How to Help Your Bored Horse in Winter

Horses are naturally suited to life outside, including during harsh winter weather. When properly insulated, fed, and hydrated, horses easily adapt to all climates, even the ones that make us want to stay inside forever. With fewer daylight hours and cold weather, it's not uncommon for equestrians to scale back their horse care routines, which may create some bored horses. Don't wish for warm weather when you can find creative and fun ways to entertain your bored horse in winter.

Is Your Horse Bored?

Boredom in horses can be stressful! Even if your equine buddy hasn't written you an email describing their feelings, know that bored horses experience stress. We should not anthropomorphize too much and apply human labels to our equine friends, but a bored horse is missing something from their otherwise simple existence. It could be socialization, forage, movement, or any combination.

Horses, being unique individuals, display boredom in many ways. Behavioral changes are one way for horses to express boredom, although it can look vastly different from horse to horse. You may see:

• Lethargic behavior and sluggishness
• Spicy, rambunctious play
• Repetitive behaviors like weaving or stall walking
• Surly expressions and an unwillingness to interact with you
• Stage 10 clinging behavior
• Development of stable vices

Notice that these behaviors are also signs of many other conditions, like ulcers, mystery pain, and self-soothing vices. Any time you notice a sudden change in your equine partner's behavior, call your vet. It's tricky to help your horse without first narrowing down their reason for behaving as they are.

Stable vices like cribbing are an indication your horse is bored.

Boredom in Horses Can Be Destructive

The most apparent sign of boredom is the horse that develops a vice. Equine vices destroy property and have many long-lasting negative impacts on a horse's body.

Horses that eat their environment

One vice is Inappropriate chewing of fencing, stalls, or non-food items, which can lead to digestive issues, some more repair work for you, or damage to their teeth. When horses develop pica, the need to chew goes one step further, and horses eat non-food items.

Other vices include cribbing and windsucking, where horses grasp onto a ledge or fence with their teeth to inhale air quickly. This vice links to increased colic risk, dental issues, and property destruction.

Behavioral vices

Weaving, head bobbing, and stall walking are similar. Weavers will rock back and forth on their front legs, causing wear and tear on delicate legs and hooves. Stall walkers will circle their stall or pen or pace the fence back and forth. Actions like these are linked to reduced herd and social interactions and develop as horses strain to see companions. They may also weave or stall walk to expend energy bottled by confinement.

Horses may also kick, paw, or bite the air or the closest wall, bucket, gate, or fence. These unwelcome behaviors, like all vices, are your horse's way of communicating stress, anxiety, and frustration. Perhaps boredom is the root cause, or it could be something else. However, use caution and change your horse's routine to alleviate these behaviors.

Enrichment Ideas for the Bored Horse in Winter

Even if your horse doesn't show obvious signs of boredom as the first winter chills arrive, staying ahead of the game is always a great idea. This foresight is necessary if your horse's routine slows down or changes significantly in winter. 

Here are some ideas to keep your horse content:

More visits

Visit and interact with your horse more frequently. This is helpful for the horses that may interact less with other horses as they spend more time inside the barn.

If you can spend more time with your horse, you should!

Longer grooming sessions

Lull your horse into bliss and cleanliness with longer grooming sessions. For many horse owners and horses, grooming is a quiet way to connect and communicate.

Pay particular attention to their body language as you groom. Do you notice more tail swishing or fidgeting that can indicate frustration or soreness? Or are you seeing more relaxation? Adjust your grooming as necessary.

Clicker training

There's no better time to enhance your communication skills with "clicker training." Positive reinforcement training techniques give you a new way to communicate with your horse, and starting from the ground is easy. There are many books available on clicker training to teach you how to use the clicker as a bridge between what you are asking and the positive reward.

You can train your horse to do fancy tricks, but positive reinforcement training is also the foundation for clear communication with your horse and feedback from your horse. It's an excellent boredom-buster, too, as

Learn a new skill with your horse

In addition to clicker training, you could grab a book and learn equine massage or stretching. Not only are these skills that strengthen your bond, but they are also a great way to double-check how your horse's body is feeling. Some horses, like their humans, get stiff in winter due to the cold and less movement. Massage is ideal for getting those kinks out!

Horse toys

Nothing says "eat this toy instead of the barn" like an equine toy. These may have a food component, like hay, hay cubes, pellets, or treats, and may hang or roll on the ground.

The key to a great toy is stimulating your horse's brain, body, or both. Larger toys, like the giant soccer balls, are fantastic for much larger areas.

Use mirrors

An old racehorse training trick uses mirrors of the non-shattering variety to provide comfort. When in stalls or on the trailer, many horses interpret their reflection to be a herd-mate.

This mirror doesn't have to be full size, just enough to see another nose and face. Use caution when introducing this, just in case they see an intruder instead of a friend.

Trailer to new places

If you can go on a road trip somewhere in winter, go for it! Take your riding companion to a neighboring barn, showground, or clinic for exercise and sightseeing. This is a great way to build confidence and keep their brain busy.

Trail riding with friends off the property is another option, too.

Try a new discipline

There is nothing like the present to try a new saddle or discipline! You don't have to sell your tack and start over, but you can easily incorporate some crosstraining ideas from other riding styles to break up winter's monotony.

Cavelletti, trails, and pattern work are all exciting things to help the bored horse in winter.

Slow Feeding Systems

The best way to alleviate boredom in horses is to use slow feeders. These systems help mimic the natural grazing patterns to keep your horse chewing and contented.

These could be as simple as a hay net, a box that holds hay with a grate, or a round bale with a net. The point is to slow down eating so their stomachs and digestive systems have a continuous stream of forage. In cold weather, this helps keep them warm, too, as the hindgut is fermenting that forage longer.

If you already use a slow feeder in warm weather, keep doing that! And see if you can find ways to encourage movement. Hang more nets around the paddock so they can move from spot to spot. You can also vary the slow feeder locations for a different view and help prevent mud pits from hooves in the same area all the time.

Use slow feeders that are also toys

The best idea is to use a slow feeding method that doubles as a toy. You can fill large HayPlay bags with hay flakes or even a whole bale for some larger HayPlay styles. They work well on the ground, and their design encourages movement.

The cylindrical design of some of the HayPlay bags means your horse can roll them around. Eating becomes a puzzle that engages their minds and bodies!

The flatter HayPlay bags are ideal for sharing between herd mates. The durable bottom keeps dirt and moisture out of the hay sack and still encourages movement and manipulation of the bag as they work out the puzzle.

If you have a small herd of horses, ensure that you have enough hay-eating toys so each horse has an opportunity to eat and move.

Maximize Turnout to Minimize Boredom

If you can maximize your horse's movement and outdoor time, you will help the bored horse in winter. You may need to "dress" your horse for comfort and change some things around, but the fresh air, space, and freedom are more natural.

Some things to consider for wintertime turnout:

• Shelter from the wind
• Fresh water that isn't frozen
• Safe footing without ice
• Slow feeders with a continuous supply of forage
• Blanketing for seniors, youngsters, thin horses, hard keepers, and any equine friend who needs help staying warm or dry.

Can horses be left out in winter?

Yes, as long as their needs of shelter, water, forage, and safety are met. Dangerous footing or wet weather that soaks through a coat is a reason to find alternative housing for your horse. This could be inside the barn or in another paddock. Keeping forage accessible will help them stay warm, too. Turnout is ideal for your horse's brain and body when it's safe.

Keeping your horse engaged in winter can be challenging, but a few changes to your barn routine can help the bored horse in winter. Watch their behaviors closely for changes, and tend to their health with forage, exercise, and stimulating puzzles and toys. Spring will be here before you know it!