# Toys, treats, supplements and other questions



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I posted these questions as an add on to my other thread but decided it might be better to start a new thread as well, hope no one minds.
First, I think that Jethro needs more "stimulation" than he's getting so I want to buy him some "toys". From what I can see there's not much out there, so I want to know what toys are "worth it"? I know with dogs I've bought toys that weren't "made" for dogs (baby toys, cat toys), is there anything along the same lines that are safe for horses?
Second, I would like some "personal" opinions on treats. Which treats do you like using or have seen others use and agree with? Right now, we're using apples and carrots, but peppermint candies have been suggested (??).
Third, what supplements have you used and why? 
Last, does any one know of a simple explanation/description of bits and their uses. Most of the ones, I've found have been too "complicated" or seemed to need prior knowledge for me to understand well.
I know this sounds like I didn't research about owning a horse but to be honest I was mostly focusing on the actual horse, wasn't expecting to get a horse with "special" needs or quite this soon.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

well,unfortunatly i dontk now a thing about horses though i have seen some things horses liked to play with when my aunt had a horse.
she would give him big plastic barrels to toss around, plus he liked her sons basket ball to kick around, ive seen jolly balls for horses.
they also make jolly apples for horses.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

The only couple toys I've seen horses enjoy would be jolly balls and salt licks(though its a supplement as well as mental stimulation). 
As far as treats go, I would skip the candy and stick with apples/carrots, you can probably make your own baked treats with mollases which will cost a fraction of whats sold at the store, plus much better ingredients.


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## Imgliniel (Sep 1, 2011)

Oh I am all over this one I am just as passionate about species appropriate horse care as dog and cat care haha

Ok first question what are you feeding him 

Second question where does he live at your house or a stable in a stall or in a pasture

For toys the hanging jolly balls and plain. Old traffic cones are good for smaller stalls or runs the big giant balls and only good in a large pasture

As for treats apples and carrots are good easy treat recipe go to a health food store and get a box or bag of straight psyllium from the colon cleanse section go to the feed store and get the smallest bag of wheat bran they have. Mix one cup bran to one tablespoon psyllium with liquid of choice. Water, fruit juice, you can add somw brown sugar or molases, a bit of honey, etc. Just don't go overboard on the sugar just a little bit goes a long way. Mix to oatmeal consistency bake in little balls on a cookie sheet with wax paper at low heat until dry. Stay under 200 degrees or you burn the sugar.

Ok um bits is a long discussion depending on what discipline you are riding. Do you work english or western? Are you neck reining or direct reining? Have you ever riden before? Are you taking lessons? Do you just trail ride or do you ride in the arena too? What kind of training were you told the horse had?


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Ok first question what are you feeding him 
Right now, we're feeding him 3 flakes of grass hay, 1 flake of alfalfa (from how skinny he was we didn't think he was getting the "good" stuff so we're introducing slowly to his diet), senior feed alfalfa pellets, a beet supplement that I can't remember what it's called right now; fed twice a day, and he was out on pasture until last week.
Second question where does he live at your house or a stable in a stall or in a pasture
We're boarding him at my daughter's instructor's stable. He's in a paddock(?) with 2 other horses that has a carport for shade, and (now) 2 water "buckets".
For toys the hanging jolly balls and plain. Old traffic cones are good for smaller stalls or runs the big giant balls and only good in a large pasture
Ok, so jolly balls will be on the toy list, don't know where I could find traffic cones.
As for treats apples and carrots are good easy treat recipe go to a health food store and get a box or bag of straight psyllium from the colon cleanse section go to the feed store and get the smallest bag of wheat bran they have. Mix one cup bran to one tablespoon psyllium with liquid of choice. Water, fruit juice, you can add somw brown sugar or molases, a bit of honey, etc. Just don't go overboard on the sugar just a little bit goes a long way. Mix to oatmeal consistency bake in little balls on a cookie sheet with wax paper at low heat until dry. Stay under 200 degrees or you burn the sugar.
Thanks for this treat recipe.
Ok um bits is a long discussion depending on what discipline you are riding. Do you work english or western? Are you neck reining or direct reining? Have you ever riden before? Are you taking lessons? Do you just trail ride or do you ride in the arena too? What kind of training were you told the horse had?
My daughter rides english-hunter/jumper for the most part but she also does trail rides (english saddle), I don't know on the reining, I think it's probably direct. mostly the instructor gives directions on using their legs. She's been riding for about 7 yrs now. Her first instructor taught her both english (ground work, beginning dressage) and western riding (pleasure, trail) from what I've been told she was given a very strong foundation in these. Her second instructor dealt mostly with barrel racing and for the most part lessons were more just a chance to ride a horse. Her present instructor teaches hunter/jumper (which my daughter adores) and is teaching her a lot. She does both trail and arena riding (mostly arena). We were told that he had dressage training and had competed in some shows. My daughter has begun training him over "jumps".


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## Imgliniel (Sep 1, 2011)

First off appologies for spelling and stuff I am on my phone haha

Ok so the diet part sound pretty good please stay at least half grass hay and no more then half alfalfa. All alfalfa can create some problems if you want details ill give them let me know but ill get pretty metabolically technical with you lol. You probably mean beet pulp which is also good. The senior alfalfa pellets are probably a complete feed but check. If it complete it has a vit mineral mix added no need for additional supplements. If not and it is just a straight alfalfa pellet personally I would not bother just give him the beet pulp. Also if that is the case my fav supplement is glanzen complete. It is flax based with a very high omega three content appropriate for a herbivor. No fish. Ideally in my world you have grass hay available at all times for them to nibble on. A lot of people think they will eat themselves stupid like this but it is not true. They may overeat for a week or two but once they realize food is always there they get into a more natural grazing rythem. It is the best thing you can do for a horse to pevent colic, especially sand colic, ulcers and intestinal stones. My personal horses get burmuda grass free choice a flake of a more expensive calorically dense type of grass hay called orchard in the morning, and at night a flake of alfalfa and a bucket of beet pulp, rice bran, and the flax seed based glanzen complete I mentioned earlier. I like to say in america we feed our horses like dogs and our dogs like horses. dogs whos digestive system is adapted to a carnivores lifestyle of kill, eat, fast are given a bottomleess free choice bowl of plant based kibble. Horses whos digestive system is that of a herbivor designed to travel 30 miles or more a day taking mouthfulls of grass and shrubs etc steadily all day are fed two small concentrated meals a day, often of high sugar, high energy and grain based feeds which reeks havok with their insulin production and regulation as well as their digestive system (some experts estimate that up to 90% of performance horses have ulcers). But telling people to give their horse as much food as it wants (but grass hay not oats etc) is often as much of an uphill battle as telling someone to give their dog bone in chicken instead of purina. *wink wink* In a boarding situation it is not always feasable however so you do the best you can. This is my favorite horse nutrition person.

Getty Equine Nutrition, LLC

next up the bits!


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## Imgliniel (Sep 1, 2011)

ok, so basically she is doing english riding. So yes she is direct reining she holds the reins with two hands and pulls on the left rein to go left and the right rein to go right. I am WAY oversimplifying riding because you are right the horse should move off of your leg and seat ques first, this tells me you have a good instructor! Jumping is a ton of fun but good dressage basics make the horse more supple and soft, obedient and yeilding and are good to have on any english horse.

TYPICALLY (and there are exceptions) english bits are non shanked and work off direct presure on the bars of the mouth. Western bits have shanks and work off leverage applying presure behind the horses ears, under the chin/over the nose, and less on the bars of the mouth sometimes on the roof of the mouth. In english you hold contact (a slight gentle steady pressure with the reins on the bit). A horse that hold this pressure without pulling and is soft and yeilding giving at the poll (flexing his neck where it joins his head) and lifting the rider with his back is called being "on the bit". The more power comeing from the hind end of the horse and the more the horse shifts his weight to his hind legs and lifts his shoulders the more "collected" again I am oversimplifying a bit for the sake of the interwebs and not writting you a novel. a shanked and leverage bit is NOT designed to have constant contact held on it. they are used in western when the reins are left loose. There are some english bits used with double reins that have one rein that engages the shanks and leverage action and another that goes to the snaffle, non shanked bit prtion that you hold contact with. google "double bridle" and you will see a VERY advanced dressage bit of this type. The reins going to the shank are left loose during normal riding and brought into play only for specific moves etc. Don't EVER let an instructor talk you into the "bigger bit" syndrome. "My horse is out of control so I need a bigger/stronger/harsher bit to control him/get his attention/make him respect me" Bullshit, proper training gets you respect and a responsive horse, not harsher equipment. I can't link pics from the phone, but google "triple jointed eggbutt snaffle" and that is a very soft mild bit and what I ussually ride in english (look at the non shanked ones, the shanks are the curved parts hanging down). Different cheekpeices are more a matter of tase or minor tweaking. A "full cheek snaffle" has the little bars at the sides to keep the bit from sliding through the horses mouth and are used on inexperienced horses who may act up or get scared and you may have to pull farther. "O rings" are really basic and ultra soft but sensative horses may get pinched where the ring meets the mouthpiece. Now google "thin twisted wire snaffle" or "bike chain snaffle" those are torture devices. How would like to have that going across your tongue? 

I am going to skip a detailed discussion of the shanked and western styles since you won't use them in jumping.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

I have three sick kids home from school today, so not going to go into tons of detail, but, Myler bits are amazing.

Myler Bits USA

But really your best bet, if you don't have a lot of experience with horses, is to ask your daughter's trainer's advice. =)

Jethro is very lucky to have found a family that loves him so much!


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Toys - jolly balls, cones, plastic barrels, You can make your own treat dispensing toys. I've never had any luck getting a horse to use one but I've seen other horses that totally get it.

Treats - carrots, apples, horse cookies, celery, fruits, 

Supplements - there are TONS of different supplements out there depends on your horses issues. I would suggest joining Horsegroomingsupplies.com. They have an excellent forum. For a standard supplement, I would get him a mineral salt block.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Regarding bits, I would again direct you to horsegroomingsupplies.com to their horse forum.

A good standard soft bit is a French link snaffle. Thats what ive always used and never needed any thing stronger.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I'm definitely going to go with her instructor's advice, which is a french link with a curved mouthpiece with a little copper oval in the middle, I wanted to learn a bit more on bits that didn't leave me going, "HUH?" Sadly, it seems that the more I read, the more HUH? moments, I am having <sigh> And of course, there's things like the Happy Mouth bits that her instructor has never tried or knew of someone whose tried it but can't see how those bits would be worth it. I think if a "hard" training aid is needed then we definitely aren't the ones to use it. "Harsher" (not the right word but can't think of the right one) bits should probably be left in the hands of the experienced.
Thanks for the forum suggestion, I'll probably go lurk there for a bit.


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