Two months box rest! Anything I can do to make it easier?

[Bonkey]

Minimum.

DShetty has been in for three weeks before and on week three he was like a coiled spring so 8ish weeks will be....errr....interesting!
Luckily he is small so thats to our advantage but does anyone have any idea how I can make it as easy for him as I can?

We have a treat ball (one to hang and one to scoot round) and he will obviously get fussed within a inch of his life...any other ideas?

Can he see out? Are there other horses on the yard?
If he can't see out, could you create a step out of straw bales to help boost him up?
Have you tried a stable mirror? how about one of those rubber scratchy wall mats?
How about a radio playing music?
Another favourite is to drill a hole through a swede, put some twine through it and hang it from the ceiling.

Is he able to go out into a stable sized paddock? We've had a horse here who needed long box rest who became massively stressed after just a day. We gave him a miniscule stable sized paddock, triple taped off with a treat ball in it. Moved it every night, so it was fresh for the following day. Is this possible?

He can see out (has a stall guard as he can't get his nose over standard doors) and is moving next week to a busier yard so much more to nosey at...current yard is extremely quiet and probably very boring for him being in!

Paddock not really doable - he wouldn't be able to stay in it 24/7 and the walk to and from would defeat the object a bit I think - and he can be a shit for escaping - has been known to get through 5 wires of electric tape....

Swede is a good idea! Will try that one!
And possibly a wall mat - not sure if a mirror may freak him out.

Thanks!

I put some dog toys in my horse's box when he was confined - a tennis ball thingy on a rope which he chewed and mucked about with, various licks, and also a sturdy tree branch for him to sharpen his teeth on.

Also look into putting a mirror in (sheet of aluminium will do, fixed to the wall) and we used to leave the radio on.

Some love the mirror, some hate it. It is supposed to give the illusion of another horse companion.

Can I ask why he is on box rest?

To be honest I avoid box rest. For ligament and tendon injuries I leave them out and accept the risk of longer recovery as IMO the first day they go out after box rest they are as likely to re-injure themselves. For laminitis and similar I make a tiny enclosure in the field; with the ACP they tend to stay calm anyway.

Put some apples in his water bucket, I had my 16mo on box rest for 3 months (long story but had a problem with his growth plates) but the snakaball & apple bobbing were his favourites I also hid carrots & apples in a hay net (even though he doesn't usually have one - it gets put in the floor but he hoovered it up too quickly!) and he loved that.

Lots of grooming and carrot stretches too. Good luck!