Stable Toys, the good, the bad and the homemade

Kenzo

Kenzo

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I’ve discovered lado seems to have developed a stable vice. :(

I go to turn them out on mornings (between 7 and 8) and on a couple of occasions when he’s not heard me come into the yard, he’s been chinning his stable door (that's the only way I can describe it).

He arches his neck over his door and sort of chins his name plate (well that area) bangs his chin really quickly, constantly (suppose you could class it as nodding) on the door to rattle it but he’s doing it on a regular basis it seems.

I think he does it every morning, possibly through the night if he's had enough hay but he must stop when he hears my car pull up or the gate open on mornings when I go down but I can see his head over the door as I drive in and I’ve noticed him faffing with his door and often wondered what he'd doing but today I’ve realised what exactly he has been doing! :rolleyes: as I watched him this morning because I crept in so he didn’t know I was there.

It really took me back, quite upset to see him doing this really as it looked terribly odd, I’ve seen horses weave, crib, wind stuck, usual nodding, box walking but never doing that.

The strange thing is he seems so content these days while he’d been in his stable and life in general to be fair, he seems much happier in himself, so why the strange behaviour I ask myself :confused: and I don’t want it to develop into something else.

Thankfully they will be out 24/7 in the next few weeks but it looks like I may have to invest in a stable toy or something as he is the sort of horse that needs to entertain himself, he's always been like it, he's got to be doing something.

I had 2 decahedron balls that I bought for him in the past (years ago actually) for his stable and in the field but they both disappeared…as things do on yards :rolleyes: and at £15.00 a ball I’m not buying them for other people to take, having said that he used to turn his stable inside out pawing the ball anyway and I think it used to actually wind him up make him quite frustrated hence why I didn't buy a third.

Any ideas for any DIY stable toys to keep lordship happy?, baring in mind he's quite good at destroying things :D

Or shall I invest in a likit type toy and if so which are best? he used to have the bog standard salt/mineral lick but he got that off the wall and well crushed it to bits but never actually licked it.

All suggestions welcome.

Thanks :)
 
One of my Boarders is a complete pain in the proverbial (I can't wait for her to go in April, and she can take her flipping Strangles with her:mad: She's a carrier and I won't have her near any of my other horses) if she doesn't have something to play with she'll go through, under, or over a fence.

I frequently give her a paper feed sack stuffed really tightly with hay, handfuls of carrot, and nuts to keep her amused. that works for a while.

Her favourite toy is a 10 litre plastic water can, I put a load of nuts in that and throw it in the paddock. She throws it around, stomps on it, rolls on it, sometimes even gets a nut or two out, it is pretty sturdy and has lasted a week so far.

She has logs and branches too, she did have a ball but the dogs stole that.:( Oh and a good sturdy cardboard box (check for staples first) gives her something else to destroy too, she likes her tyre as well, her paddock is like a playpen ;)
 
Empty gallon containers - from washing up liquid or thin bleach 0-rinsed well and allowed to dry.

Put in a handful of nuts and let the horse play.

Or hang them up so they have to be tipped to get the treats out. :P
 
Ok, thanks for the ideas.

I think I’d rather make a toy (so I can have a bit of a Blue Peter moment:D) but also looking at the costs of say these Liket Boredom Busters for example, they are around £15 and if he doesn’t take to licking it then it’s a bit of a waste of money considering he’s only going to be in for the next few weeks and if I can make concoct something up that will have the same desired effect then I’d rather do that.

I did have a bit of a giggle when doing a bit of research on horse toys however, word of warning though, don't do a google image search at work on 'horse balls' as you don't get the balls of the toy variety:o!

interesting

http://inventorspot.com/articles/horses_re...orseplay_c_6563

and

http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID22...iley1resize.jpg

although Mackenzie would love this in his field, I think the other liveries in next fields would run a mile and my little mare would probably just die of heart failure once he started rolling it about in their field but I do have a pilates ball at home (un used of course) so I think I’ll bring that up to the yard and see what he makes to that.
 
We use plastic milk bottles (washed out and dried), with holes cut into the sides and filled with pony nuts.
The horses love them, although we go through a lot of them as they don't last too long!
 
My boy loved his traffic cone used to throw it all over his stable while i was mucking out he picked up so we could have a tug of war and because i didnt take notice of him he smacked me in the face to get my attention explain that to the hospital with your nose spread across your face. I took it away so fast hes not allowed anything soild again
 
I know you didn't ask, OP, but your horse's vice (actually a stereotypie, to be precise) is not that uncommon. Some horses flap their lips/tongues when they do it, too, either along with or instead of the door banging.

Oddly, he might be happier BECAUSE he's started the steryotypie. They aren't just about boredom, per se, and horses keep going with them because they get satisfaction. So, yes, it will help to have other things for him to "do" but don't expect that he'll just stop the behaviour and never do it again, or assume it will turn into something "worse".

I'd pad the door, if you can, both to lessen the impact and the noise. Also, if you can stop it from rattling (perhaps a shim and/or tape up anything on the door that moves). Horses with sterotypies that involve noise seem to get part of their "buzz" from the sound (same with horses that play with their bits). Again, it won't stop it but it might lessen the impact, literally and physically.

Hanging something in the door way - a toy or even just a heavy rope - might help, too. It would give him something to play with while he's looking out (he might not be so keen to "trade" a toy for looking out unless there's a food component) and some horses with movement stereotypies seem to like something resting against their neck. Another option would be a hay net/bag on the outside of the door, preferably on the front of the actual door, tied up long ways so he can reach it.

You could do something to try to make him stop - a brush along the door, say - but be aware that you won't address the need, just the behaviour.
 
Thank you Tarrsteps, yes I see what you mean.

He wasn't doing it yesterday morning (busy eating).

But last night I tied a hay net up for him as well as the pile he usually has on the floor and again this morning he was eating and had fed from both the floor and the net, so perhaps not as much a worry as I originally thought.

He does like to fiddle with things as I had to move his head collar hook rail onto my my other stable door as he liked to pull at the head collars and slide it across, think he's just got that inquisitive nature anyway so obviously needs something to stimulate his mind.

Good idea about hanging the net outside his stable, yes I think he'd like that as he can also look out at the same time.
 
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