hanging balls

I bought Shyloh one of those Uncle Jimmy's Hanging Balls for her stall. (Upon further inspection of this website, they have sugar-free balls! Those would be much better for Shy.) I figured working on the ball will keep her busy.  The weather had turned warmer for a few days, then rained again, then turned cold and icy, then warmed up and rained. So, the pastures are a mess again and the horses must stay inside. Staying inside means more time for Shy to think of ways to get into trouble and cause me grief.

I grabbed my high-tech equipment which consisted of a moveable mounting block, some tools, and baling twine. Then I mapped out a trajectory from a triangular equation so the ball would not touch the sides of the stall. Okay, maybe not, but I tried to hang the ball so it would not touch the stall sides. When I took the ball out of the box, I was surprised at how heavy it was! I hoped my nail and twine rig would support the weight of this ball! And I wanted this ball to last. If Shy pinned the hanging ball against a stall wall, she could just chew it and eat it and it would be gone in no time. Plus, I think that much stuff of whatever makes up the ball (corn, sugar, oats, molasses) would make her sick if she ate it all in one day. It had to be a free hanging ball, free to swing back and forth.

mmmm. . .hanging ball of deliciousness

Oh my! I showed her the ball and she had an instant magnetic attraction to it. She gave the ball a cursory testing lick. It passed her inspection and she tried to chew on it. The ball swung away. So Shy resumed licking the ball. And licking the ball. And licking the ball. She was hooked! Shy did get irritated a few times because the ball would not stay put, but she worked through her frustrations. I was sure that she would not eat or sleep until the ball was gone.

Is she licking the ball in her sleep? Or just really enjoying herself?

When I went back to the barn two days later and the majority of the ball remained. I was happy that she had not demolished the ball or ripped it down from my home made hanging contraption. But one look at her face and I was on the floor laughing. Her whole face was covered with sticky stuff from the ball. Her white blaze is now brown at the bottom. Her ears, her chin, her cheeks, her muzzle, her forelock. . .all sticky and stiff! My poor pony looked homeless! She looked like she has not been groomed in a decade, but just on her head.

Can you see it on her ears, the side of her face, and muzzle?

I tried. . . I tried real hard to clean her up. I used a face brush. Nope. I used warm water. Nope. The sticky stuff is there to stay. After a while of trying to remove it, I gave up. There was still a lot of ball left, so I concluded that I would come back to the same messy face next time. And she will be sporting the same "hair helmet," but it will probably cover more area and be more cemented. At least she is enjoying herself, right? 

See the poofy forelock and brown at the bottom of the blaze?

We went ahead and continued with our plan for the day, which I'll share next time. Shy learned a new game! And, I am still waiting on that phone call for something exciting and the mail for something new!