Advice if your horse is on box rest or restricted turnout

Guidance for management of horses on stable rest or restricted turnout

Helping your horse to cope with stable rest

Box rest can be a challenging time for both horses and their owners as confinement can lead to boredom, frustration and increased stress levels. Horses are intelligent, social, and naturally curious animals that thrive on mental and physical stimulation. Enrichment reduces boredom and can help to reduce stress so can be a great help during periods of box rest. Some ideas include:

• Forage: Hanging hay nets at different heights, slow feeders, treat balls, or forage boxes can stimulate natural foraging behaviour and prolong feeding times.
• Chewable objects: Providing safe tree branches like willow, birch, or apple wood allows horses to chew—mimicking their wild browsing behaviours.
• Play Balls and Stable Toys: Large, hard-wearing equine balls, treat-dispensing balls, or suspended vegetables and toys encourage investigation and play.
• Ice blocks: during periods of hot weather horses often enjoy licking homemade ice blocks frozen with carrot peelings, herbs and flavourings such as mint or blackcurrant.
• Mirrors: Stable-safe mirrors can reduce stress and loneliness, especially for single horses. They provide the illusion of companionship.
• Grooming accessories: Attachable brushes or scratching posts give horses a way to self-groom and relieve itches.
• Offering choice: Giving a horse a choice between two different water buckets or piles/nets of forage increases their sense of agency and helps to promote a sense of wellbeing.

It is important to vary the type of enrichment on a regular basis to keep it novel and interesting for the horse.

If your horse is struggling to cope with box rest, do speak to your vet as there are a variety of calming medications that can be prescribed to help.

Managing and monitoring your horse on stable rest

Horses on stable rest are at increased risk of some complications including impaction colics. The following activities can help to reduce risks:

• Monitoring faecal output; horses should produce regular piles of faeces of similar consistency. Please become familiar with what is normal for your horse and contact your vet if you notice a marked reduction in faecal output.
• Weight loss or gain; stable rest can result in either weight loss or gain depending on your horse’s previous lifestyle, breed and life stage. Please monitor this closely, adjusting calorie provision accordingly and consult your vet if this does not halt the change. Many horses will not require provision of hard feed whilst on stable rest other than a balancer to provide vitamins and minerals, and to administer medications. Maintenance of muscle mass can be aided by undertaking the physiotherapy exercises provided.
• Forage intake; forage will make up the majority of your horse’s diet whilst on stable rest. In general, it is best for your horse to continue on the forage that they are accustomed to whilst being aware that haylage provides more calories than hay and that consumption of large quantities of straw (including as bedding) substantially increases the risk of large colon impaction and colic. If your horse is allowed to walk out to graze, eating fresh grass reduces the risk of impaction colic.
• Water; it is very important to provide ample clean, fresh water. In winter it may be necessary to add some warm water to make this more palatable. Some owners find a “water-buffet” can be beneficial offering one bucket of clean water alongside another bucket containing water flavoured with apple juice/ mint/ molasses.

Managing horses discharged from hospital with a bandage or cast

Bandages:  

Bandage should be changed if it slips, becomes soiled, if there is excessive discharge, or if there is any swelling of the limb or discomfort on palpating the limb.

Unless advised otherwise the horse should be walked out daily to monitor for any lameness.  If there is a significant increase in the degree of lameness a vet should examine the horse promptly.

Casts:

• Casts are a useful tool to immobilise a limb but need very careful monitoring. 
• Any increased pain or lameness (this should be assessed by very limited walking and lifting of the other limb)
• Any discharge (exudate) through or from above or below the cast
• Swelling above or below the cast
• Discomfort above or below or at the top or bottom of the cast
• Focal warmth (noticeable heat emitting from the cast)
• Apparent irritation with the cast
• Recumbency:  horse spending an abnormal amount of time lying down
• Secondary Wounds:  careful monitoring for any rub sites or pressure sores that develop where the cast contacts the skin
• Any oozing from the skin that is palpable at the top or bottom of the cast
• Increased movement of the cast
• Any slippage of the cast
• Any significant soiling or wetness of the cast
• Cast damage or breakage
• The horse’s movement should be limited to reduce movement of the cast. The horse should be moved only enough to assess for any lameness at walk.
• Horses with a cast should be checked regularly
• Keep the horse’s environment clean and dry to prevent the cast becoming wet or heavily contaminated
• The top and bottom of the cast is often sealed with Elastoplast (not too tight) to prevent. dirt and debris from entering it. Check and change to allow monitoring of the skin at the top and bottom of the cast.
• Give medications only as prescribed by your vet
• Stay in close communication with your vet for guidance in monitoring and evaluating your horse’s progress

Returning to ridden exercise or pasture turnout

When it is time for your horse to return to activity, please discuss this with your vet as they can provide guidance and calming medication to make this process safer for you and your horse.

Return to pasture turnout; if your horse has been on stable rest for more than a few days, return to pasture should be done gradually. This is because a sudden change in diet (including grass) can overwhelm the intestinal microbiome resulting in colic associated with gas build-up in the large colon. Time at pasture should be increased gradually each day.