day is he seeing you? And does he have a radio?

Quite often its the lack of company that makes them depressed, rather than that actual confinement.

Amy was always seen a minimum of three times a day, which certainly helped her cope.
 
Drill a swede and pop it on a rope - thatll keep him occupied!

Could you make a home made stable mirror with a bit of ply and some of that sticky back foil stuff?

Could you leave the radio on for him?

Like the apple bobbing idea!
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Radio is on all day, he prefers radio 3 for some reason

He see's me twice a day but OH is seeing him about 10 times a day and then there is about 10 other people who go up and make a fuss of him !

But he needs challenging things to do to keep him from depression.............
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Swede's are good i put a hole through the middle and hung it from the ceiling when my horse was on box rest and he spent ages tring get at it (obviously didn't tie it up too high lol)
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I hung a tyre for my shettie and stuffed it with fruit and veggies and hi fi. Swedes are great, hang them or just leave them on the floor. I put a whole one in a feed so it takes a little longer to eat.
 
In Yur Horse mag this month they have a new stable toy which consists of a metal pole with a clip on the end, which you can thread swedes, turnips, apples etc onto. It's about 20 quid and I think it looks fab.
 
about 5 years ago,i had a tb mare on box rest for 12 months i had to walk her out twice a day.... fatal! anyway... i bought her a pet goat called poppet.... she loved it and it kept her happy! i even sold them on together.
 
I tried apple bobbing when Pride was on box rest and he got so frustrated that he kicked the bucket over and ate the apples
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It did keep him amused but now anytime I have tried it since he doesnt even try to get the apples, he just knocks over the bucket
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I have suspended a swede from the ceiling though and that worked well.
 
Would recommend the swedes, but only if you've got about 30 of them for one night! Mine eats his in les than 5 minutes, and they're quite big ones. I've used the plastic bottle idea as well, but just be careful your horse isn't scaried of it (like mine!
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) You could also buy a califlower, leave it whole and hide that. they love them, and they're very good for them, I got told one califlower is better than a whole bag of carrots. Another veggie for hiding is turnips, Carling loves them too lol.
Final thing is a tyre. Suspend it from the ceiling, and you can also put hay or treats in there.
Do you think I have problems keeping my horse amused!
 
Mine get swedes on rope but Cairo has a huge gob so his lasts only a few minutes. If they can tolerate bread, get a small loaf, put a hole through it and then leave it to go rock hard or bake it in the oven. Takes them a while to nibble away.

Chancer loves a cauliflower - chuck it in and let him kick it around taking bits off.

They adore their snack balls with cheap low cal nuts.

I feed very large simple systems feeds with plenty of veg bits in so that also takes them about 30 mins to eat and they get ad lib hay.

Chancer also loves anything that can be thrown about and stomped on.
 
Poor boy, how long has been in now? At least he does have lots of visitors to help pass the time.

One of my horses was in for 4 months with a bad tendon, he absolutely LOVED cardboard boxes (I took the staples out first) he'd throw them around, stomp on them and generally kill them, I think it's an acquired "taste" but for a mouthy horse it worked well. We had one stallion at another place that liked to trash feed sacks, we'd fill them with hay and goodies and he'd stick his whole head in and root around, a sort of horsey lucky dip, he loved picking it up and waving it about in circles too.

Good Luck with the entertainment, I am sure that once he can get out for a bit he'll perk up no end.
 
He has been on box rest since last Sunday !
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Poor boy i feel so sorry for him, but am going to try everything suggested, hopefully that will pick him up, he loves his snack ball but gets quite violent with it, I have spied on him and when no one is about he just drops his head and closes his eyes, but when he sees me he picks up if only for a while, its kind of a guilt trip for not letting him out ! but this makes me depressed toooo ! he normally is full of it, but at the mo he dont want to know.......
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cauliflower?
had no idea, must try one. do you give the leaves too? he didn't like the parsnip i left. what else might he like to eat i have some broccoli in the fridge and some sweet potatos does anyone feed these??
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Love the apple bobbing idea! Mine likes a white cabbage strung up and also hide carrots within the haynet as you are filling it so have to work for them.
My stable box lick keeps them amused and also one of those dog balls as holes are smaller and nuts take longer to come out of them - only cost £7 at a pet shop rather than horse ones at £20 each.
 
Yep throw the whole thing in - have also given cabbage - the big leafy type. If he is a mincy type, try cutting it up into chunks and then one he realises it is good stuff, then the whole top.

Chancer adores broccoli - picks it out and eats this first.

Not sure about sweet spuds - personally would not feed them as I don't feed normal spuds.

My two love all types of veggies, as have all my horses apart from Miss Delia who was very snobby and would not eat any sort of scraps but did like carrots, thinly sliced and very sweet red apples.
 
holly get him out of the box. he wont hurt himself. but standing in the box will depress him, his legs might swell up, he turns in tight circles, he is so pissed off he prob wont even lie down. you cant fool him with toys ,let him out.not to mention the restricted circulation in his feet
 
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but standing in the box will depress him, his legs might swell up, he turns in tight circles, he is so pissed off he prob wont even lie down.

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Silly person - where do people get such nonsense from??

Hey ho.
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This is the first time i have not kept my mouth shut !!!!!

How the hell can someone judge without knowing why he is on box rest ! He could have broken his leg FFS, yeah i'll just take him for a walk shall i (not that he has broken his leg)

But FFS
No swollen legs
he is lying down
Its all come good because he has been on box rest !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FFS ok breathe breathe FFS
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