Anyone have any good ideas to keep horses occupied in the stable now the longer nights are here?

We have lickits in the stable hanging from the ceiling,which last 2 days at most

Did have a snack ball but taught my horse to dig her bed looking for food
and i had a few dirty looks when she kicked it full pelt and it flew out the stable

Mel

We have the same problem with likits - the horses found out how to dig their teeth into them and they are gone within a day. As a special treat (usually at Christmas) we get a horse lyx but they have to be rationed because of the treacle/high sugar content. (It's hell to get the treacle off their noses as well)

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ive seen those balls where you put food in and the horse rolls them about so the food falls out
like a dog activty ball.

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If we have to have ours in for any length of time then we tend to hang a swede on some twine/rope and dangle it from the ceiling. Another great passtime is apple bobbing - just stick a couple of apples in the filled water bucket, ours love that 'game'

Both are cheaper than Likits too!

I like the apple bobbing idea

I remember doing swedes years ago but the horses seemed to get frustrated because they could never get a bite out of them

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Thanks for your reply's.

Apple bobbing sounds great fun,will try that with Gypsy

She likes Swedes sometimes but turns her nose up others

I did try the bits of carrot,apple,swede and parsnips in a bucket of water frozen in the summer but was worrid they would choke on frozen bits

i think if you do the apple in water bobbing you shound be they watching just to make shaw thay do not choke or take in to much water just to be safe

Ad-lib forage. Not only will it take them longer to masticate and digest, it will also encourage the digestive system to keep working effectively (particularly important when grazing is limited).

I also really like the snak-a-balls, it keeps my lot entertained for hours - okay, so you may get a messier bed but I'd rather sacrifice that in order to keep them happy.

Maintaining social interaction with other horse's will also help - even if just stabling next to another horse will help.

lucky u mine eat a licket in mins lol i have nut balls for mine and they can be a bit lethal lol My 2yrs tb likes feed sacks hung up he rips them down and jumps on them some like mirrors but be careful as seen stallions smash them, the hole point of the nut balls is to make a bloody mess but they have fun doing it so its hit and miss. small holed haynets, carrots and apples hidden in an bucket full of grit i have seen used but be carefull with that one i would not do it, footballs loose or in nets and if all elae fails borrow my collie he keeps mine busy for hours! lol Oh and all mine like bottles hung up don't go spending lots of money u can have hours of fun just trying anything u think might work also not all horses will play