It may come as a surprise to some new horse owners, but did you know that a lot of horses love playing with toys? In fact, they love them so much that there are products designed specifically with horses in mind. The trick is finding the right toy for your specific horse!
As you may already know, every horse has a unique personality, but almost every horse loves activity of some kind. Of course, some horses will have little to no interest in toys, and that is okay!
Thankfully, those horses that do like playing with toys have several options to choose from, so you should have no problem finding the right one for your horse.
Horse toys help keep horses entertained and their minds occupied, especially if they are alone or have a lot of energy to expend. Horses that have a propensity for cribbing (chewing wood) or pacing in their stalls, may benefit from playing with a toy. This can save their owners time and money that would be spent on repairs!
You may need to try to couple different toys before you find that one your horse likes the most. Another helpful recommendation is to rotate a variety of toys so your horse does not become bored with them. (source)
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Manna Pro-Equine Starter Kit
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This kit comes with everything you need to set up a “Likit” treat toy for your horse. The kit includes the holder, three different flavored Likit refills, a rope hanger, and two free carrot-flavored treat bars.
This interactive treat toy for horses can be easily hung in a horse’s stall or shelter. Many horses enjoy licking on the flavored treat, and even tossing it around.
Horsemen’s Pride 10” Horse Jolly Ball Apple Scented
This durable horse toy is a simple idea, yet very entertaining for most horses. It is apple scented to get a horse’s attention, and it includes a built-in handle that allows a horse to grab the ball with its teeth and toss it as they want.
They can chew it, kick it, or fling it, and it will never deflate! It isn’t filled with air, so a hole or tear will not ruin it! Many horses enjoy jumping on the ball, tossing it in the air, chasing it down, and even chewing on it.
It will keep horses entertained and deter them from destructive boredom habits like cribbing and windsucking.
Shires Horse Ball Feeder
This slow feeder toy for horses helps deter boredom and encourages interactive play, especially for horses that are alone and need something to keep their minds occupied.
This toy feeder can be filled with a variety of treats and it is extremely durable, so it can withstand getting thrown around and stepped on.
It is spherical with flat sides that allow it to roll a little but not roll away uncontrollably.
Parallax Small Holed Hay Play To
This heavy-duty horse toy is a spherical slow feeder for horses that is designed to hold hay instead of treats.
Instead of rolling around nonstop like a normal round ball, this horse toy is designed to roll when pushed and stop quickly on flat edges unless pushed again.
The holes are small, making it ideal for ponies and miniature horses who need their forage intake controlled, although large horses often enjoy it just as much!
Rural365 Large Horse Ball Toy with Pump
This 30” giant ball is made specifically with horses in mind. It is heavy duty and comes with a pump. It is an inflated ball, but it is made to be exceedingly durable and can withstand a lot of mistreatment by a horse!
It is designed to handle a large amount of pressure and if it is punctured, it will not explode, although it will deflate.
Horses enjoy kicking the ball around with their hooves and chasing it down. It provides hours of enjoyment for horses inside and outside of a stall.
Watching your horse play with one of these toy balls will be an amusing experience you will not want to miss!
Likit Snack-A-Ball Stable Toy
Unlike other slow feeders, this treat ball has small holes which means it is designed for smaller foods like pellets or muesli.
This interactive ball keeps horses occupied while also providing them with treats, or pelleted grain that they normally eat. It has a twist-off lid so you can fill it with whatever treat your horse prefers.
Horses will roll it around for hours on end looking for the small treats it releases as they play!
Jolly Tug Horse Toy
This unique horse toy was created to allow two horses to play together with the same toy. A 14-inch inflated ball sits inside of a nylon shield that protects it from a horse’s teeth. It has a handle on each end, providing a place for horses to grab onto the toy.
Horse owners can even play along with their horses, but safety should always be your number one concern. Horses are able to play a game of tug with other horses, their owner, or they can toss the toy around as they wish!
Horseman’s Pride Horse Pas-a-Fier
If your horse likes to crib or chew on their blanket – or even other horses’ tails – try the Pas-a-Fier! This toy is apple scented and can be easily mounted to a wall in most stalls.
Horses can spin it, chew on it, or let it massage their teeth and gums. Horses that have an affinity for chewing love this toy!
If they do not like the apple smell at first, try rolling it around in their favorite grain so it will smell more familiar. You can also try drizzling a little molasses on it, as long as the horse does not have any metabolic or sugar disorders.
This horse toy will help keep your horse entertained and hopefully prevent any further chewing damage to the stall.
Horsemen’s Pride Stall Snack Holder with Apple-Scented Jolly Ball
This fun treat holder includes an interactive apple-scented ball that helps keep horses entertained and happy, even when they have to be stalled.
The flavored snack can easily be refilled once the horse licks the treat down to nothing. Horses that enjoy this toy will knock the ball around and lick the treat, keeping their bodies and minds active throughout the day.
JBC Safety 28” Revolution Series Traffic Cone
You may be surprised to learn that many horse owners find that their horses really enjoy playing with traffic cones! A strong, yet flexible traffic cone like those used on roadways is the safest for horses.
Never let a horse kick around a cheap plastic cone because if it breaks, the sharp edges can cause injuries to a horse’s legs, and they can even ingest sharp pieces of the cones Also steer clear of collapsible traffic cones.
The traffic cone recommended here has exceptional flexibility, is extremely durable, and can easily be tossed, thrown and kicked around by a horse.
30 Gallon Plastic Water Barrel
Plastic water barrels like this one can be a fun toy for horses to push over, roll around and chase down. Stick with one like recommended here with no metal parts and a sealed top. This will make it the safest it can be for a horse.
Never let a horse play with a barrel inside their stall; this is strictly to be used as a large pasture toy. If you have the room and a horse that seems interested, then a barrel like this could be the perfect toy for your horse.
Verdana Plastic Gallon Jug
A simply, yet very effective horse toy is just a gallon jug hanging in a horse’s stall. You can put a small amount of treats in it, or even just some pellets that your horse normally eats.
Use some baling twine or paracord to hang the jug high enough that your horse can’t get its legs hung up in it, but low enough that it can comfortably knock it around with its nose. Remove the lid and your horse will throw the jug around in hopes that the treats or food will fall out of it.
This is an economical and easily refilled horse toy that can keep a horse occupied all day long. Be sure to moderate the amount of food or treats you put in it, as some horses get very good at getting he treats out! You do not want to overfeed your horse by putting too much grain or too many treats in their toy.
Final Thoughts
You may have to try a few different toys until you find the one that your horse enjoys the most. You may even find that rotating various horse toys is the key to keeping your horse interested. Horse toys can provide horses with safe entertainment for hours on end and can help deter bad habits like cribbing, pawing, or pacing.
