I have researched several different home made toys for horses. I tried an inflatable beach ball, but Cookie wasn't real thrilled with it. There was a suggestion using an empty plastic bottle with rocks in it tied to hang, but Cookie looked at me as if I had lost my mind.
So I thought well.. maybe one of those scented Jolly balls or a much bigger ball. I'll have to save up for those. In the meantime I commenced to cleaning her paddock. I have several plastic bags hanging from her fence. Mostly for noise, but also as an alert, "Hey there's a fence here that you might not be able to see" kind of thing. Cookie decided she didn't like where I hung one of the bags & ripped it off the fence & began playing with it. I thought Ok! There's something she'll play with. Well, I re-hung a new bag & she just left it be. Hmm... well that's a possibility, she might play with them again.
I continued to clean. I bag the manure & put it out at the curb so if anyone wants it for their gardens or whatever, they're welcome to it & if not the garbage man will haul it off with the rest of the yard trash. As I had my back to Cookie & the bagged up manure, she was helping herself to rip open the bags! I turned & saw her with this piece of plastic hanging out of her lips as she was flapping it up & down. I laughed, walked over to her, removed the plastic & said silly girl! Don't tear these open, I'm trying to get rid of this, not make more of a mess & I shooed her away. Well my friend was helping me & I had asked her to bring the box of bags out because I was going to need more.
She walked out towards me & Cookie decided she was going to help by inspecting the box. Cookie grabbed the flap & tore it off the box! My friend got a little scared because Cookie then reached for the box again & they were fighting over it. I hollered with laughter. I told my friend to just walk over with the box & of course Miss Inspector followed. Ah-ha! I got it! Cookie LOVES boxes! My friend took the box of bags back into the house & brought an empty box back. I opened the flaps & set it down in front of Cookie. She grabbed the box, flipped it up & down a couple of times then just like a dog, used her hoof to hold the box down while she tore it apart! It was the funniest sight I had ever seen. When she could no longer step on the box, she drug it on the ground trying to tear the rest of the box up. Now I've got the ticket... a box. I picked up what was left of the box & threw it away. She had so much fun with it & I just smiled so big. She's like a big kid. When she wants your attention, she'll do something, anything to get it. Sometimes she'll do something good... & if you're not paying attention to her, she'll find something not so good to do. She's a total riot.
The next time you're looking for a toy... try an empty box & see what happens. lol
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