# Boredom breakers



## Dennyboy (Jan 3, 2008)

Anyone have any good ideas to keep horses occupied in the stable now the longer nights are here?

We have lickits in the stable hanging from the ceiling,which last 2 days at most  

Did have a snack ball but taught my horse to dig her bed looking for food 
and i had a few dirty looks when she kicked it full pelt and it flew out the stable 

Mel


----------



## kaz (Jan 12, 2008)

We have the same problem with likits - the horses found out how to dig their teeth into them and they are gone within a day. As a special treat (usually at Christmas) we get a horse lyx but they have to be rationed because of the treacle/high sugar content. (It's hell to get the treacle off their noses as well)


----------



## carol (Nov 2, 2007)

ive seen those balls where you put food in and the horse rolls them about so the food falls out 
like a dog activty ball.


----------



## Broxdown (Jan 18, 2008)

If we have to have ours in for any length of time then we tend to hang a swede on some twine/rope and dangle it from the ceiling. Another great passtime is apple bobbing - just stick a couple of apples in the filled water bucket, ours love that 'game'  

Both are cheaper than Likits too!


----------



## kaz (Jan 12, 2008)

I like the apple bobbing idea

I remember doing swedes years ago but the horses seemed to get frustrated because they could never get a bite out of them


----------



## Dennyboy (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks for your reply's.

Apple bobbing sounds great fun,will try that with Gypsy 

She likes Swedes sometimes but turns her nose up others 

I did try the bits of carrot,apple,swede and parsnips in a bucket of water frozen in the summer but was worrid they would choke on frozen bits


----------



## DiamondHooves (Mar 19, 2008)

i think if you do the apple in water bobbing you shound be they watching just to make shaw thay do not choke or take in to much water just to be safe


----------



## Sophia (Apr 1, 2008)

Ad-lib forage. Not only will it take them longer to masticate and digest, it will also encourage the digestive system to keep working effectively (particularly important when grazing is limited). 

I also really like the snak-a-balls, it keeps my lot entertained for hours - okay, so you may get a messier bed but I'd rather sacrifice that in order to keep them happy.

Maintaining social interaction with other horse's will also help - even if just stabling next to another horse will help.


----------



## widgetdog35 (Apr 25, 2008)

lucky u mine eat a licket in mins lol i have nut balls for mine and they can be a bit lethal lol My 2yrs tb likes feed sacks hung up he rips them down and jumps on them some like mirrors but be careful as seen stallions smash them, the hole point of the nut balls is to make a bloody mess but they have fun doing it so its hit and miss. small holed haynets, carrots and apples hidden in an bucket full of grit i have seen used but be carefull with that one i would not do it, footballs loose or in nets and if all elae fails borrow my collie he keeps mine busy for hours! lol Oh and all mine like bottles hung up don't go spending lots of money u can have hours of fun just trying anything u think might work also not all horses will play


----------



## Naominsky4eva (Jan 20, 2009)

Hii my horse sky gets really bored and grumpy in the stable during the day so she has a hard tough ball that she pushes around and treats and feed trickle out of a hole. This is great fun for her, may not be too god for a smaller stable as they may take it into their bed bed but as sky has a big stable she keeps it at the front so she makes sure that she picks up everything that comes out  i also hand pieces of bread, swedes, carrots around her stable and hide them in corners for her to find, this seems to keep her amused, as for likits, they are not very good especially as the horses eat them straight away, but also they are fullof sugar and water so can make the horse hyperactive if it is stuck in the stable. Apples in the water are a good idea for amusement and also to stop the wtaer freezing over as it moved it stops the ice freezing, i would watch the horse though if he is new to it. Hope this helps  Naomi..x


----------



## quarterhorse82 (Feb 20, 2009)

hi

ive used the turnip on a rope befor and sparkie loved it he also seems to enjoy the likit thing that mounts to the wall ( Likit Tongue Twister : Central Saddlery - Shop For Horse Rugs, Clothing, Tack, Saddles )
it lasts a bit longer than some of the other toys iv had for him but every horse iv had has been different


----------



## candysmum (Jan 18, 2009)

i have a stable mate. the whole string likit, ball with 2 likits in and NONE of my horses have touched them.  

Both my horses loved their footballs and it causes a lot of noise LOL

and Gypsy Lady LOVES swede on a rope. lasts her a couple of days and at 
50p a swede i would rather pay for that than the likits!


----------



## Mia-Toffee (Aug 21, 2009)

*Hey,
ARGHHHH, I Know how you feel, my friends horse used to get so bored he'd eat the doors! But when she installed Mirrors the horse was facinated by himself in the mirror he hardly moved.

I hope that helped?
x*


Toffee&&Midgey
Love you Forever.​:001_wub:


----------



## kelseye (Aug 16, 2009)

mirrors are good i used to have them in my stable not glass ones a plastic type you can get for stables


----------



## Freyja (Jun 28, 2008)

When I had my horse years ago we used to hang all sorts from the room. Turnips and big carrots were her favourits. Also try getting the haylage nets the ones with the small holes then put one inside the other and put their hay in that. It takes a lot longer for them to eat their hay as the holes are only tiny. Another thing if you can is not hanging the haynets near to a wall so it is harder for them to grab the hay and I used several small ones rather than putting all her hay into one net. Roxy would box walk if she was left in all day for more than a couple of days so I would turn her out as much as I could during the day.


----------



## Peachy (Mar 24, 2008)

All of the above are great ideas, although I would agree with the able bobbing etc, probably best to only do this when there is someone on the yard.

I share your problems with the Likits, the last chap I had used to polish of a likit in less than a day normally, just bit straight in to it and ate it in chunks, which wasn't ideal, and not too good for them! So again, in agreement with the swede, apples etc hanging from the stable bars etc, although make sure you use something thick enough (we used old lead ropes) that won't snap and risk them either eating any of the twine etc by accident or end up getting it wrapped around legs etc!

The Likit Tongue Twister is great too, and usually prevents horses biting it all straight away!!

And I'm sure you already are, but small hole haynets/haylege nets are generally better as it takes the horses longer to eat them. Roma Horse Play balls are quite good too 

Ideally though, nothing beats getting them out of the box (obviously weather permitting, I know last year with all the snow and ice it just wasn't even safe to get them out of their box) even if its just to lunge 20 mins in the morning, school in the evening etc etc (assuming you have floodlights in your school), and then grooming and interation when you can :001_tt1:

Ah the joys of winter!!


----------



## welshcoblady1 (Sep 3, 2009)

Hello Mel put a mirror in your horses stable any equine who has company is far happier than enclosed by 4 sides having a mirror will lead your horse to think she has company also a apple tree log available to chew will keep her happy to all horses have a need to chew,a salt lick and honey lick is nice to and a radio playing low helps to hope this helps .


----------

