Homemade or purchased toys for dry yard entertainment

[Miniitis]

Hi,

Looking for ideas for my mini for when she is in her dry yard. At the moment all she sees is the green grass next to the fence and that's all she thinks about. She does get let out for that everyday for 1 hr or so, but I am looking for some things to entertain her when she's in her dry yard. ( she does get walked and trot everyday)

Prefer homemade ideas but if you purchased something that's really really worth it, I would like to know as well.

Anything your minis play with or investigate regularly? Her past owner suggested to hang some bags on the fence etc, but I m not sure what that's about?

Any ideas anyone?

 

[chandab]

Almost all of mine like to play with the rubber and plastic feed tubs, I mostly use the low 3 gallon pans.

I have a Jolly Apple, the gelding didn't like, but the stallion loves; its loose on the ground.

 

[kaycee]

my horses like plastic milk jugs i hang on fences/stalls. iremove the caps and the plastic ring that is left when the cap is unscrewed. i will sometimes put larger rocks in the jug to "rattle".

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

I like Likits. Had one big mare that went NUTS for them, but my mini really doesn't seem to care for them. Too sweet I think, he's not a fan of sweet. Pretty much any of the hanging treats will occupy most horses.

 

[targetsmom]

Black rubber feed dishes, big chunks of ice, and hula hoops are favorites around here.

 

[paintponylvr]

Our family consumes a huge amount of soda, bottled water and we regularly have bonfires (with food and drinks) several times a year.

2 ltr bottles are saved and tossed into the round pen where they are somewhat contained. The ponies learn to move around them or THRU them while working, but they also learn to play with them since my round pen is open to the jr mares pasture. As they crush them flat, they are picked up and put into our recycle bags.

The wind is able to move them into other pastures (I've recently had to go and round up quite a number of them & will need to again when this round of rain stops again). The boys pasture is next to the round pen pasture - several of the boys will pick them up and toss them around with their teeth and then "attack" them. Or they just run around with the bottles in their teeth.

I've also got several walk thru gates from the panel fencing w/ over head bars. The smaller bottles are tied to the overhead bar like a curtain and the ponies walk thru the curtain when we go thru the gates. I need to do that with all of the gates, so far I just have it on one. Cheap entertainment, more desensitizing/training and they get crushed for me. CAN'T BEAT THAT!

Also toss a lot of the card board boxes we get into the round pen. The ponies maneuver around, over and thru them. I also flatten larger ones and use them at the bucket tie spots - helps with my diggers somewhat.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Those kids hoppy balls with a handle are among favorites here. My one boy especially liked the hoppy ball that had a horses head on it. He would drag it around by the ears. The hoppy balls are stronger than the yoga balls and dont pop easily and they cant bite off chunks. I have lots of other toys I used when they were supervised. The hoppy balls could stay in the field.

 

[Jenny]

The best toy I've found is a vinegar container with holes cut out on the bottom that you attach to a post or fence. You can fill with oats or pelleted feed. My guy will spend hours tossing it around trying to get the oats out!

 

[amysue]

My horses love to play with lawn mower sized tires and rubber traffic cones they toss them over the fence at each other. I fill heavy plastic laundry detergent jugs with pebbles so they make noise and they love to toss them around And bang them against the fence rails. Mine all have salt licks in the paddocks too. I buy the cheap rubber balls in the toy dept at wal mart and my ponies love rolling them around. I have a jenny who is infatuated with velcro so I hang an old blanket bag on her gate and she plays with velcro all day. The only down side is she now undresses everyone shes turned out with.

 

[Miniitis]

Oh there is some great ideas here. Will definetely try the jugs on the fence. That seems a popular one. I've tried one of those big yoga balls and a smaller soccer ball but she doesn't seem interested at all.

Keep the great ideas coming I'm sure this will help a lot of people be creative in entertainment for our horses health.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I had one boy that needed LOTS of toys or he would drive you crazy. I could put a trash bag on a crop and hand it to him and he would run around the field and flap it. He would take a tarp and drag it around and if the wind caught it he was not scared, he never let go, just let it fly up like a kite flapping. He would push one of those kids toys John Deere plastic mowers all over the paddock like he was mowing grass. you could throw pool noodles at him. He drove the other horses crazy because he would pick up the hoppy ball, put it on their backs and let go and do it over and over again like he was in charge of the spook training. I watched him take a stick in his mouth and poke his pasture friends with it in the butt trying to get them to run. He stole my farriers nippers and put them in the wheel barrow and it went out to the field with the manure and we found it 6 months later when we were plowing. Everything was funny to him. when I would approach his feed bucket hanging on the fence, he would beat me to the bucket and take it in his teeth and chuck it over his shoulder. Frustrated I gestured to the bucket and said... "what am I going to do with that now???" he looked me in the eye, picked up the bucket and tried to hang it back on the fence. When I told the woman at the feed store this new trick she told me I was lying that no horse was that smart.

I sold him to a woman who wanted a trick training mini horse. About 3 months after he left I found the driving whip I accused my kids of taking, he had tossed it over the fence into some high weeds. Games are very fun. Sky is the limit as to what toys you can think of... PS, the pool noodles must be supervised because they can bite chunks off them. cheers.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I found a couple of photos for your entertainment. enjoy.

 

[MyMiniGal]

I have a Yoga ball, but when I pumped it up it has a plug thing you put in. Has anyone ever used a ball like that and left it in the paddock with their horses? Is it ok to do that? Can they get the plug out and hurt themselves. It is super snug, and in order for me to get it out, I have to use something to pry under it, and then pull real hard. The ball is a medium sized one, so it pretty good sized. Just not sure about that plug.

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

http://horseandman.com/handy-tips/home-made-horse-toys-and-a-few-other-things/

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

I have a Yoga ball, but when I pumped it up it has a plug thing you put in. Has anyone ever used a ball like that and left it in the paddock with their horses? Is it ok to do that? Can they get the plug out and hurt themselves. It is super snug, and in order for me to get it out, I have to use something to pry under it, and then pull real hard. The ball is a medium sized one, so it pretty good sized. Just not sure about that plug.

I wouldn't leave a horse alone with a yoga ball. I would be more afraid of her popping it and consuming the small pieces than a plug. Unless the toy is made specifically for horses, its usuallly not a good idea to leave them unsupervised with anything, just like little kids

 

[shorthorsemom]

On the yoga ball question and the plug. Any toy that I put for my guys to play with came out of the field with me if it had anything that could possibly be popped off of it. I truly think they enjoy the toys best with their humans laughing and snapping photos anyway, so I brought the toys with me.. I ... laughed... took photos and took them back out of the field with me when I left.

I noticed pretty soon that when I came out to the field my guys would be following me around and asking "what are we gonna do today" ... just like thumper in bambi.

I like that link posted above for ideas of toys that can be left in the pasture, Love the string of apples and the milk jug with the carrots sticking out. LOL.

I was posting the same time as the one above... could have just written ditto.

 

[MyMiniGal]

Ok, thank you...that was my thought, when I saw it. I have never had a Yoga ball before, so just wanted to see if we could get Halo to play, but wasn't sure about leaving it in her paddock. I've tried several of the things that have been listed here, but she won't touch them. So far the best thing she likes it to roll a bucket around. But, then, I don't really want her doing that, as then I worry about her dumping her water, to just see if she can get it to roll. LOL

 

[Foxhaven]

BEST... TOY... EVER... as determined by Legend.

Amazing Graze Treat Dispenser

Fill mostly with hay, and put in some horse candy (carrot or apple flavor seems the favorite). Or... alfalfa cubes, broken up. The hay slows down the reward.

Legend and Luke will play with it for hours trying to get the last treat out... and the occasional strand of hay. Drs. Foster and Smith. Very well made and durable. Sometimes we have to go hunting for the screw on lid if my wife was the last one to fill it (doesn't tighten as much as I do).

 

[Foxhaven]

We've tried Licky Things and while they love it, they have figured out a way to work together as a team so they end up consuming it in about an hour or two. Then they have sticky dirty muzzles. Just don't feel good about all that sugar for them.

 

[disneyhorse]

All the big horses in my barn have the "Amazing Graze" from drsfostersmith.com but I think it might be a little large for minis. The hole is a little large, so we duct tape it halfway closed. They are great though.