Occupying stabled horses with five tried-and-tested tips that really work

Occupying stabled horses is always important, but especially if they can’t be in their field as much as usual. Box rest or weather-related reasons are common culprits for restricted turnout, leaving owners seeking out boredom busters for horses.

An extended time in the stable can be challenging, particularly as we know the pros of turnout for horses. Movement and a constant supply of forage both promote equine wellbeing, from gut health to mental welfare, and these factors are harder to uphold in a stable environment.

So, how to keep stabled horses happy and healthy? If your horse is facing a period of box rest or reduced time out, fear not. I’ve navigated increased stable time with horses over my 20 years of ownership, as have most of the team at H&H.

Here are our helpful tips for occupying stabled horses.

Occupying stabled horses: five things to try today

1. Increase your horse’s chewing time

If you’ve ever Googled “how much hay to feed a horse”, the answer is always ad-lib is best. It’s definitely true that we want a steady stream of forage trickling through our horses’ digestive systems, but difficulties arise if a horse is overweight. Forage delivers calories, and unlimited forage can deliver too many, especially to a stabled horse who isn’t using that energy to move or keep warm.

So, what to do? The general consensus among equine nutritionists is that a horse’s daily forage intake should not drop below 1.5% of his bodyweight on a dry matter basis. While this makes it possible to calculate how much a horse should eat (for example, a 500kg horse should eat a dry weight of at least 7.5kg per day, which accounting for 12% moisture is around 8.5kg in hay), it probably wouldn’t allow for constant chewing when served as a pile on the floor.

Try chew time-extending products

This is where extending a horse’s chewing time becomes important. If your horse is chewing, he’s producing stomach acid-buffering saliva and receiving mental stimulation – big wins for a stabled horse.

You can achieve this by using small-holed haynets, slow feeders or, my current personal favourite, forage blocks (like these on Amazon). My 25-year-old mare is on pen rest right now, which is basically box rest with a view, and she’s really enjoying chewing on them. They’re 1kg, and last her about 30 minutes – 1kg of hay would be hoovered up far more quickly!

A piebald mare wearing a rug and eating hay from a slow feeder, there is a forage brick next to it

My mare enjoying her slow feeder with a forage block for later. Credit: Bethany Stone

2. Ease boredom with a stable toy

The best stable toys have a variety of textures to explore, offer a tasty treat to lick or nibble on, or might have a dynamic element, so your horse can move them around. There’s a huge range out there so you can tailor your choice to your horse’s personality.

Some are easily pleased and inquisitive and won’t need enticing with something food-based, like one of the best licks. My gelding is quite happy to simply throw around an empty feed bucket, for example!

Others might prefer a hanging forage block (which just require a mini net, like this one), or a treat ball to push around. If your horse eats a cube or pelleted feed balancer, this could be a creative way to enrich and extend mealtimes.

3. Try an in-stable workout

Do you know the origin of Pilates? To put it briefly, it was the brainchild of Joseph Pilates. He was a prisoner in an internment camp on the Isle of Man during World War I.

Within the confines of the camp, Pilates observed the scrawny athleticism of the native cats who leapt after mice and rats. Inspired, he developed a fitness method that stretched and strengthened the body; thus, Pilates was born.

Jenny Adamson, an equine physiotherapy and rehab specialist, says that stabled horses can benefit from similar stretches from the confines of their box – it could strengthen and entertain your horse, too.

“My favourite in-stable exercise is the backwards weight push,” she tells H&H. “It’s a small but really effective exercise for mobilising the thoracic sling [muscles that connect the forelimb to the trunk] and core. It’s a great multi-tasker!”

Demonstration of backwards weight push, with physiotherapist’s hand on horse’s sternum

Place your hand on your horse’s sternum and encourage him to tilt his body back to target core strength. Photo: Jenny Adamson

How to do it

Position the heel of your hand on the sternum bone (as shown above).
Gently push back so your horse moves his trunk, not his legs, back around an inch.
Let his weight come forward again, to produce a slow rocking motion.
Repeat 10 times.

“When done correctly they really relax,” Jenny continues. “Over time, it helps to loosen the shoulders, withers, and take some of the weight out of the forehand.

“It also activates some of the deeper stabilisers within the body. Don’t be fooled by its simplicity, or how small the movement is!”

Before embarking on an extensive programme of exercises, Jenny recommends seeking professional guidance. There are online courses, like hers, you can sign up to.

“If you go slowly through the exercises, your horse will show you where he’s stiff and how far he can go in each movement,” Jenny adds.

“Initially, stop just before the point he starts to twist or avoid or move around. Stay within his “easy zone” to start with and build up slowly from there.”

4. Devote some proper time to bonding

When I reflect on time spent with my horses, I realise much of it is purely functional. I groom them just to get them clean, I go into their field just to poo pick and so on. I often wish I spent time with them with the sole purpose of improving our bond.

When features editor Martha Terry’s horse was on box rest, she did just that.

“When my gelding had a fractured splint, he was in for 10 weeks,” she said. “The unexpected blessing was the opportunity to try out things with him that I hadn’t previously prioritised or had time to do.

“One thing I found he really enjoyed was the bladder meridian technique, which is an acupressure technique to release tension and emotional stress,” she continues. “A friend recommended trying it so I looked it up on a Jim Masterson YouTube video.

“I had no idea what I was doing, but I felt that I could do no harm as you’re barely touching the horse.”

How Martha did it

“Essentially you trace the energy lines from the poll right down the side of the spine to the heel on the hind leg,” she explains.

“Go very slowly, and watch for any reactions like a blink or lip quiver. If they react, halt your progress and wait for a release signal, such as a yawn.

“Who knows whether it makes any difference, but my horse is a sparky chap who doesn’t always like being touched and he definitely enjoyed this once he got used to it, and it helped me to become more in tune with his reactions.”

5. Teach your horse a new skill

Occupying stabled horses can also involve a mental workout. You can tax a horse’s brain by having him learn something new, as website editor Carol Phillips has done by teaching horses to self-halter and -bridle.

“I am not a positive reinforcement training expert in any way, but I have taught a few horses to put their head into a headcollar and to open their mouth to take the bit when they are presented with a bridle,” she says.

The goal of the training is for the horse to lower his head, push his nose into the noseband and keep it there so you can fasten the headcollar.

Carol says it’s important to break the process down into manageable, bite-sized steps and approach the task as a bit of fun.

“It doesn’t help if you get too intense about it,” she explains. “If it’s not working one day, put it aside and try again another day.”

You will need food rewards to teach this; Carol adds that the treats should be low-value to avoid your horse becoming pushy.

A grey horse in a brick stable with a blue door. A woman in a blue top entertains the stabled horse, petting his ear and drawing his nose forward.

Use rewards to teach your horse that a particular noise, such as a click, means “that’s good”. Photo: Andrew Sydenham

How Carol did it

Carol says:

1. The horse first needs to understand that a particular noise means “that’s good” or “do more of that”. This can be trained using a clicker or just a particular word and tone, which works as the bridge signal. I then give scratches or a low-value food reward like chaff to help them understand that this is the desired behaviour.
2. Once that basic understanding is in place, I stand beside them on their near side and hold the headcollar open in front of them slightly in front of their nose. Most horses are inquisitive enough to stretch their nose towards it.
3. When they move their head very slightly in the desired direction I give my vocal praise sound. Then, I move the headcollar away and give the reward. I repeat this process until they choose to touch the headcollar with their nose.
4. Once they can touch the headcollar, the next step is learning to push their nose into the noseband to get the reward. At this step, I don’t instantly reward them when they touch any part of it, so they will typically start moving their nose around to touch different parts.
5. Each time they get closer to putting their nose into the nosepiece, I immediately give praise, remove the headcollar and give the reward. Timing is key here for the horse to understand which behaviour is being rewarded.
6. By using gradual steps as their understanding grows, you work towards only rewarding them when they lower their nose into the noseband and hold it still.

“Using this process, I’ve taught horses to put their nose into the headcollar (or to take the bit into their mouth) whenever I present it to them.”

Give it a try

Whatever your time or budget constraints, there’s a stable enrichment tip on this list for you. Let us know how you get on by writing to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county to be considered for publication in a future issue.