The Kong Quest Wishbone by KONG is a unique horse toy. It’s budget friendly and really versatile – you can use it in lots of ways and with lots of different treats. We used the Kong Wishbone for horses and reviewed how well it works as a horse toy so you can decide if this toy is a good fit at your stable.
What is the Kong Quest Wishbone by KONG?
The Kong Quest Wishbone is a molded, sturdy flexible Y shaped thing. It’s made for dogs, but also makes a cool and versatile horse toy. The Kong Quest Wishbone comes in several colors and sizes. You’ll always want to use the largest size (about 6 inches from point to point) for horses – the smaller size isn’t usable for equines.
You can find the Wishbone in some pet stores, but buying them online is more reliable – they’re a specialty item and not always available in stores. Chewy.com has them in stock. The Wishbone is not currently available on Amazon (but other toys in the Quest line are).
This toy is fairly inexpensive, durable, and can be used as horse enrichment in several ways.
What Makes the Kong Quest Wishbone a Good Horse Toy?
This little ball has a lot of perks, and makes a GREAT hanging stall toy. But you can use it on the ground or even as a water toy too!
The Kong Quest Wishbone is a Y-shaped toy with a central groove on both sides. Each of the three ends has a hole going all the way through the rubber, which are perfect for hanging the Wishbone up. The grooves hold all kinds of horse treats for an exciting toy experience for your horse.
The Quest line of toys by Kong are some of the most interesting dog toys in the KONG catalog, and many of them make great horse toys. All are made of durable thermoplastic rubber and are resistant to biting and stomping. These toys are firm and solid-feeling, but also flexible with no hard points or edges.
This material is almost indestructible, so these horse toys are usually safe for equine use. They won’t break or tear apart under normal conditions.
What Horse Behavior does the Kong Quest Wishbone Encourage?
Enrichment is all about encouraging your horse’s natural behaviors. And this budget friendly horse toy offers a lot of enrichment fun! You’ll be able to target these equine behaviors with the Kong Wishbone:
- Feeding and foraging
- Browsing (feeding above ground level)
- Problem solving
- Coordination and fine motor control
- Play (object play and cause-and-effect fun)
- Overall silliness
The Kong Wishbone Is Easy and Budget Friendly Horse Enrichment
One thing I like about the Wishbone right out of the gate is how easy and budget friendly it is. It’s about $10 USD on Chewy.com, which is a little more than a JW Pets Megalast Ball but less than the Hol-ee Roller Jumbo on Amazon.
It comes with minimal packaging, which is another perk. Less waste, more horse fun!
This horse toy’s other strong point is how versatile it is for such an inexpensive toy. Most horses toys are pricey and only have a few options for use. The Kong Quest Wishbone’s unique shape has lots of potential for different uses. It’s basically several toys in one.
Best Places to Use It
You can use this dog-toy-turned-horse-toy anywhere in the stall or pasture, but it really shines as a hanging, swinging puzzle toy. You can use it outdoors as a paddock enrichment:
And the Wishbone is also an ideal stall toy. It encourages behaviors that are really important for stalled horses. Using enrichment like this helps prevent boredom – and that’s important for your horse’s mental and physical welfare.
If your horse uses their Wishbone safely (more on that below), you can use this toy in other places too: in a pan on the ground, or even as a floating treat puzzle in a water trough for cooling summertime enrichment!
How to Use the Kong Quest Wishbone for Horses
The Kong Wishbone is a treat puzzle toy. The grooves down the center of the wishbone shape grip chunks of fruit, vegetables, or commercial horse treats. It takes effort to pull them out, increasing the challenge value of this horse toy.
In testing out the Wishbone I found that any long, skinny piece of fruit or vegetable will work. Pieces of food that are too thin won’t stay in the grooves, and chunks that are too thick stretch the Wishbone and can make the other treats fall out.
So cut your pieces of food to a uniform size, like these carrot sticks:
You’re not limited to apples and carrots for this horse toy. Use different combinations for endless variety. Any of these will work great:
- Celery
- Apple wedges
- Carrot sticks
- Pretzel sticks
- Toast fingers of whole wheat bread
- Cucumber spears
- Pumpkin wedges (horses can eat pumpkin and it’s a great seasonal treat!)
- Twists of long-stem hay or fresh grass
If you’re using the Kong Wishbone for your horse on the ground, load up the toy and it’s ready to go. If you’re hanging it up, attach the tie rope before sticking the treats into the toy.
I like how easy it is to load the treats into the ball. And they stay put! You’ll need to cut the treats to the right size, but it’s easy to see what size is best.
Then just tie up the ball and let your horse enjoy!
Kong Quest Wishbone for Horses: The Results
The Kong Wishbone was an immediate hit with my horse:
He’s an enrichment pro and showed no worry about the new enrichment item. Is your horse nervous around new toys? Be sure to introduce this one the right way.
He didn’t struggle as much as with the JW Pets Megalast Ball and was able to get the treats out with moderate effort:
The Kong Quest Wishbone is a food puzzle for your horse. It’s meant to be a little challenging and I was happy with the entertainment value of the toy.
Because the ends of the Wishbone are small, they can easily fit in a horse’s mouth. I recommend using this toy only with food sticking out clearly from the holes – never hidden inside the grooves – and only under supervision. It’s a fun toy, but my safety radar goes off when horses can fit parts of a toy in their mouths.
Use with Caution on the Ground
It’s also possible to use the Kong Quest Wishbone on the ground instead of hanging it up.
If you use this method, you MUST supervise your horse. Some horses might be very safe with the Wishbone. I was a little nervous about the way my horse enjoyed licking and biting the ends of the toy:
If you’re close by or have a horse who isn’t mouthy, using the Wishbone as a treat toy on the ground may be an option.
Keeping enrichment safe for horses is a top priority (big enough that we have an ebook about it). For this reason, you should always be there to supervise when your horse uses this toy. It’s perfect as a hanging stall toy, but use caution leaving it unattended with a horse.
Only use the ball unsupervised when you’re sure your horse uses it calmly and safely.
The Takeaway: For Horses, the Kong Wishbone Has a Cool Design and Versatility
I found that the Kong Quest Wishbone was a great little horse toy. As an enrichment item, it offered lots of variety and can be used in many ways. I’m looking forward to trying out new variations.
And most importantly, our demo horse LOVED it!
Most horse will have a great time using this toy as a puzzle feeder. It’s good for relieving boredom and seems to have a good balance of challenge versus reward.
For safety, it is best used hanging up and under supervision. All horses are individuals, though! Make your horse’s toy decisions based on their needs and abilities.
Related Enrichment
If you’re looking for similar enrichment ideas, you have lots to choose from! Add a few of these to your enrichment routine:
DIY Bucket Lid Browse toy for more hanging, swinging browsing fun
Hol-ee Roller and Other Webby Balls for squashable, rolling, or swinging enrichment
DIY Treat Roller for a slow-dispensing rolling feeder ball you can use on the ground
Canister Toys for a similar but DIY enrichment option
Kong Wobbler for Horses for another ground-based slow feed option