Learning Theory

In addition to a water trough of fresh clean water, add 2 or 3 additional “flavoured” buckets. You can add salt, mint, turmeric, basil, cinnamon nettles, clay, but always make sure that clean fresh water is available. Top tip – if you’re adding salt or dried herbs or spices, mix them in a jar with some water first to dissolve the salt or disperse the herbs/spices. 

Wrap non-poisonous plants like cow parsley or blackberry branches around the stable bars. 

Make a hole in items like carrots, parsnips, swede, turnips and bananas and thread baler twine through the holes, then hang from the ceiling. Top tip – make sure there is no loop in the baler twine that the horse might get stuck in.  Also, make sure they have good teeth to avoid choking. This enrichment activity should be supervised. 

Fill a cardboard box (with no metal staples) with straw and then hide tasty treats or scented things like garlic or dandelions for them to find. As with the lick mat, if this is being used where there are other horses, there must be enough for everyone plus one to avoid competition.  

Screw an old broom head to the stable wall for the horse to scratch on. Make sure it is securely attached! Scratching an itch can help relieve stress.  

 R+ can be a great way to promote trust and confidence between you and your horse and to help them to relax in stressful situations.