We can’t get enough of this awesome toy for horses. The Hol-ee Roller ball is an amazingly versatile, useful, and FUN horse toy. Webby balls like this can be used in lots of ways and are perfect for stall enrichment, relieving boredom, and keeping your horse entertained. Here’s what the Hol-ee Roller is and how to use this squishy, holey ball for your horse.
What is a Hol-ee Roller Ball for Horses?
This is a molded, flexible rubber ball with a honeycomb shape.
There are now several webby balls on the market. The best one is the original Hol-ee Roller Ball by JW Pets, but you can also find lookalike models online. Quick note: we’ll be using the brand name and links to the JW Pets product – this isn’t a sponsored post, I just really like the quality and design and trust them for my own animals.
These toys were originally made for dogs, but are AMAZING horse toys. They go by lots of names and lots of spellings: holey ball, webby ball, honeycomb ball, holee ball. But the basic idea is the same. You put treats or forage inside and your horse will have a great time using the ball as a treat feeder.
Why the Hol-ee Roller and Webby Balls are Great Toys for Horses
The best toys for horses are fun, safe, and versatile. Being easy on the budget is great too.
This toy checks ALL those boxes. You can use the JW Pets Hol-ee Roller or similar toys in your horse’s pasture or stall. They work on the ground or as an awesome hanging stall toy. And you have lots of room for creativity when loading the webby ball full of treats for your horse.
We usually use this toy as a food puzzle, but some horses will love the flexible, squashable rubber as a pasture play item too.
What Horse Behaviors Do Webby Balls Encourage?
Enrichment for horses is all about encouraging natural behaviors. This toy does a great job as a play toy and puzzle. When you add a Hol-ee Roller ball to your horse’s toybox, you’ll encourage:
- Foraging and grazing (at ground level)
- Browsing (if you hang it from a wall or overhead structure)
- Problem solving
- Movement
Horses in stalls need a lot of extra enrichment to prevent boredom and ensure they have good welfare.
The Right Hol-ee Roller Ball for Your Horse
The original JW Pets Hol-ee Roller comes in four sizes, from mini all the way up to jumbo. Competitor brands also use similar sizing. You’ll want to buy either the Large or the Jumbo.
The mini and medium sizes (about the size of a golf ball and baseball, respectively) are too small to be used for horses because they could fit into a horse’s mouth. Enrichment safety is really important, so stick to the larger sizes when shopping.
JW Pets also has this toy available as a football shape. The smaller holes are perfect for adding carrot sticks, but make sure to hang this item up. Because it’s small enough to fit inside a horse’s mouth, don’t use it on the ground.
You’ll find better availability shopping online than in person. JW Pets Hol-ee Roller balls are available on Amazon, which also carries other brands if the original is in short supply.
How to Use the Hol-ee Roller for Horses
There are lots of different ways to use this horse toy – relieving boredom in the stall, encouraging movement out in the pasture, or giving your horse a creative food puzzle for some mental exercise.
As a Hay Ball for Horses
Larger webby balls like the Hol-ee Roller make excellent hay balls. The flexible rubber is easy to fill with hay:
Stuff with any type of hay or forage for your horse and place in their stall or pasture. As they pull out hay, the ball will move and roll. Just like with other hay balls, this toy encourages movement and natural grazing.
As a Toy for Horse Play
Some horses love plain holey balls as toys! Add an empty webby ball to the stall or pasture and, on the ground or swinging from a wall.
The ball is challenging to pick up but lightweight and fun to carry. Hol-ee roller balls have no hard edges and are flexible, so they’re a fun but safe pasture toy.
As a Training Accessory
The flexible, lightweight Hol-ee Roller is a great option for fun training games with your horse. Working with positive reinforcement, you can teach your horse to pick up and throw their holey ball or nudge it around the arena for a game of equine soccer.
Adding fun, playful behaviors to your horse’s training routine is a great way to improve your relationship. It also teaches your horse to be curious and engaged. Plus, the mental stimulation of clicker training is perfect for horses who need enrichment while on stall rest.
As a Treat Puzzle
The Hol-ee Roller ball and other webby balls really shine as horse food puzzles. Food toys for horses are useful, beneficial enrichment items.
To use your webby ball as a horse treat ball, fill it partway with hay:
Then, add horse treats or chunks of fruits and vegetables.
Alternate handfuls of hay with a sprinkle of treats. To release the food, your horse will have to push, roll, or shake the ball. It’s moderately challenging and will keep your horse occupied for a while – perfect mental and physical stimulation.
You can leave the treats visible, or hide them all behind a layer of hay:
Safety
There are very few potential safety issues with this product, which is a huge selling point. The rubber material is flexible but extremely durable. It tends to squash rather than cut or tear.
As with all enrichment activities, supervise your horse closely the first several times you give them the webby ball.
If you want more information on equine enrichment safety, please check out the ebook Safe Equine Enrichment available on Amazon. Safety is absolutely critical when providing enrichment to horses. A purchase of our book will give you the knowledge you need to use enrichment items safely – and helps support this page!
I love do-it-yourself enrichment items and thrifty ways to encourage natural behavior, but the Holee Roller webby ball is definitely a toy that’s worth purchasing outright. A great price point, excellent durability, and multitude of uses make this one of the best horse toys on the market.