Looking for things to do with your horse when it’s too hot to ride? Cool water and ice related horse enrichment activities will make your horse feel great, and stay cool and hydrated. We’ve put together five very chill ideas to beat the heat this summer with these hot weather activities horse activities and enrichment.
What are Hot Weather Activities for Horses?
These activities and toys are all equine enrichment ideas themed around staying cool!
Enrichment for horses means giving your horse ways to perform natural behaviors and enjoy stimulation and variety. In other words, enrichment keeps your horse from being bored.
Enrichment activities for horses can also offer other benefits – like how a DIY hay or treat roller encourages movement and exercise. The enrichment ideas here offer the extra perk of keeping your horse cool when it’s really hot outside.
Why Hot Weather Horse Enrichment?
When the temperature gets too hot, it may not be possible to ride your horse safely. And summer is also a busy time of year when other activities may cut down on the amount of time you can spend at the stable.
These hot weather horse enrichment ideas are ideal for all horses and are perfect for days when it’s too hot to ride or you’re short on time.
They provide a lot of important sensory stimulation, boredom relief, and some are a mental workout too! We’ve included ideas for stall and pasture.
What’s the Difference Between Enrichment and Cooling a Horse?
Enrichment for horses is all about providing choices and options for your horse. This means that enrichment activities should be optional.
Toys and scratching posts are good examples. They’re available for horses to use whenever they want.
Sometimes, it’s important to cool off a horse such as by showering or hosing them down with water. That’s one way to beat the heat, but cooling out after a ride isn’t quite the same as enrichment.
Instead, these items or hot weather activities for horses go in your horse’s stall or pasture for them to enjoy. You can stick around if you like – it’s great bonding! – but you can also use them as quick boredom relief that your horse can use on their own.
Hot Weather Horse Activity 1: Ice Blocks for Horses
One of the easiest cooling horse activities! Ice blocks are also called pony popsicles or treatsicles.
To make an equine ice block, take a freezer-safe container like a cake pan or rubber feed pan. Fill it with water, and add pieces of fruits and veggies for flavor.
Stick the ice block carefully in your freezer and let it freeze completely solid. Then either turn it upside down and serve out of the pan, or give the entire pan and ice block to your horse.
Using a bundt pan like this makes a big, donut-shaped ice block that you can hang up using a lead rope!
Hot Weather Horse Activity 2: Sprinkler Play
A cooling spray feels great when it’s really hot outside. Water sprays also keep flies at bay.
To set up this set-it-and-forget-it enrichment activity for your horse, use a low-profile lawn or garden sprinkler attached to a simple garden hose. Sprinklers with multiple flow patterns let you add extra variety and find your horse’s favorite type of spray.
Place the sprinkler in one corner of the pasture so that your horse can choose to get in the spray or stay dry. Connect the hose and start the water flow!
Your horse may not quite understand how much fun the spray is at first, so you may want to place some hay or treats nearby to encourage them to approach and figure out what’s going on with their new water toy.
If your horses are playful and might pick up or paw at the sprinkler, you can use an oscillating sprinkler head just outside of the fence instead.
Hot Weather Activity 3: Ice Block Carton Toys
Pony popsicles or other horse ice blocks are great to use on the ground, but with this idea you can hang the toy up in the stall or pasture.
This makes it easier to use it indoors or in the shade, where it’ll last longer. An ice block carton toy also keeps the flavored ice away from soil or stall bedding.
For step by step instructions, visit the complete article on how to make a hanging ice block using a paper carton. It’s really simple and you can create a ton of different flavors.
Hot Weather Horse Activity 4: DIY Misting Systems
Some stables are lucky enough to have complete misting systems in each stall, usually for fly control.
But you can make a DIY misting system to cool your horse no matter how big or small your stable – or your budget – is.
Irrigation tubing and fittings made for gardens can be repurposed to create an easy DIY misting system for horses. This project takes a little DIY know-how, but we know that some of the best equine enrichment ideas are do-it-yourself.
A basic misting system attaches straight to your nearest faucet or hose spigot. You’ll run tubing from the local garden center into each stall and add a fine-spray or misting irrigation nozzle (one or two per stall). When you turn on the water, instant mist!
Hot Weather Horse Activity 5: Ice Cube Treat Trays
If you don’t have a large freezer for making horse ice blocks, ice enrichment isn’t off the table!
All you need for a very chill horse activity that also relieves boredom is a shallow pan, a bag of ice cubes, and some treats.
Add the edible goodies to the pan, pour in the ice, and stir everything up. It’s a frozen take on the simple-but-awesome forage box enrichment for horses.
If you’ve read our article on how to use kiddie pools for equine enrichment, you may have seen the supersized version of this activity. If you want to use this idea outside or have several horses, it’s definitely an activity worth doing.
Other Ways to Keep Cool with Horses
Looking for more creative enrichment ideas? Try these for extra boredom relief:
Fruit Infused Water for Horses: a fun way to keep your equine hydrated and provide flavor variety!
Sensory Walks for Horses: take a low-key walk for enrichment in a shady place and you’ll bust boredom and bond while staying chill.