If you’ve ever wondered how to keep a horse occupied, you’ve come to the right place! I have figured out a REALLY cool hack that will keep your horse busy for a long time!
All you need is a rubbermaid tub! I had a 100 gallon rubbermaid water trough lying around that I wasn’t using, so I used that. All you have to do is turn it upside down, and then scatter some grain in the different compartments.
A little bit goes a long way! Even a handful will keep your horse busy for a while.
There are a ton of reasons why you might need to keep a horse occupied. Horses get bored, so it’s important to think about ways to enrich their environments or to keep them busy if we don’t want them getting into any trouble. Listed below are just a few reasons why you might want to try this hack!
When You Need to Keep a Horse Occupied
- On stall rest
- To provide enrichment
- To keep a dominant horse busy at meal times
- To slow down a fast eater (bolter)
- For doctoring or medicating a difficult horse
- When you have chores to do, and you don’t need a helper
How to Keep a Horse Busy on Stall Rest
If you have a horse on stall rest, you know how hard it can be to keep them from bouncing off of the walls. The last thing you need with an injured horse is additional injuries! Slow feeders, foraging toys and other horse toys are great boredom busters for horses who are on stall rest. Just turn the tub over and scatter some feed or small treats in the compartments, and watch them busily go through each compartment until they’ve found every morsel.
My trough is kind of big, so I don’t know that I would leave it in a stall full time. It would probably be fine in a stall or run, but it would definitely take up some space in a typical box stall.
Equine Enrichment
Equine enrichment is just starting to get more popular, but this is essentially a concept for enriching a horse’s environment. In the past, horses were just turned out to paddocks or put into stalls with little to no enrichment or thought given to their environment at all. We know that zoos and animal preserves have very successfully used environmental enrichment to improve the quality of life for their animals, so why has it taken so long to reach the horse world?
This simple hack is a great and easy way to introduce enrichment into your horse’s life. It’s fun to see them light up when they’re foraging around for pieces of food too. Not only is this a great way to keep a horse occupied, it’s also a highly motivating and fun activity for the. Just give it a try. It can help to keep your horse from developing stall vices like weaving and cribbing.
Slowing Down a Bolter (Fast Eater)
I don’t have a bolter (fast eater), but if I did, I would certainly utilize this hack to feed him. Horses that eat too fast can be at risk for choking. Equine chokes can be very scary, for you and your horse, so it’s important for at-risk horses to slow down their intake. Unfortunately, you can’t just tell a horse to eat slower.
It takes my horse about 15-20 minutes to eat a couple of handfuls of grain out of the upside down water trough, so I’m sure this would be a great resource for people who need to slow down their bolters.
Doing Chores
If you have a really good “helper” you know how important it is to be able to keep a horse occupied. One of my horse’s LOVES to help with chores, and while I love and appreciate her playful, engaged and seeking spirit, sometimes, I just need to get the water buckets filled and paddocks mucked without “assistance” especially when assistance can be knocking over the wheel barrow or putting her hoof in the water bucket for attention.
This new hack is a great way to keep her occupied for 15, 20 minutes or more, depending up on how much time I need to get my chores done. It’s a win win, because I’m getting work done, and she’s having a blast finding tasty morsels on the bottom of the turned over water trough.
Jackpot at The End of a Clicker Training Session
Another application I really like for the upside down water trough hack is feeding my horse’s their jackpot at the end of a clicker training session on it. At the end of all of my clicker training sessions, my horses get a little jackpot. It’s just a little bit more food than they typically get for each click. I like to end on a high note, when they’ve really mastered what we’re working on, and then I set their jackpot on the upside down tub.
During this time, they get to spend time eating and chewing (and processing), which is very relaxing, and this event also signifies that the clicker training session is over. If you don’t communicate to your horse that a clicker session is over, they can become frustrated and wonder why you’re no longer dispensing treats. They might try behaviors that they already know to try to get your attention or even resort to unwanted behaviors to try to get you to engage in more training.
Conclusion
In conclusion, turning an old rubbermaid water trough over and tossing a few handfuls of grain on it is a great way to keep your horse occupied. Whether you need a few minutes to finish up chores or you’re trying to keep a horse on stall rest busy, this is an easy and effective horse care hack! All you need is an old water trough and some of your horse’s grain.
If you’re interested in other Equine Enrichment ideas, check out my review of the Shires Feeder Ball!
Do you have any tips for keeping a horse occupied?
Until next time, Happy Trails!
Ginny
take laundry baskets and zip ties put hay inside each side then out them together fun times .
hang it up out so it moves they chase it around fun if holes are big out some apples or carrots around the sides
How do these hold up?? My horses aren’t too destructive, but I worry about a laundry basket not being sturdy enough longterm. LOVE the idea though, I might have to test it out!