Keeping a horse happy on box rest

[martini55]

Poor Martini is fed up and it's only been a couple of days :( So I was wondering if anyone had any advice for keeping horses happy on box rest. She is laminitic so that rules out quite a lot of things unfortuantely. She has company overnight but is alone through the day. Just now the only thing I've done is have hay in 2 places different places in the stable. So what other things can I do to enteraintain her?

[Teehee]

I know it sounds trashy... but I use to have a old car tire (watch that it has no wires sticking out) in my ponies pens... it seemed to entertain them quite a bit...! :)

[KT C]

How about a football or something to play with?

I know you said she's laminitic, but if she gets any feed, you could put it in one of those snack-a-ball thingies. When my chunky chap was on box rest I used to give him a bucket of Dengie Good-Doer with things like apples,corrots,turnip, etc chopped through it. You might not be able to feed like that, but could you maybe even hang a turnip (or something!) up in the middle of her stable so that she really has to work hard to eat it??

[martini55]

The thing with fruit/veggies is they are full of sugar so it rules that out, all she gets fed is a little bit of speedi-beet and hay. I can't think what could be put in a snack-a-ball unfortunately and I don't think it would be a good idea keeping her moving around anyway :( She's not very playful either so wouldn't even look at a ball hung up or anything like that. She's difficult isn't she.

[alwaysfallingof]

What about something like a milk bottle filled with beans so that it rattles hung from the top of her stable. Would the fact that it makes a noise and COULD be food be enough to keep her amused and stationery?

I don't normally like haynets, but if she is eating her rations really quickly then getting stressed could you put it in 2 small-holed haynets, one inside the other?

[capalldubh]

It does sound like a good idea to make the hay difficult to get at in various ingenious ways - two haynets sounds good, but also stuff it in bags or cardboard boxes? I used to park some of it under the rubber tyre we had for the mare, so she had to push the tyre around to get it out. Anything like that makes the hay last longer and makes eating a bit more like foraging so more natural.

Does she like celery? I gave Jackson lots of celery when he was banned sugary veg like carrots - he loved it and was willing to play hunt the celery and extract it from a snak a ball... Double check with vet, but I think celery has virtually no sugar, similar with fennel I think. Seeds would be the other thing - all the horses in the field at the mo seem to love the black oil sunflower seeds - they have fat and fibre but no sugar. They would also work in a snak a ball?

ETA - if you don't want her moving around, you can use a plastic bottle with small holes and fill it with seeds etc and hang from stable door.

[showjumper-zoe]

As she has laminitis I would avoid things like LIKITS and Mollased licks. And I would never feed carrots to a laminitic or laminitic prone horse or pony as the sugar content in them is HUGE!

Maybe a snack a ball with 200 - 400g of spillers high fibre cubes (suitable for laminitics) a day. Maybe a a turnip on a rope.

You can also buy scented balls etc for them to play with.

Also a mirrow in the stable may help.

[puzzles]

you could . . .

- popping any hard feed into a snack-a-ball is a brilliant idea. this way she will be able to trickle feed and it will take longer to eat, meaning she'll be busy for longer.
- mix sliced fruit and vegetable (including bannanas, apples, carrots, suedes, turnips) in his haynets/hay on the floor for a surprise and treat
- feed hay in nets - small-holed (pop one over another if you dopn't have them)
- soak or steam hay (to soak, dunk in cold water in a large bucket for 20-30 mins) to aid respiratopry health, being stabled so much for so long
- hang whole fruit and vg (especially turnips + swedes) by varying lengths of baler twine from the stable ceiling for him to play with and nibble on as he pleases
- in the day time, open the bottom stable door and instead tie/clip a leadrope across the doorway to allow air to circulate better and him a better view
- try to make sure he can see/preferably touch other horses next to him or nearby
- bob apples and pther veg/fruit in his water buckets
- use shavings/other dust-free bedding to minimise dust spores, the liklehood of his getting respiratoy problems, etc
- if you can, wedge a baby bottle of a peppermint solution/pureed fruit and veg diluted with water, between any bars in his stable
- rather than giving your horse one huge haynet for the day, try to give him 1-2 smaller ones 2-3 times throughout the day, to add routine to his life and make sure he has regular company and stays interested
- you can add variety to his feeding regime by feeding a partial hay replacer: a bucket of Dengie Hi-Fi Liter/Good Doer for example.
- place his haynets/hay on the opposite side of the stable so he has to move across to each, so he is exercising and staying a little busier
- you can also buy other licks/toys, but for toys make sure he is actually shown what to do with them if he remains rather clueless! (as many other horses are)
- rather than give him lots of hard feed and restrict his forage intake, contact a nutritonist (via any of the addresses given below) and sort out his feeding regime. you can safely feed him a 100% forage diet, especially if he's to be on box rest for a long time, and just add a broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement or feed balancer, mixed in with a small handful of low-energy chaff to add platability and bulk.
some of the best quality examples include - supplements: Feelgood 30 Vits&Mins, Dengie Optinum, NAF Pink powder (also a digestive enhancer), Global herbs Globalvite - balancers: Blue Chip Original/Lami-Light, Baileys Lo-Cal (also containing digestive enhancers). these wille nsure a balanced diet, but without the calories as they're fed in such small amounts (supplements = approx. 10g/100khg bodyweight; balancers = approx. 100g/100kg bodyweight)

good luck!

www.dengie.com
www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk
www.globalherbs.co.uk
www.bluechipfeed.com
www.naf-uk.com
www.quayequestrian.com/feelGood30

[chunky monkey]

Make sure that when you put the hay in the stable, you put it in a net or rack, don't put it on the floor they it it quicker and consume more.:cool:

[chunky monkey]

Forgot to say a radio in the stable is a good thing, particularly radio 4. Voices are much more soothing and have a calming influence. Perhaps a bit of classical, put no pop or rock.:cool:

Also some people hang a mirror so that it makes them think that they have company.

Obviously if he's lame then its not a good idea for him to move round to much. If he can have access to the stable and to a small area of yard it will help to keep the weight off.

[showjumper-zoe]

Forgot to say a radio in the stable is a good thing, particularly radio 4. Voices are much more soothing and have a calming influence. Perhaps a bit of classical, put no pop or rock.:cool:

Also some people hang a mirror so that it makes them think that they have company.

Obviously if he's lame then its not a good idea for him to move round to much. If he can have access to the stable and to a small area of yard it will help to keep the weight off.

Yeah classical lol, my horses seem to hype up with the dance and rnb lol

[eventerbabe]

i wouldn't be afraid of letting her have veg. We always let bonnie have a turnip to knaw on and a carrot and apple a day. Our vet said a limited amount would do absolutely no harm.

The radio is a fab idea, something like classic FM or even radio 4 might help. No pop music though :p you could always treat her to a massage or reiki treatment too, not only will this help her physically, it can work emotionally too.

[puzzles]

Quote:
Originally Posted by chunky monkey
Forgot to say a radio in the stable is a good thing, particularly radio 4. Voices are much more soothing and have a calming influence. Perhaps a bit of classical, put no pop or rock.

Also some people hang a mirror so that it makes them think that they have company.

Obviously if he's lame then its not a good idea for him to move round to much. If he can have access to the stable and to a small area of yard it will help to keep the weight off.

Yeah classical lol, my horses seem to hype up with the dance and rnb lol


The radio is a fab idea, something like classic FM or even radio 4 might help. No pop music though you could always treat her to a massage or reiki treatment too, not only will this help her physically, it can work emotionally too.

absaloutely! i remember one study last year showing that horses became more relaxed, focused and less entitled to develop/use vices when listening to classical music, and rocky music made them agitated and more stressed.
fascinating!

[chunky monkey]

Its a proven methods among the farmers. They play radio 4 in the milking parlour to the cows, not because farmers are funny bunch, but the cows actually produce more milk!!!!

[Roofio]

not quite the same, but if my sister leaves her radio on Kerrang, her dog will wreck the house. classic FM and her house is unharmed!

[puzzles]

lol! same here; it is calming, espcially as one of my two dogs (Digby) get very anxious when left alone, even with his buddy Meggie (our other dog)!