So I was not entirely surprised when both a barn staff member and my trainer told me separately last night that Connor had broken 3 bucket hangers this week, and could I please figure something out?
The problem is that they moved him to a new stall without moving his Classic Equine bucket hangers, which don't prevent him from playing with his bucket, but do prevent him from breaking either said bucket or its hangers. So that is easily fixed by bringing my spare CE bucket straps from home.
But they also requested that I look into a stall toy for him, because even though he's only stalled at night, he's self-entertaining by playing with his bucket. And they requested that it be rubber and not plastic, so his playful antics don't drive everyone crazy.
So I am asking you guys: what's your favorite stall toy? Ideally I want something that could be hung, since he loves batting his bucket around and also jangling the chains that hung in his old stall. Thanks in advance!
Houston has/had a jolly ball. I'm not entirely sure where it went. He won't play with anything if it's not edible so that was a wasted effort. He likes his lik it but that would prob get expensive and annoying :)
ReplyDeleteThat's generally the way I feel too - I have never seen a horse play with one before, they usually are just annoying for the people who clean the stalls around the ball! But I think Connor may actually play with them given how hard he plays with his bucket all the time.
DeleteA stallion in my barn has a Jolly Ball. They are durable and hard wearing but they do make a lot of noise when the horse picks it up and beats himself/the walls with it. It can also come flying over the stall walls so HEADS UP! Statelinetack has a %25 coupon right now.
ReplyDeleteHaha! I think they'd kill me if it came flying over the walls, and that is definitely a possibility. Thanks for the tip. I'd have to anchor it with yet another Classic Equine strap if I got one.
DeleteSome of the horses at my barn love to play with rubber feed pans - they toss them, bang them against the wall, and two geldings geldings merrily played tug of war with one in a pasture. Some people at the barn also like Uncle Jimmy's Hanging Balls, which sound ridiculous but work well!
ReplyDeleteHe's got a rubber feed pan (due to breaking feed buckets...) and it works well for him. I often find it stepped on and bent out of shape in the morning.
DeleteI might give the Hanging Balls a try, I always thought of those as treats rather than toys, but it might make a good toy too.
I'm following this post with interest -- Miles gets bored easily so I'm always looking for good recommendations.
ReplyDeleteWhat about tying a jolly ball to the roof above??
ReplyDeleteThere are Liki-it toys that he might enjoy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.likit.us/treats-toys/tongue-twister/
http://www.likit.us/treats-toys/boredom-breaker/
http://www.likit.us/treats-toys/boredom-buster/
You can get the treats that go in them or even salt blocks made for them. The only thing is for the ones that hang, if possible try to put it so they cant be held against the wall.
Rory keeps himself amused and quiet with a hanging Himalayan Salt Block. He eats the regular salt blocks overnight. He is busy in his stall as well even though he is out all day and has a walk out until about 7 pm.
ReplyDeleteI hung a jolly ball with a lead rope and that was pretty entertaining to my old horse.
ReplyDeleteCheapest route? An empty milk carton on a string. :)
ReplyDelete+1 to this. You can also put some grain or treats into the milk carton to make some noise and entice him.
DeleteJust a warning about the Uncle Jimmy's hanging balls- my horses loved them but would get SO STICKY when I hung them up. Molasses everywhere, especially all over their faces, and then encrusted with dirt when they rolled. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteMystic has a rubber feed pad and just recently got transitioned to a big boy water bucket from his rubber one. Uncle Jimmys hanging balls are awesome and horses love them. Just make sure you hang it in the middle so he doesnt pin it against the wall and cover his face in molasses like every else said :)
ReplyDeleteawwww silly connor! good luck finding a toy that works for him! i don't have any recommendations as isabel claims to be too dignified to play (that is, unless food is involved lol)
ReplyDeleteDitto on the sticky thing with the hanging treat balls. Also - Val applied himself to the task of licking his lik-it, and would demolish an entire sugar ring overnight, which I'm sure is not good, and gets expensive. The hanging milk cartons work great (middle of stall) - cheap and quiet.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if you got my comment reply - Here's a link to a de Kunffy clinic happening at Albion College Nov 1 - 3 that I think is not terribly far from you?!
When i read above article i smiled and realized that was cute thing done by connor. There are several items available in market which pleased equines to a great extant. I have few horses and sometimes they play with their freed pan this thing made them feel great.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.veritasdvm.com/web/veritas/common-dental-extractions-canine
Orange safety cones. Can be hung by bailing twine if desired.
ReplyDelete