distractions for a horse

qweqwe

qweqwe

Citizen of Zooville
a thought to share.
have you done / put something in your horse's box to keep he/she distracted? (when it rains too much for example)

my mare has the "luck" of going out every day from sunrise to sunset, but given the age, the climate etc, if it rains too much it stays inside the box, to keep it a little distracted I put three different mangers, so that can look around a little.
I also tried to hang some salt, but the most I did is play with nose :)

you?
so to compare ideas and maybe find something new.
 
I don't know if you folks on that side of the pond have plastic gallon milk jugs like we do here America-side, but it you do, you could try hanging a couple of them from hay strings or similar. Put them at about horse eye level. Not guaranteed - some horses completely ignore them, others will stand and play with them for hours. If you do have them, make sure you remove the screw-on cap and the sealing ring before hanging them - Not a good thing to have them getting swallowed. Don't worry about the label - Some horses like trying to peel off the labels and eat them even more than the rest of the jug! Since they're just paper, and the amount is so tiny, no big deal if they do. If the stall gets strong sun, the jugs willl eventually get brittle and start breaking up - obviously, replace them as needed (but just because they're flat doesn't mean you need a new one - some horses like them better after they've chewed, bumped, and otherwise beaten on them until they're almost totally flat. You tell me why! :) You might try dropping a spoonful or so worth of feed pellets or grain into them before hanging them - Some horses will mess with the jug for a long time trying to get the grain out.

Another "some horses will play with them, some will ignore them" item is a toy they sell over here under the name "Jolly-ball" - It's a heavy-duty plastic ball with a handle on it. Like I said, some will ignore them, others will entertain themselves for hours at a time. Toss one into the stall, or try hanging it with hay string like the milk jugs.

Finally, horses are watertight, and generally don't rust - unless you count rain-rot, and that's almost always easy to deal with if and when it does crop up. Unless they're in poor health, cramming them into a stall just because it's raining is, in my opinion, crazy. If they've got a shelter they can hide in if they want to, it's much better, at least in my experience and opinion, to turn them out unless it's raining buckets, or is extremely cold or a strong wind along with the rain.
 
no we don't have milk in bins here :)
I tried to do as you say, but mine is the kind that doesn't make them look, but the neighbor destroyed it in a few hours.

I figured that (and I'm not kidding here) he's been sleeping a lot more since I put on a very weak light that comes on at night in the box, it was the veteran's suggestion, I didn't believe it, but after spending a lot of nights sleeping too in the box (almost always :)) I realized that it is true, and in the morning it is much more relaxed.

here there are not many places where they can stay out all day, in fact I correct myself here the majority of horses live 20 hours a day locked in a 2.5x3 or 3x3 box if all goes well (rarely).

mine as I said has the "luck" of being from dawn to dusk outside and his box is a 3.5x3.5, if it rains it has already happened more than once that despite the shelter in the field, it turns out and if he returns to his box (in his ... after eating what is in the nearby boxes ... nice)

when it rains a lot in agreement with the vet remains inside, he has just turned about 33 years (about because his documents are not very clear, the dentist however has assured that he has passed the 30) and seen that it would not be dried by someone better not too much baths, even today that I have been to her, at a certain point she jumped the fence and she came back alone in the box ... not before having tried to enter where she keeps herself to eat ... pity that inside there I was the one who prepared the mash for the evening.
 
I don't understand, do you mean a pony with her?
if so nooooo, I already have one that does damage !!!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
I was looking for some ideas to keep it a little distracted when it's in the box
 
I have a similar schedule with my herd due to age and climate. They are out all day and inside the barn most nights. They have little salt licks mounted on the wall to play with but mostly they seem to enjoy pushing their rubber grain dishes around inside their stalls. They have a big mound of dirt they play king of the mountian on and jolly balls outside but not much inside.
 
There are these "balls" that you fill with edible items (either real hay, or carrot pieces) and then rolling the ball around will slowly release that. Some say the ball works great and is an hour of things to do for the horse, others say their horse got smart and just broke the thing.

Fresh straw is another hour for the horse to sift through and see if all is in order.

Other horses and being able to look outside and watch something going on is also great. That's like television for us.
 
I'm trying something that I didn't think really worked ... the vet recommended it!
since I can't always go there, when I anticipate that I can't go for a long time he advised me to leave my (used) T-shirt in the box, incredibly it remains quieter, looking at it from the camera, I often see it staying with the nose on the shirt Oo even in the pension they told me that it seems to remain much quieter, a flaw for the moment if I don't go to find it for more than two weeks, it does it in small pieces and throws it out of the box.

in another corner I put a box with biscuits, the box turns on itself and only occasionally does it drop a biscuit, I thought it would try to open it and instead play it every now and then, so much so that so far I have not never found empty, except for the first day XD
 
I find a small LED projector running some movies is another option for a boredom buster. It's a bit techy and has to be mounted way out of their reach. But you can run a few automated tv shows for them in the evening. A simple rain blanket might also work well if it's just going outside that is the issue. From the studies I've read, horses given free choice between barns and pasture will stay outside about 95% of the time, so perhaps some better attire is the correct answer. I can get you more details on the projector though if you are interested in that idea.
 
then I must have caught that 5%
after a certain time, she tries to go back to her box by herself (I underline her) what I noticed, in particular concerning the photos of the various places and the businesses of my surveillance room is that it remains much quieter with a small source of light , you don't like complete darkness unless the box is completely closed I convinced the owner of my riding school to let me put some small lights that come on only in the evening, very weak, they just give a soft lighting outside the box, but it succeeds however, to enter through the open window, it is the last job I did before the city block and I am keeping an eye on it these days, since when there is light outside it remains quieter, but it starts sleeping only in the parts of the box where the light comes in I shot some videos at my vet, I wait for the answer.
 
qweqwe said:
leave my (used) T-shirt in the box
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this works for dogs and cats too. scent of owner can be very reassuring to animals. it's part of why cats insist sitting on your laundry. or your computer chair. or anywhere that you sit for long times.
 
umafera said:
this works for dogs and cats too. scent of owner can be very reassuring to animals. it's part of why cats insist sitting on your laundry. or your computer chair. or anywhere that you sit for long times.
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yeah ... too bad when mine goes into heat you use it more as a towel to clean the b side ...
 
ah ah, come on, at least he does it only during his time of the month, for the rest sometimes I see her with her nose on dozing
 
I know it may seem strange ... but I found a way to "distract" my sweet (hysterical) mare ...

I simply added a second feeding station and a second drinking station!
when time passes inside it wanders a bit here a bit there.

I can't explain why ...
 
They make big play balls for horses with grips they can grab and toss around. Honestly depends on your horse. Mine completely ignore them. Unless I put some molasses on them. And just make something that they can reach and play with. I've made wind chimes out of pipe and Patty horse years ago that would sit there and grab it and pull it and just constantly make noise
 
I tried with the ball ... she threw it in my head three times .... (the first I thought he just threw it out, the second and third time in a few minutes.... not)

so far the thing that has worked best is to leave a shirt of mine ... she spend some time with her nose on it ... or use it as a napkin (as it often does with me)
 
qweqwe said:
I tried with the ball ... she threw it in my head three times .... (the first I thought he just threw it out, the second and third time in a few minutes.... not)

so far the thing that has worked best is to leave a shirt of mine ... she spend some time with her nose on it ... or use it as a napkin (as it often does with me)
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They make tons of toys and puzzles for horses. You just have to look. Or come up with your own. If your horse has the kind that knows how to unlock latches, make a box that you place sugar cubes in with different compartments and different latches on them and let them figure out how to get them out.
 
aragos32727 said:
They make tons of toys and puzzles for horses. You just have to look. Or come up with your own. If your horse has the kind that knows how to unlock latches, make a box that you place sugar cubes in with different compartments and different latches on them and let them figure out how to get them out.
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Do you have a link to these? I've been looking for a long time but never really found them. The internet is a big place
 
I used to put in a couple footballs for my boys. They loved play it, kicking it about. Also just anything hanging from the walls.

of course, my one smart boy decided the best toy was the Latch into the feed room... then the rope used to tie the latch into the feed room...then the padlock used on the rope to tie the latch into the feed room... bloody fat bugger lol
 
Highlandshake said:
of course, my one smart boy decided the best toy was the Latch into the feed room... then the rope used to tie the latch into the feed room...then the padlock used on the rope to tie the latch into the feed room... bloody fat bugger lol
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my old mare ... she opened her box, went to close the windows to the others and went back inside ... she wanted silence:sneaky::sneaky::sleep::sleep:
 
qweqwe said:
my old mare ... she opened her box, went to close the windows to the others and went back inside ... she wanted silence:sneaky::sneaky::sleep::sleep:
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Lol I don’t think people realise just how smart these animals are until you see them in action.
At the same time, I am talking about the same horse who was fascinated with zippers. Seriously, i needed to wear a special velco-close jacket or he would spend hours throwing the zipper up and down, often smacking me in the face while doing so.
 
Highlandshake said:
Lol I don’t think people realise just how smart these animals are until you see them in action.
At the same time, I am talking about the same horse who was fascinated with zippers. Seriously, i needed to wear a special velco-close jacket or he would spend hours throwing the zipper up and down, often smacking me in the face while doing so.
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this would be a brilliant approach to use when talking about animal "consent".
Pointing out that Some animals are keenly aware of both their environment & those within it.
 
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