Toys for the stall-bound baby

[BroncoMo]

So I have a long yearling that had an accident in her stall over the weekend where she went spread eagle behind and broke her pelvis. Jury is still out on prognosis but she is home (well, my business partner’s place) and will be tied in a stall (not allowed to lay down) for at least 3 months. What are some good toys that can be hung for her entertainment? Obviously nothing that has to be loose on the floor (see above about standing tied).

I own a small breeding business so I have too many horses to do toys and treats and such. Only the most special of horses get cookies, and no one has any idea how to eat carrots and apples; people who try to feed them those think I’m the weirdest person ever. But mine just don’t have toys and such. You want entertainment, go throw a 15 gallon feed bucket around. So I am out of the loop on toys. Last time I had one on extended stall rest, I tried hanging various toys for him to include those lickit things and he never touched them; they got thrown out at the end of that summer, covered in fly crap.

Maybe something simple like a milk jug with rocks? Anything tasty that won’t necessarily be devoured in a matter of minutes? Business partner mentioned something that could hang in the corner that has multiple entertainment items. Help build my poor deprived child a play station!

[iJump]

First of all, good luck! My yearling had a broken ulnar this summer and the original vet did not want the horse to lay down. This only lasted 3 days (tied and in a semi stocks type set up). Horse just couldn’t stand up that long, ended up laying down with feet out the side and head tied up.

As for toys, a really slow feed hay net was the best entertainment for mine.

[endlessclimb]

Uncle Jimmys Hangin’ Balls or whatever they’re called.

Bonus: when she’s done, you get to fight to clean off all the sticky crap that will be coating her face!

[XXS]

Poor baby. Boredom sometimes is better than stimulation to keep them calm. A haynet with a mixture of straw and hay can keep them busy or any other tool that extends the feeding time. And lots of love, you have a great chance to build up a bond.

[clanter]

my daughter’s young horse has a I guess its a dog toy… a rubber chicken with a squeaker attached the stall’s wall… he will grab that and squeak it …and that is his favorite noisy maker

He has various toys in his stall only because it is fully enclosed which limits his viewing the other horses because he is allergic to most anything normal such as pine shavings… his stall is air conditioned

[Posting_Trot]

I just saw something called a Kentucky horse relax toy. It’s basically a stitched together (minimalist) horse, looks to be about a foot long, that you can put a crinkly old empty water bottle inside, and the horse can chomp on it, throw it (or ignore it). Cute looking, but I’ve never seen one “in action.” Oh, and a bit pricey too (of course!). But it might be possible to rig something similar up yourself.

Kentucky relax horse toy

[BroncoMo]

Well she’s about 800 miles away at my business partners place we are quite bonded as I showed her in the longe line this summer, and I always get attached to my longe liners; even if the intent is to sell them. But there’s a webcam set up so I can check in on her.

For now she’s quite calm and is enjoying playing with a milk jug this morning. I’m sure calmness may be an issue as she heals and gets fed up with staring at the same wall all the time. But for now I think she would benefit from something to occupy her mind. Watching the webcam, there’s certainly a difference now from last night in her activity level. So I think something to keep her occupied while other horses come and go throughout the day will probably keep her calmer than letting her stew over the fact that she can’t go anywhere. We shall see. We’re only three days in to this.

[clanter]

@BroncoMo

calmness may be an issue as she heals and gets fed up with staring at the same wall all the time.

we had to have one horse who foundered stand in ice water for three weeks… we set up a TV for her to watch… she really enjoyed watching the old TV series Mission Impossible as there was a lot of action.

She recovered without any rotation (we had a historical series of x-rays on her for comparison)

[BroncoMo]

Haha we joked that we need to set up a TV for her