Chewie has a new toy!
This past week, I introduced her to a blue puzzle ball toy. The ball is an enrichment toy that is really made for dogs, but it can work for horses, too.
When I first introduced Chewie to the ball, I put it in a red muck bucket. The bucket was small enough that she was almost immediately successful.
As she investigated the ball and ate the food that was coming out, she kept accidentally rolling it. And, each time she would roll the ball, more food would come out!
In the video below, you can see a bit of footage from her second time playing with the ball. For this session, I put the ball in a medium-sized water trough, which was quite a bit bigger than the original bucket.
Several more thoughts about this puzzle ball:
- This puzzle ball has several settings that make it easier or harder for the food to come out. Right now, Chewie is playing with the ball set to the easiest setting. I want these sessions to be enriching, not frustrating!
- Safety first. This ball is sturdy. But, it’s also made for dogs, not for horses. Chewie doesn’t get to play with the ball alone; I make sure to supervise these sessions.
- I’m using alfalfa hay pellets in the ball. Chewie gets about a cup of pellets during each play session with the ball. I want these sessions to be fun, but I also don’t want to be adding too many extra calories to her daily diet.
Long term, I have several ideas for how to use the ball as part of our training sessions. For example, Chewie could play with the ball while I’m setting up my camera or while I’m moving around equipment. I could also just use it when we both need a break.
As well, I’m curious to see how she will respond, later on, when we try out some of the harder settings on the ball!
I’ll post more as we keep playing with this new enrichment toy.
Note: The video starts with a short clip in real time. Then, the video is sped up a bit.
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