Boys and Their Toys

This winter has been extremely warm for this part of the country and my horses are bored!  Normally, I let them have run of the pasture after it has snowed enough where they won't damage it, but we have had almost no snow this year.  As a result, they have been locked in their paddock and are starting to get on each others nerves.

I try to stem their boredom by giving them activities to keep them occupied throughout the day.  I spread out their hay so it is more like grazing and it takes them longer to eat.  I also made them some toys...

I started by buying some 5 gallon pails with lids at Lowes.  I cut large holes (about 2"X2") on either side of the buckets, filled them with treats or dengie and put the lid on.

 It took them a little while to figure out how to get the treats out, but now they are experts.

The buckets can take a lot of abuse, but they do need to be replaced on occasion.  Each time I give them a new bucket I make the hole smaller to keep them busy longer.  They are now down to just one hole, 1"X1" (just big enough to get a treat out).

Whatever it takes to keep the boys happy!