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Hoofprints in the Sand

01-16-2009 08:23 PM

Fun new toy?

Now that Sandie's on stall rest for 14 days from a recent surgery, I want to be sure she has plenty to do to avoid boredom in her stall. She's has a jolly ball/lik-it treat on a string, a flavored mineral block, but what else can I put in there that she might play with?

Someone told me to use a milk jug/similar jug crunched up a little bit and filled with a handful of grain on a string so I thought I would try that.

What other items (esp. those you can make yourself) could I include that she might like? :-)

free_sprtd

01-16-2009 08:25 PM

oh i like that milk jug idea!! how fun :)

JustDressageIt

01-16-2009 08:58 PM

Some horses play with things, others don't. I bought my gelding a Likit and a Jolly Ball, and he didn't really give a second look to either... haha. Some horses love playing with them though.
If your horse will play with things like that, great! The milk jug is a good idea, I've seen a lot of horses enjoy that.
If your horse doesn't play with its toys, I would suggest keeping her happy with some grass hay, or hay that is not very rich, 24/7 to keep her doing something.
I'm sorry to hear about the injury... I just went through that with my gelding - 3 months' stall rest.. yay.
If your horse starts getting antsy, I found an oral calmer that really did work wonders with Denny, it's called Equine Chill, and it's made by Omega Alpha. It helped take the edge off. (Denny's an OTTB)
Best of luck.

Hoofprints in the Sand

01-17-2009 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by free_sprtd (Post 231866)

oh i like that milk jug idea!! how fun :)

Put it up today with a handful of grain in it and she played with it all afternoon! Kinda feel bad since she's playing with it because she can smell the grain in it and can't figure out how to get it out yet, but then again, the whole point is to get her mind working so that she's not standing around bored out of her mind, so I guess it's a good thing! :-)

NorthernMama

01-18-2009 12:50 AM

Punch a couple of small holes in the jug and put a low-carb pellet in it, rather than grain. Sometimes she might get a treat or two and it'll keep her interested.

free_sprtd

01-18-2009 12:55 AM

Can you take pics of your sweet new toy? I've never seen one! lol

Got2Gallop

01-18-2009 03:05 AM

My filly really likes the Uncle Jimmy's hangin' balls. They're a ball made of compressed sweet feed and stuff and come in flavors like carrot and apple. You hang them away from the stall walls so they can't get any real purchase on them. One will last Lily for 4-5 months!

Hoofprints in the Sand

01-18-2009 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by northernmama (Post 232609)

Punch a couple of small holes in the jug and put a low-carb pellet in it, rather than grain. Sometimes she might get a treat or two and it'll keep her interested.

Great idea!! I'll take some pics of her "new toy" today! ;-)

appylover31803

01-18-2009 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Got2Gallop (Post 232656)

Gem LOVES those! We couldn't hang it the recommened distance away from the wall, so he figured out a way to get it. It would last him about a week :lol:

I'm glad the milk jug is working out for her though!

Hoofprints in the Sand

01-18-2009 05:57 PM

Here's a video of the milk jug (It's a little dark bc I was in her stall and the lights weren't on) -- took northernmama's idea and punched some pellet-sized holes in the bottom. The grain is still in there so it'll fall out easily for a while now, but I added those little carrot-flavored oat treats that look like large pellets, and they can barely fit through the holes. So she has to try to get them out -- but in the video it's hilarious because I couldn't get her to pay attention to the milk jug, she knew the treats came from my pocket so she just kept trying to dig for them in my pockets! lol

Enjoy :-)

You Tube

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