Environmental Enrichment – A want or a need?

Supporting your horse’s physical and mental needs is crucial for their overall well-being. A lack of mental and physical stimulation can lead to boredom, anxiety, and stress in horses. To help reduce the likelihood of undesirable behaviours like box walking, wood chewing, and weaving, it’s important to provide stimulation that mimics natural behaviours.

Naturally horses graze for up to 18 hours a day but stabled horses often have limited access to forage and once they’ve finished their ration, they may begin to display abnormal behaviours because they can’t express their natural need to forage and eat. Providing additional enrichment in the form of a Likit toy increases the diversity of their environment, encouraging natural foraging and grazing behaviours. Studies in the UK and USA have shown that horses spend a significant amount of time licking the Likit, extending foraging time and reducing undesirable behaviours.  Licking and chewing also stimulates saliva production which in turn helps buffer stomach acid.

We’ve created a wide range of licks and toys to ensure there’s something to enrich every horse’s environment. Each toy is graded based on the level of challenge for the horse; from easy to medium to difficult. We recommend starting with a toy or lick rated as ‘easy’ so that your horse can learn how their Likit works without becoming over-faced. Once your horse has mastered the ‘easy’ level they can then move up the levels to our more challenging toys, helping to keep them mentally stimulated.

Not sure which Likit is right for your horse? Take the Likit Personality Test on our website.