my horse is in the stable alot now hes cut himself a while ago and has been kept in the stable for the cut to heal im wondering if i could make a stable toy instead of buying them they are really expensive.
One of the best things you can do to alleviate his boredom is to go cut down a large chunk of gorse and hang that up. He will spend hours picking at it.
I had a horse on box rest for a while. He had a lickit ball which i hung up and smeared in molasses, which is cheaper than the likit refills. You could do this with any ball you can hang.
He also had a treat ball with some hi-fibre nuts in, and i used to hide carrots and apples in his hay and hang up swedes (make a hole through the middle and hang up with some string away from the walls).
Hope this helps!
A swede bored out so that there is a hole running through the middle and threaded with a plaited piece of baler twine to make it strong, and tied to the top of the door way of the stable will provide endless fun. The horse will need to work out how to get a hold of it to get a bite. It will also prevent him from weaving in his box as it will swing if he does so and hit his neck.
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Also feeding soaked hay in a haylage net (which has smaller holes) means that he will have to work harder, eat slower for his food. Horses are grazers and they do better eating little and often.
A radio is another good thing to have around the stable yard - just make sure it is not too loud. Classical music is soothing to the horse - just do not put it close enough for the horse to reach.
I would not recommend mirrors unless they are specifically made for stables as there is a real risk of injury if the horse should break it.
If your horse doesn't get spooked very easily, try attaching bells and cans together and hang it on the wall. Another thing you could try is putting a plastic mirror up on the wall. He will be very curious about this. A plastic ball may interest them by kicking it around to play with, or a rubber feed tub they may pick up and move around to decorate their stall with. Also you could take a milk carton and fill it with rocks or pellets and hang it from the ceiling. When she swings the carton with her nose, the noise will keep her curious and interested in it. When dealing with food, try to use a car tire, and put a portion of hay in it. This will make your horse move the tire around to get every last bit of her food, and will keep them occupied for a while!
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Really your horse will enjoy having anything in their mouths. To move around or play with. Also, to just chew maybe. I hope I helped and Good Luck!
It's not exactly a toy, but I've heard of people making nice scratching posts for horses out of old push brooms. Remove the handle (of course) and mount the broom part onto a post or the wall and your horse can happily scratch his itches.
Foxhunter: We don't seem to have "Gorse" commonly in the US I had to google it to see what you were talking about! Wikipedia said that it has been introduced in some parts of North America as an ornamental hedge and has become an invasive plant, but I've never seen it.
Best toy around is an empty gallon sized milk jug tied by one string of twine to the wall. Fill it with his favorite treats halfway, after cutting holes * just * bigger than the treats in the jug.
He should be occupied for hours. Just be sure to hang it high enough so he doesn't get a leg stuck somehow.
If you dont have money to go buy a jolly ball then just find an old basketball. They do the same thing a regular jolly ball would do. and a lady at my barn had an empty milk jug tied to the wall in the horses stall. if your horse is like mine he would rather kick around one of those giant salt blocks. (he licked his jolly ball and kicked his salt block) hope i helped (:
