The dreaded words many horse owners hate to hear – stall rest. If you have been riding long enough, sooner or later you will have to deal with a horse that is on stall rest. Whether the vet prescribed a week, a month, or several months, stall rest can be stressful and frustrating for horses and owners alike. Although it is needed from time to time, stall rest can feel like horsey jail to all involved and is not something equestrians ever want for their horses.
Every horse owner can only envision the worst: a restless unhappy horse, a destroyed stall, dangerous hand walking and lost sleep. Horses do best, physically and emotionally, when constantly moving. So the prospect of weeks or even months in a stall is enough to cause us stress as well. The trick is keeping our horses calm and entertained during stall rest. The key to reducing your horse’s boredom while he is resting is to keep him as busy and occupied as possible. Whether you are giving him things to play with, increasing the amount of time he spends eating or giving him the option to interact with other horses, it can all make a difference.
Here are a few tips to help make stall rest a little bit safer and less stressful. As the reasons for a horse to be on stall rest vary, please check with your veterinarian before making any changes to your horse’s diet and/or routine.
What is Stall Rest?
Stall rest is a general term used to describe a horse that, for whatever reason, needs to be confined to a stable or stall for a period of time. Horses are not exactly known for their self-protection skills. If you provide them enough space, they will run, buck and kick if they choose. This activity could result in injury or further damage to a healing injury. Stall rest helps to control the activity and stress a horse puts on an injury.
Stall rest can be just for a few days or many months, but the type of stall rest can vary too. If your horse is recovering from an injury or from surgery, then it is likely that he will need to be completely confined to his stall and kept quiet. If your horse needs to be quarantined for another reason, then he may be allowed outside briefly to graze on his own in a paddock. Your veterinarian will provide the specific guidelines.
Provide Natural Light and Fresh Air
In general, stall rest means limited movement or no trotting. It will be important to know the exact limitations required for your horse. If he is wearing a cast, movement is discouraged. For most conditions, walking would be acceptable and the stall rest is designed to keep them at a quieter pace. Consider outdoor stalls or pens the size of their stall. If you can add windows to an indoor stall or keep the doors open to let a breeze in, your horse will appreciate the fresh air.
Keep in mind your horse’s needs. Some need more activity, while others prefer some down time. If traffic means all the horses pass by on their way outside while leaving your horse behind, that might be damaging to your horse’s morale, so a different path may be in order.
Break the Boredom
While it is tempting to give your stalled horse toys to keep him occupied during stall rest, be careful that the toys will not cause your horse to be too active, thereby defeating the purpose. Most horses are on stall rest to limit their movement; therefore some toys (like “grazing” toys) may actually do more harm than good. Before giving your horse a boredom breaker that requires a lot of movement, check with your vet to make sure it will not be counterproductive to your horse’s recovery.
Here are some more boredom buster ideas:
- Musical Stalls
If you have the space, we highly recommend this option. Give your horse a change of scenery by putting him in a different stall each day. If possible, provide him with some visual activity throughout the day. Equip each stall with a different toy for him to entertain himself with.
- Make Your Horse Work for Their Treat
- Horse popsicles: freezing carrots or apples in an ice block
- Treat toys
- Provide Your Horse with Toys
- Stuffed animals
- Playground balls
- Traffic cones
- Official horse toys
- Unbreakable Mirror
- Traffic Cones
Traffic cones are pretty easy to find at a hardware store. The bright color and flexible material will provide hours of entertainment for a horse with a touch of cabin fever.
Allow Company
If you have a calm animal, you can let them in the paddock by the barn so your horse does not feel alone. Visitors to the stall are also commonly allowed. See if you have another horse that can stay inside as well, it may be beneficial. If need be, the companion horse can be a different one each day. If you do not have another horse, almost any animal will serve the purpose. Horses can do well with a friend, like chickens and sheep, to share the stall. People work nicely too. Make an effort to have all available people in the barn stop by and say hi as often as possible.
Exercise and Hand Grazing
Stall rest does not always mean stall restricted. If your horse does not have a fracture or is not wearing a cast, ask your vet about hand walking. Horses can often be hand walked or hand grazed. If possible and agreeable to your vet, break up hand walking and hand grazing into shorter, more frequent sessions so your horse gets out of his stall more than once per day. Pay close attention to the footing outside and avoid hand walking and hand grazing on slippery surfaces or in mud, especially if your horse is recovering from an orthopedic injury. Rehabbing a horse on stall rest, particularly one with an orthopedic injury, should be done very slowly. Better to go slowly in the beginning than have your horse strain or re-injure himself, leading to even more stall rest.
Diet
Do not forget to adjust the diet based upon the change in activity. Grass has a high water content (much higher than hay), so wetting the hay helps replace some of the moisture lost by not grazing. This helps keep the horse properly hydrated, and hydration is essential to keep the horse’s gut moving and prevent colic. If your horse was active prior to stall rest (working regularly and/or getting a lot of turnout), you may need to reduce or eliminate the amount of grain you are feeding. Reducing grain not only helps the horse maintain a healthy weight, it may also help to keep the horse calmer. While individual needs vary, your horse will probably not need as many calories to maintain his weight while on stall rest. If he needs to gain weight, try to limit carbohydrates as they add energy and will likely increase the restlessness.
Control Pests
Bugs like barns. Without a nice breeze or a companion's tail, flies can be more bothersome during stall rest than usual. Add boredom to that and they can quickly drive your patient crazy. Fans, fly sheets and repellants can help minimize the annoyance.
Pharmaceuticals Can Be Necessary
Hopefully your horse will adjust well to stall rest and will not require any medication to keep him calm and safe to handle. Unfortunately, some horses do not deal with confinement as well as others and may become difficult to handle or become a danger to themselves or their handlers. As much as we may want to avoid it, some horses on long-term stall rest will require a long-acting sedative to keep them calm enough to heal without worsening the injury or causing undue stress. Still more horses may need a shorter-acting sedative so they can be safely hand walked or ridden while on stall rest.
If your horse becomes difficult to handle, ask your vet about sedatives that may be helpful. There are drugs available to help calm anxious horses. Some of the anti-anxiety drugs have the opposite effects in a subpopulation of horses, so check with your veterinarian on all medications.
Transitioning to Turnout
When the stall rest finally comes to an end, try to limit risks of re-injury on turnout. Keep in mind your horse has lost some conditioning. They will likely be excited and may need to reassert their role in the herd.
Here are a few tips:
- Do not feed your horse until you turn them out. This will give them something else to think about.
- Turn them out with one or two other horses instead of the whole herd.
- You can sedate the horse at first for turn out.
- Turn out during the heat of the day when all the other horses are moving slower.
- Supervise the turnout.
- Ease in to turnout. Start with just a few hours.
- Turn your horse in early if they are too excited.
- Avoid turning your horse out on lush pasture due to the risk of laminitis.
- Start small, such as the arena or small paddock.
- Avoid turnout in pens with round corners as this encourages running.
Talk to your veterinarian. There may be a middle ground that is safer for your horse than strict stall rest or total turnout. Do not forget to monitor his health. Changes in activity make a horse more prone to colic and stall rest can make them more prone to stomach ulcers. Be sure to monitor his manure, appetite and attitude closely and consider a stomach protectant. Watch the barn ventilation as well; make sure the bedding is cleaned frequently and good airflow exists to minimize the risk of respiratory irritants.
The Castlebrook Difference
Castlebrook’s barns have a warm, inviting look that adds to the beauty and value of your property. All Castlebrook barns, round pens and round pen covers and designed and manufactured on site at Castlebrook's facility. That is why we can provide you almost limitless choice of sizes and styles. Castlebrook can manufacture a barn, round pen and cover to suit your exact needs. Castlebrook never misses a ship date. We are so confident in our on-time guarantee that we are willing to guarantee it — in writing! Castlebrook understands how important it is for your project to go as smoothly as possible. This begins with your structure shipping on the date we’ve promised. Castlebrook knows of absolutely no other barn company offering this guarantee.
Where other companies disappoint, Castlebrook guarantees to be on time, every time! Please contact our professional team today at 1-800-52-BARNS.
