Favorite equine enrichment toys?

[quarterhorsemom]

Favorite enrichment toys?

I have an 8 yo AQHA gelding who I think would benefit from some enrichment toys. He’s so smart and loves figuring things out. For example, he has figured out how to unzip coats and undo the snaps on the wrists of my coat 😂 I’m thinking of getting him some toys to play with. Does anyone have any ideas or things that have worked for their inquisitive horses? I’ve thought of a mega jolly ball (smaller ones don’t really interest him) or a hay ball feeder. What has worked for you guys?

[Red2003]

My Arab baby, Junior, is a toy fiend. Everything is a toy. Plastic baseball bats, rubber traffic cones, balls from WalMart, feed tubs, jolly balls, etc.
He leaves them in the water trough for me sometimes. Once in a while he will stack or nest the feed tubs. I gave him a muck bucket and he had a great time sticking his head in it to throw it around. He will bite the baseball bat and carry it around or use it to make noise on his stall bars. (Hey warden, let me out) I did make a toy feeder out of a laundry soap jug and some plastic chain, but that was a little too much fun, apparently, because it didn’t last very long.

The lady I bought him from said he would run around with a tarp in his mouth like a Batman cape. She also said a kiddie also pool is big, big fun, but I’m worried about sharp edges, so I haven’t tried it.

his favorite toy is a yoga ball inside a mega jolly ball cover. The cover runs about $40 if you shop around. You can get a yoga ball off amazon to go inside. it’s much cheaper that way. I use a Trideer XL Yoga ball in the big mega ball cover. The cover keeps him from biting into the ball. without a cover it would last about ten minutes.

The yoga ball goes inside the cover before you blow it up. The inflater that comes with it is useless. I use a portable electric air pump instead. Blow it up until it is fairly tight in the cover. It should bounce easily, with just enough slack to give him a pinch of fabric to grab if he works at it. Junior runs with it, rears with it, lays on it, kicks it, and chases it like a cutting horse after a cow.

I have learned not to leave him out with it all day unattended. It ends up at over the fence at the neighbors property and elsewhere if I do. Also, you do have to add air once in a while. They lose air, of course, and when the cover is too loose Junior can get his teeth into he ball. A flat mega jolly ball is so very sad.

[irish_horse]

My silly Arab wants nothing to do with bought toys, like a kid with a cardboard box instead of the toy! I tried the hay/treat feeder (ignored), jolly ball (picked up, threw over fence, back in pasture never played again), mega ball (thinks it is dumb), lick-it spin treat thing (ate one, never wanted it again).

But give him sticks and he will run around the pasture with one, gnaw on it (pick something safe), loves corrugated plastic tubes (yeah, he pulled the first one, a drain culvert, out of the ground and played with it) and I’ve sacrificed a couple old storage tubs because he likes to play with them until they open, and eat the tiny bit of hay inside (same hay as in his feeder!). (he only gets the storage tubs with supervision). Feed tubs, muck buckets, etc are all fun too.

Mine also likes a hay net, tied with a locking carabiner and no strings, on the ground in his pasture (he is barefoot and it has tiny holes). It ends up all over, even after the snack is gone!

If you can borrow a toy it might save you money if your horse doesn’t like it!

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

My horse is affectionately known as destruct-o-pony and loves toys. Toys he currently has in his stall:

• A dog tug of war toy hung on his wall with a bungie. No idea if he plays with it but it moves around and the twine is showing signs of wear [LIST]
• I plan on getting him something that makes noise to swap out

A jolly ball with a handle

A likit Snak-a-Ball treat ball filled every couple of days with alfalfa pellets

• This is the most durable treat ball I have found. The Shire treat ball he has figured out how to destroy in under 2 weeks. This ball (outside of the lid to fill it) has lasted 4-6 months and is still going strong.

[/LIST] Another toy I've used is hanging a gallon milk jug so he can't pin it against a wall. I cut a couple of small holes in it and filled with alfalfa pellets. The smarty figured out how to widen the holes and eat all the food in under 20 min. I plan on getting a boredom breaker and hanging that for him. Something else horses have really liked are "Uncle Jimmy's Hanging Ball". Be willing to have a sticky faced horse with that toy though. My guy wasn't really interested in it.

[lenapesadie]

My horse likes the Shires carrot ball the best! I put it on the floor of his stall. He pushes it all around trying to get the last nubbins of carrot out

[Jarrn]

I use a treat ball (the Nose-It one, not the cheap Shires one) and fill it with hay pellets. All of mine love it. I also do the milk jug thing, but fill it with rocks. Only one of mine really enjoys that, but the others will occasionally play with them. I could never get any of them to eat Likits. They love the Uncle Jimmy’s Hangin Balls, but they’re a little too pricey for me

[wildlifer]

I just got the Shires feeder ball, the horses love it, even the one who I thought wouldn’t care about it .I generally never buy toys, but my young one is super active so I decided to try it. I put treats or alfalfa pellets in it & the horses already come over immediately when they hear me filling it. I was surprised how effective it is & it survived the young one trying to chew his way in, so I’m really pleased with it.

[Texarkana]

I love the Amazing Graze and so do my horses. I have several that I usually use daily in the pasture with hay cubes. Unfortunately, I now have a toothless oldster who scares the heck out of me when he tries to get in on the fun, so they are collecting dust at the moment.