Surviving box rest with a good doer

[HG95]

Hi

My 7 year old cob is going for surgery on Friday for a hind limb sdft injury. He's going to need 6 months box rest. Any tips and ideas for managing a good doer on box rest who also has a history of ulcers. ? He's already over weight so I'll obviously be soaking his hay but any ideas or tips are very welcome!

 

[meleeka]

Mine lost 100kgs in a month so it could be a good opportunity to slim down.

Mine had a very small normal haynet, then a teeny holed one and then a large, small holed net of straw. He was never without something to eat and also had his snack ball most days. I also gave him dried nettles and Hawthorn branches and attempted to clicker train him while he was in.

 

[GreyDot]

I think it's an excellent opportunity to really slim him down. Ulcers are very rarely caused by feed management. The advice to keep a good deal of long fibres going through the digestive system is very valid of course, in relieving acid, however ulcers are usually caused by performance/stress/pain. Whilst he is on box-rest, a lot of those factors will be removed, so i would concentrate on relieving boredom in other ways than food and you may come out the other side with a much slimmer boy.
Definitely soak the hay! If you can safely do it, hang the haynet away from a wall so he really has to work to get it. Lots of grooming sessions, carrot stretches (with sugar-free polos) and just hanging out with him. Good luck!

 

[Sheep]

Wishing you all the best for the surgery and box rest, following with interest as also looking at a period of box rest for my big lad.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

My connie is going in for KS surgery tomorrow so I also have a long stint of box rest ahead of me. Mine is so greedy, she won’t rest until her haynet is empty so I’m really stressed about her being without hay ? I ideally want to give her hay on the floor to minimise any compression of her spine but she’ll Hoover it up in 3 seconds!

 

[meleeka]

My connie is going in for KS surgery tomorrow so I also have a long stint of box rest ahead of me. Mine is so greedy, she won’t rest until her haynet is empty so I’m really stressed about her being without hay ? I ideally want to give her hay on the floor to minimise any compression of her spine but she’ll Hoover it up in 3 seconds!

If she’s not shod you could experiment with a hay pillow (or small holed net with the string tied so there’s no loops to get stuck in).

 

[Sheep]

My connie is going in for KS surgery tomorrow so I also have a long stint of box rest ahead of me. Mine is so greedy, she won’t rest until her haynet is empty so I’m really stressed about her being without hay ? I ideally want to give her hay on the floor to minimise any compression of her spine but she’ll Hoover it up in 3 seconds!

A hay ball might be an option maybe? I’ve never used one but someone at my yard has one and it looks interesting!

 

[Leandy]

On the feeding front, this is the ideal opportunity to have complete control of his diet so that he finishes box rest the right size and not overweight. I really do not agree with over feeding horses to "prevent boredom" or because you as the owner don't like seeing them with nothing to eat occasionally or to manage potential ulcers the horse doesn't even have at present. So follow the rules of good feeding, work out a good diet, which can be all roughage as the horse is not in work, in the right quantities for the horse to lose the excess weight slowly and then maintain a correct weight, and feed it little and often - ideally split into at least four portions a day. The diet point should not be complicated. I wouldn't even mess around with small holed haynets etc, it seems to me they must be rather frustrating for the horse (like muzzles and all other artificial restrictions on rate of feed consumption), just feed smaller portions more frequently.

 

[Starzaan]

Helloo, long time rehab yard owner here. Your best friend will be something like a Haygain forager for providing ad lib forage, but slowing him down.
You’ll find he slims down a lot actually, he shouldn’t just balloon. Remember to keep him on a good diet - a high quality balancer and alfalfa chaff ideally. Also, vitamin E supplementation is very useful for recovering from tendon and ligament surgeries or injury. When he gets home I would give him a course of Protexin Quick Fix to help him out initially.
In terms of keeping him occupied -
Flowering gorse hung up to nibble on
A window ideally
DON’T leave a radio on - it’s actually been proven that talk radio increases the risk of ulcers.
Lots and lots of lovely grooming.
Carrot stretches.
Regular physio and massage if possible.
Whole swede put in the stable for him to chomp on.
Hide carrots through his hay in his Haygain forager.
Any other questions or if you think I can help with rehab plans etc please ping me a message any time.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

If she’s not shod you could experiment with a hay pillow (or small holed net with the string tied so there’s no loops to get stuck in).

Annoyingly until recently she was barefoot. I thought about taking the fronts off again so that I could put a net low down but I don’t want to risk her rehab if she’s going to be a bit pottery on her feet.

Hay ball could be an idea!

 

[HG95]

Thanks for all the reassurance guys. Thankfully I already have a hay cube which he will have at night with soaked hay then my plan is a small holed net with soaked hay during the day. I'm reluctant at the moment to give him a treat ball as I don't want him moving too much at least at first to allow the surgery wound to heal.

 

[maya2008]

For stress relief, a visit from a buddy is always good. Tie the buddy up outside or hold, and let them groom each other.