“Mental wellness for your horse is a lifestyle.”
― Amanda Goble: No Bored Horses
Welcome to Book Club!
Hey friends!
I am back with another book to add to your library. This week I’m presenting you with No Bored Horses: Essential Enrichment for Happy Equines written by Amanda Goble.
You can get your copy directly here at Trafalgar Square books!
Something I realized quickly when I moved my horse home was that despite having a buddy, he was BORED. The two horses moped around all day long. They had the life. They were retired (mostly), they had 24/7 turnout. Unlimited hay. Pasture. Trees to explore. But they stood by the gate and baked in the sun.
I felt like a major element was missing to make them happy and live their best life. This, of course, was years ago. Horse enrichment was sort of a thing… but nobody really did much with it. I tried treat balls and as it happens my horse became a choker. Even in small bits he choked. Even if he didn’t choke, my property was on a hill. I learned quickly…no roll-y things.
Once I had the upper pasture installed, I ended up having two fosters move in and the old mare left. The three geldings LOVED their life and managed a lot better than simply having the two; it was a different dynamic. They played amongst themselves and frolicked. I also hung hay bags in different areas of the pasture from trees.
That was about the extent of my ideas.
In 2024 Amanda published today’s book and there’s a Facebook group that promotes the ideas from this book for horse enrichment. I wish I had this back then!
“Neophobia can be worse in horses who haven’t had much agency over their lives and kept in tightly managed environments.”
― Amanda Goble: No Bored Horses
Amanda Goble is an animal enrichment and training specialist. She’s studied animal behavior and works to help domestic animals of all species live a life that provides opportunities for using their innate behaviors.
This 207-page book begins with educating the reader about the importance of enrichment for horses. In Part 1 we ask if our horses are bored, understand the signs and symptoms of boredom, and learn about the cause and effects of boredom in horses.
You might understand just as well as I learned back then that food, water, and shelter are bare minimum standards. If you pay attention to your horse you might see they are healthy but they aren’t thriving.
In Part two Amanda takes us through the fundamental changes we should consider with alleviating equine boredom. We discuss those three fundamental needs…Forage, Friends, and Movement. We learn a bit about equine enrichment, enrichment plans/schedules, safety, and combat problems that may arise when using enrichment.
Finally in part three we get to the meat…. thirty ideas for enrichment items. These ideas encompass the behavioral needs in horses and are split into several categories:
- Foraging
- Movement
- Social Behaviors
- Brainpower/Problem Solving
- Senses
- Self-Care and Maintenance
Some of the ideas are easy DIY ideas, others are a little more intense and require more up-front labor and money; but they all make sense for a horse’s lifestyle and they are all creative.
“The key is opportunity and choice. Effective boredom relief means giving your horse the opportunity to enjoy natural behaviors rather than caring for him in ways that prevent them.”
― Amanda Goble: No Bored Horses
How you use this book depends entirely on you. In some cases Amanda suggests a daily schedule of providing enrichment multiple times a day. To go to this extreme set me back a bit, there’s no world where I am able to devote THAT kind of time…but to some people maybe that’s totally fine.
What really does make sense, however, is not to allow a single enrichment item to become tiresome and overused. Cycling out these items adds novelty and excitement to our equine’s routine.
THAT is something I can understand and get on board with!
Final Word:
No Bored Horses addresses a problem that we all face whether we are aware of it or not. It isn’t realistic to expect to have a horse and sit it alone in a field and thrive. They aren’t merely for our entertainment. Horses are sentient beings, and they are living breathing creatures. We might only interact with them for an hour or two each day but how they spend the other 22 hours really matter.
I highly recommend this book to ALL horse owners who want to do right by their equine companions. It gives excellent ideas and makes some thoughtful points.
Additionally, I CHALLENGE ALL farm owners to read this book. One of the biggest challenges I can see for many people is the acceptance of enrichment items by the farms where horses are boarded. To be frank, when you have 20+ horses to feed and turn out and clean after there is NO time for these additional enrichment schedules. I 100% understand this…and at the same time I can picture a world where this becomes a new normal…something that can be offered in addition to or accepted by the farm owner. Small items that can be rotated from pasture to pasture on a normal cadence (or turnout pastures rotated with different horses if it makes sense). Enrichment items also take up space…something that may be limited on a boarding farm.
“It’s important to note that your horse’s activity levels don’t need to exactly match those of a wild horse for him to be mentally and physically healthy.”
― Amanda Goble: No Bored Horses
I also want to add that I buy most of my horse books from Trafalgar Square Books. I’m excited to say that I am an affiliate with the publisher. This happens to be one of such books. You can find your copy through my affiliate link here, it’ll let TSB know I sent you!
No Bored Horses: Essential Enrichment for Happy Equines by Amanda Goble
Published by Trafalgar Square Books, am Imprint of the Stable Book Group Brooklyn, NY
If you have any questions, comments, or would like further information, please contact:
contact@trafalgarbooks.com
The Green Horseman 
Leave a comment