Horse Toys.... The ones horses use, not the plush kind!
- Thread starter Gulliver
- Start date
I have a couple of stable toys for my neds. One is an Eggbutt ball, which is a large inflatable rubber ball, with a handle for the horse to grab hold of. It cost about £20. My horse was pretty keen on it initially, but soon lost interest.
The other thing is a Boredom Breaker. This is a ball with a treat holder positioned above it. You hang the whole thing up, at least 3 feet away from any wall. You can put apples, pieces of carrot or swedes on the treat bar, and it takes a while for them to get it off. You can also buy a purpose made treat called a Lickit, to put on the treat bar. This is like a large boiled sweet, made from cereals and molasses, and lasts longer. They come in different flavors. The Boredom Breaker costs about £17, and a Lickit costs £2. My horses really like this. I have hung it over the partition between their stables, so they can play ping pong with it. This seems to work OK as they get on well.
I also try to turn my horses out as much as possible to avoid boredom, although I appreciate this is just not possible for some people.
Hope this has been of some use,
Marie-Ann.
The other thing is a Boredom Breaker. This is a ball with a treat holder positioned above it. You hang the whole thing up, at least 3 feet away from any wall. You can put apples, pieces of carrot or swedes on the treat bar, and it takes a while for them to get it off. You can also buy a purpose made treat called a Lickit, to put on the treat bar. This is like a large boiled sweet, made from cereals and molasses, and lasts longer. They come in different flavors. The Boredom Breaker costs about £17, and a Lickit costs £2. My horses really like this. I have hung it over the partition between their stables, so they can play ping pong with it. This seems to work OK as they get on well.
I also try to turn my horses out as much as possible to avoid boredom, although I appreciate this is just not possible for some people.
Hope this has been of some use,
Marie-Ann.
I probably don't know any more than you about this one, as I have only seen it in a magazine or catalog somewhere. Hope you get a response from someone who has one.
just a warning...if the stall walls in your barn don't go to the ceiling (most don't for airflow purposes), you might have to watch out for stalls toys flying over the walls. The kind that you hang from the ceiling prevent this, but the plain balls with handles could be interesting. My trainer has her barn aisle bedded with sawdust (I think this is a great idea by the way) and we ride in it in the witner or when the arena (outdoor) is muddy. One day I noticed Quasi playing with the cross-ties through her stall grates, and told Tina she should get her a stall toy. Tina said she didn't have stall toys because she didn't want to be riding down the aisle one day and have a rubber ball come flying at her! Just imagine the reaction from a show horse that is somewhat high strung to begin with..could be funny as long as you are the one on the ground watching and no one gets hurt...
Allie
Allie
The only "toy" Carrie will play with is a Feedball with food in. She's ignored the horse footballs and even the lick sticks suspended from the ceiling with a playball on the end.
Just a word of warning about some of the feed related toys. Some people have commented that they have noticed that their horses have become quite aggressive with the feedballs in particular. Whether it's because they see it as a meal that they have to guard or whether it's frustration at not being able to eat the food all in one go, I don't know. If your horse is not normally aggressive but starts to behave differently after you start using it, be aware that it might be that that is causing it.
Oh wow
I didn't know that toys could be a source of aggression! Ok, remind me steer clear of those!
Allie: The stall walls (Not the door to the stall) goes to about 1 1/2 feet from the ceiling then the rest is iron bars that go up to the actual ceiling. I was thinking of getting a scented rubber ball and tying it to the bars so that my horse could play with it... And also getting the horse pasifier thingy for the edge of the stall because it is supposed to keep the horse away from wood chewing and wind sucking... Does this seem er, safe?
Thanks soo much for your comments!
I didn't know that toys could be a source of aggression! Ok, remind me steer clear of those!
Allie: The stall walls (Not the door to the stall) goes to about 1 1/2 feet from the ceiling then the rest is iron bars that go up to the actual ceiling. I was thinking of getting a scented rubber ball and tying it to the bars so that my horse could play with it... And also getting the horse pasifier thingy for the edge of the stall because it is supposed to keep the horse away from wood chewing and wind sucking... Does this seem er, safe?
Thanks soo much for your comments!
Jugs!
Some people at my barn just hang heavy dutie milk juggs or any old jug that is sturdy and won't break and hurt the horse! I've never seen it hurt a horse.. I have a jolly ball in my horses stall and she loves it!! But I recommend getting the stronger thicker plastic ones then the lighter plastic ones... because my horse broke the cheep plastic one after a WEEK!!! But the new one has been up since christmas and it's GREAT!!!
Anyhow!! Good luck!!
Some people at my barn just hang heavy dutie milk juggs or any old jug that is sturdy and won't break and hurt the horse! I've never seen it hurt a horse.. I have a jolly ball in my horses stall and she loves it!! But I recommend getting the stronger thicker plastic ones then the lighter plastic ones... because my horse broke the cheep plastic one after a WEEK!!! But the new one has been up since christmas and it's GREAT!!!
Anyhow!! Good luck!!
I think I'm gonna get a Jolly Ball
Thanks for your replies, I think I'm going to get a jolly ball for Belle. She seems to like things that she can move by herself (she loves opening and closing gates.. lol we have her trained like a dog!). So I think I'm going to go with a jolly ball.
One thing... How much are they though? I saw one in Dover Saddley but I forget the price and cant find the website.
BTW, GUlliver is my other s/n, in case you were wondering.
Thanks for your replies, I think I'm going to get a jolly ball for Belle. She seems to like things that she can move by herself (she loves opening and closing gates.. lol we have her trained like a dog!). So I think I'm going to go with a jolly ball.
One thing... How much are they though? I saw one in Dover Saddley but I forget the price and cant find the website.
BTW, GUlliver is my other s/n, in case you were wondering.
hmm speaking of toys..
a friend use to have a horse <whose was sadly put to sleep a few months ago at a tender age of 10 because of a developing probelm with all 4 of its feet>
and attached to the stable wall was a haynet with a normal leather football in it and for reason...the horse loved it! he used to play with it all the time he when was in his stable.
The funniest thing i have seen though was a yard full of posh pristine horses and ponies and every stable had a teddy bear hanging from it! its prupose i was unsure of...but every horse its own teddy bear hanging in its stable to play with...
a friend use to have a horse <whose was sadly put to sleep a few months ago at a tender age of 10 because of a developing probelm with all 4 of its feet>
and attached to the stable wall was a haynet with a normal leather football in it and for reason...the horse loved it! he used to play with it all the time he when was in his stable.
The funniest thing i have seen though was a yard full of posh pristine horses and ponies and every stable had a teddy bear hanging from it! its prupose i was unsure of...but every horse its own teddy bear hanging in its stable to play with...
newrider.com