Stable toys to keep horse entertained

[Supertrooper]

Mr B is going to have to be stabled at night during the winter as the old girl with have to come in and can't leave one out without the other. He is apparently ok in the stable but gets bored so:-

I was thinking of getting him -

A decahedron - he had one in his last home and cause he's a bit dim it takes him awhile to get the food out.

A Himalayan salt lick

And possibly a likit Tongue twister

His haynet will also be double netted to make it last longer and I can hide carrots in this aswell

Any other ideas or reviews on these products much appreciated xx

 

[Enfys]

Is he the sort that will climb the walls at a paper sack in his room?

If so, forget I even mentioned this, if not it provides hours of entertainment for some of mine (only the boys though, the girls just lie down and sleep and aren't interested at all in playthings)

Fill a paper feed sack with hay, carrots, treats, the odd handful of grain or whatever and give it to him. I have seen my stallion walking around his paddock shaking his sack then ramming his head all the way in to lick it out. After he has finished he rips it to shreds and kills it. The mini does exactly the same.

Cardboard boxes too, some like them, some don't, usually the type that are mouthy. Note, check boxes for those metal staples that are sometimes in them though.

I had those round feeder ball things, my geldings loved them, but they drove me mad. Shod horses and hard treat dispensers make a lot of noise, also, I learned that feed ball + dirty horse + rubber matting = one seriously revolting nose in the mornings!

 

[Janesomerset]

I can post a very good review for a decahedron, in that my horse has had one since last Christmas and it still looks like new, despite taking repeated bashings against a concrete wall! Horse soon got the idea of getting the food out (I use happy hoof) and also the idea of not letting the decahedron go in the bedding and losing the food! It was the best Christmas present I ever bought him. He doesn't stiffen up as much as he used to overnight. I think the decahedron keeps him moving a bit more.

 

[Supertrooper]

He's pretty laid back about most things so far and if food is involved well.... He's like me and lives for his stomach xx

 

[tangotime]

My TB youngster manages to through a Likit in the holder in less then 20 min, but Uncle Jimmy's lickity thing ( I think that's the name) will keep him occupied for at least the 3 days, well worth the slightly higher price.

 

[horsecrazy25]

My TB youngster manages to through a Likit in the holder in less then 20 min, but Uncle Jimmy's lickity thing ( I think that's the name) will keep him occupied for at least the 3 days, well worth the slightly higher price.

Ditto, except i have 3 minis and 2 horses!! x

 

[maletto]

when B was on BR, I used to tie giant root vegetables (the biggest I could find) onto a piece of string and hang it in his stable. he tried to chew them off the string which was fine until he worked out that if he used his body, he could pin it against the wall and gobble the lot.

i know a few people whose horses play with small footballs given the chance - you could try one of those?

 

[Groom42]

when B was on BR, I used to tie giant root vegetables (the biggest I could find) onto a piece of string and hang it in his stable. he tried to chew them off the string which was fine until he worked out that if he used his body, he could pin it against the wall and gobble the lot.

i know a few people whose horses play with small footballs given the chance - you could try one of those?

A whole sugar beet on rope is good - but you have to make sure that the rope at full stretch doesn't reach a wall!

 

[Happy Hunter]

Ive got a second hand decahedron that isnt used anymore (I can say they saved Mums CB from madness during tendon injury!) - PM me or check the facebook swapshop

 

[Blaise]

I'm currently 'borrowing' a friends decahedron for my clown and she loves it so i'd definitley second those. She doesn't even care about the food inside, she just loves kicking it about and banging it off the walls The rubbery jolly balls are good too, and make much less noise when being thrown around the stable!

 

[night_mare]

As well as toys you could buy a suede - drill a hole through the middle - put a piece of rope through then tie one end to hold it in place and hang in the stable.

Gives the horse a treat and keeps it entertained trying to get a bite as it's swinging around.

 

[Rosie'smum]

rosie hasnt figured out what to do with a decahedron. she tried to eat the hole, and just wasnt agressive enough to even make it move! think im goin to try one of the round ones an see how that works. She also didnt eve touch the swede on the string! werid horse!

 

[juliette]

Get an old plastic milk carton on a piece of string
Fill it with treats (we cut up carrot)
Hang carton above horses head positioned so that it does not touch the walls.
Horse needs to bash the carton so that it tips to get a treat out.
Once they get the hang of it it keeps then entertained for ages.

I agree that Likits can get eaten overnight (major salt overdose!) or completely ignored. Not many seem to use sensibly!

I have a huge field lick in my horses stable as he is not greedy and only uses it on and off.

Treat ball huge success with my horse and the rest on the yard.

String up a swede - again essential it does not reach wall

 

[EquineInfo]

another vote for the decahedron also have a jolly ball but he doesn't seem to like that as much probably because it doesn't involve food! Have also switched from the likits to the seed type ones which last much longer

 

[Ali2]

Treat ball and swede on a rope fantastic

Lickits - full of sugar and only last 20 minutes so wouldn't bother

Like the stuff in a paper bag idea

Mirror? My boy will spend hours admiring himself in a mirror - keeps him entertained!

 

[NicolexRio]

My eventer has a Nimble lick and a garlic lick! 3kg ones😊 He loves them, he also has a rubber horse ball with a handle (can't remember the name but seems to love it) I used to use a football but he would just pop them so I bought a proper horse one😃

 

[Ali27]

Mine has a treat ball which I put Thunderbrookes hay cobs and Simple System grass nuts in. I have also bought her a hay ball which she has started using now that she has munched most of the grass in her paddock. She has hay in a hay cube but I also put a small net of hay in stable too so she has plenty of different options. She is ulcer prone so I try and keep her constantly munching!

 

[lamlyn2012]

Fibre blocks from feedmark.

 

[Amye]

My boy ignores his likit boredom buster most of the time. He only likes it when I hold it for him and he can lick it! Even then he tries to bite it.... When he's eaten some of his hay he wanders over to it but doesn't spend very long on it tbh. He once knocked one onto the floor and that had gone by the next morning!

He is obsessed with food normally, but is also too lazy to bother with his treat ball He will knock it for a little while but then gets bored and goes back to his hay as, it seems, he can't be bothered to do ALL that work for some treats (even though when I'm training him he can't get enough of them).

He absolutely LOVES fibre blocks though. Goes crazy for them. I put them in the teeny haynets you can get for them and it lasts him ages as they are so compact anyway but he has to work through the holes in the net too

One of the things we used to do for animals at the zoo (when i worked there) was get two hanging baskets and zip-tie them together to make a ball. Then stuff it with hay and put treats in it like carrots or watermelon and hang it on a bungy from the ceiling. They loved it. I've considered doing it for my boy to give him something extra to do over night but haven't tried it yet.