OT: Entertaining a horse on extended stall rest

[turnbackhelly]

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So to make a very long story short, my horse was kicked in the shoulder by another horse in the paddock about a month ago. After on and off lameness since then and many vet visits, he spent yesterday and today at Cornell where they diagnosed a relatively minor humeral fracture. On ultrasound it appears to have already started healing pretty well on its own, so the plan is to keep him on stall rest for 3 months 🙂eek🙂 and then bring him back to Cornell in April for a recheck/re-radiograph. Sucks, but I suppose it could be a lot worse.

My question for you guys is... do any of you have experience with having a horse on stall rest for an extended period of time, and if so, do you have any suggestions for keeping him entertained/sane? The first week is strict stall rest, but after that he can be hand walked once a day. Even so, he's used to being out for 8-9 hours a day so I'm really concerned about his mental health (for lack of a better term). Suggestions for homemade stall toys? Do you think leaving a radio on in the barn makes a difference? In the past he's never been a big fan of things like jolly balls, lickits, or other commercially sold stall toys, though I'm certainly willing to give them another try. Any suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated, especially by my pony. 🙂 Thanks all!

 

[bbeventer]

Well my mare does not agree with stall rest either, when she was on rest after surgery I discovered "Uncle Jimmy's Hanging Ball's." <-- dont laugh they are real! lol

My horse liked the molasses the best. They can get kinda messy though, there are always those lick-it toys too to keep them busy in stalls. I have never really seen a stalled horse play with a jolly ball, so I would not recommend wasting your money on that.

If you choose to look into getting Uncle Jimmy's Hanging Ball I recommend placing it somewhere where it is free hanging, keeps them busy forever!
http://www.smartpakequine.com/productclass.aspx?productclassid=4867

 

[turnbackhelly]

If you choose to look into getting Uncle Jimmy's Hanging Ball I recommend placing it somewhere where it is free hanging, keeps them busy forever!
http://www.smartpakequine.com/productclass.aspx?productclassid=4867

awesome, thanks! i've never heard of this product before. i'll definitely give it a try.

 

[bbeventer]

awesome, thanks! i've never heard of this product before. i'll definitely give it a try.

Yep, I hope it works out for you. My mare is pretty picky and she ate hers. I sure hope your pony starts to feel better soon. I forgot to add before, not that I have ever tired, but I read this article in the Horse that leaving radios on in the barn is actually worse for horses because the constant noise prevents them from napping. Just something I read several years ago.

 

[cowgirla]

Hanging balls. Jolly balls. Lickits. Empty milk jugs. Empty soda bottles. Slow feeders stuffed with goodies. Took my TB completely off grain, fed free choice hay thru triple (small hole) haynets to slow him down, and hung completely random toys in his stall. One of his faves was a 12inch piece of chain. It sounds horrible, but he used to swallow the chain (that was attached to the wall) and then back himself off of it. It would be completely down his throat!

On the days when I could tell he just wanted to be a nutbag, I put him in a 12x12 outdoor pen, made of metal panels. It was no bigger than his stall, but he would actually behave himself because he thought the world was revolving around him. Typical TB lol

Always had a radio, and tried to rotate turnout of other horses so that when he was inside, he was not alone, even if his company was just a chicken or a goat.

Also, clicker training was a must. Taught "touch" "bow" "shake" "count" and a varieties of those. Didnt involve leaving the stall, but kept the mind going,

 

[Whyevernot55]

I can't count the number of times I've had my gelding on extended stall rest. Can you say accident prone?

I used to use empty milk jugs with some rocks in the bottom, cause they made a fun noise. I've had people suggest stall mirrors (there's a company that makes ones that won't break), but never tried it. Pretty much as long as he had company and he could see all around him, he did reasonably ok. Which isn't to say that he didn't give himself a panic attack every time another horse left their stall, but having company made a huge difference. I also did what Cowgirla did, and put him in an outdoor roundpen that was teeeeeeeny. It kept him amused, gave him some grass, and instead of pacing back and forth across the front of the stall he could at least walk in circles. I also put him on a calming supplement - I really like Uckele's Thiamine Vit B1, and I felt like it actually made a difference for him.

Good luck! Stall rest is the pits. Sending healing vibes your way.

 

[EllieGirl89]

Yes, yes, YES to taking away grain and putting him on free-choice hay with a slow feeder. I like slow feeders with free choice hay for any horse, but for one that's stall bound for an extended period of time it can make a world of difference. Not only will the hay keep him entertained, but taking him off grain may help him simmer down a bit too when he's got no work to expend that energy on.

I like "The Nibble Net"

But if you don't want to spend the money you could just double-net his hay. Stuff one net nice and full, then put it in another net so the holes don't line up. Good luck!

 

[that redhead]

Also, clicker training was a must. Taught "touch" "bow" "shake" "count" and a varieties of those. Didnt involve leaving the stall, but kept the mind going,

This was my idea as well, aside from the other normal bored pony toys (that he'll probably grow fond of when he realizes he's in there for a while 😉). It'll really help work his little brain and hopefully stave off some boredom. Good luck - I don't think anyone likes extended stall rest!

 

[awaring1]

Everyone seems to be giving really good ideas that I agree with.
-Constant source of hay slowly fed
-Make sure he has company. When our stud needed to be in when no one else was we put a mirror in the other stall and he would just stare at himself. But he's a bit odd anyways, haha.
-Daily grooming may help and hand-walking/hand-grazing is a must. Oh wait, it's winter. scratch the grazing part.

The only one I don't know is the radio. I know people that swear by them and some that hate them. Those that oppose it claim that since horses are prey animals the constant sounds keep them always alert and it becomes hard for them to ever truly relax. Maybe just for a few hours a day instead of 24/7 would be better. My horses personally always prefer talk radio like NPR since they are more used to human voices than music. (I always have a hard time finding the NPR station in Ithaca. Syracuse is 89.9)

 

[turnbackhelly]

thanks so much everyone! i went out this morning and bought one of uncle jimmy's hanging balls 🙂laugh🙂 and my horse LOVES it! i hope it at least lasts through the week but it might be gone before then! i'm also currently collecting empty milk jugs from friends and plan on hanging those up for him too.

interesting perspectives on the radio idea... never really thought of it in those ways but they make total sense. i'll probably hold off on that for now. the girl who cleans the stalls during the day turns the radio on while she's working anyway, so he does get a few hours of radio already. luckily there is another horse inside with him during the day (he gets turned out overnight because he doesn't play nice with others). their stalls are across from each other so my horse is able to see him throughout the day.

i have an e-mail in to the equine nutritionist here about cutting his grain completely. i know horses can do fine on hay alone, but i've also read that hay may not contain an adequate calcium: phosphorous ratio (important for bone growth/remodeling) depending on the composition, quality, etc. either way, i love the double/triple haynet idea as well - never heard it before! at cornell this week he was 1455lbs with a BCS of 6/9 (he IS a big boy, though!) so i'm hoping to keep him somewhere in that neighborhood - although it wouldn't kill him to lose a little weight either. 🙂

thanks again for all of your ideas!! my pony and i really appreciate it.

 

[EllieGirl89]

thanks so much everyone! i went out this morning and bought one of uncle jimmy's hanging balls 🙂laugh🙂 and my horse LOVES it! i hope it at least lasts through the week but it might be gone before then! i'm also currently collecting empty milk jugs from friends and plan on hanging those up for him too.

interesting perspectives on the radio idea... never really thought of it in those ways but they make total sense. i'll probably hold off on that for now. the girl who cleans the stalls during the day turns the radio on while she's working anyway, so he does get a few hours of radio already. luckily there is another horse inside with him during the day (he gets turned out overnight because he doesn't play nice with others). their stalls are across from each other so my horse is able to see him throughout the day.

i have an e-mail in to the equine nutritionist here about cutting his grain completely. i know horses can do fine on hay alone, but i've also read that hay may not contain an adequate calcium😛hosphorous ratio (important for bone growth/remodeling) depending on the composition, quality, etc. either way, i love the double/triple haynet idea as well - never heard it before! at cornell this week he was 1455lbs with a BCS of 6/9 (he IS a big boy, though!) so i'm hoping to keep him somewhere in that neighborhood - although it wouldn't kill him to lose a little weight either. 🙂

thanks again for all of your ideas!! my pony and i really appreciate it.

Glad you're open to cutting out grain-lots of people I know think I'm absolutley NUTS for pulling my girls off grain in the winter. I do it because I want them on hay constantly to help keep them warm and they aren't doing anything but sitting in the pasture all winter so grain + all that hay = very chubby horsies. When summer rolls around I cut back on the hay a bit and put them back on grain. The point if this is that they stay nice and fat on the hay all winter long, so as long as your hay is decent quality you should have no problem. Also, if you're concerned about vitamins and minerals I'd talk to the nutritionist about adding a ration balancer or a multivitamin/mineral supplement. That way he's still getting everything he needs without the extra calories.

 

[awaring1]

My family has Morgans and they are very easy keepers. In the summer they get almost no grain because we have had problems with Cushings disease in the past and Morgans are prone to metabolic issues. (They are out on rough pasture all day and manage to still get fat).

My point is that we also had concerns in the summer with cutting out pretty much all their concentrate and feeding almost 100% roughage. What we ended up doing is giving each horse a handful of hay-stretcher (pretty much pelleted hay) with a scoop of a pelleted multi-vitamin (such as Sunshine or Milk Plus) with their supplements. It works great! They think they are getting dinner but really their are just getting their hay with all the stuff they need. Obviously do whatever you feel comfortable with, but this could be an option.