# Jolly Ball?



## Failbhe (May 8, 2012)

I'm just curious how many of you have tried giving your horse a Jolly Ball and how many have actually played with it vs. ignoring it. 

I'm thinking of getting my minis a "Jolly Tug" to play with - it's a little bigger than the regular Jolly Ball (14" instead of 10") but I like that it has two handles so they can play tug of war with it (no idea if they will, but I like the idea). 

It's not exactly a huge investment so I think I'll get one and take my chances on whether or not they'll touch the thing, but I'm just curious what other's experiences have been.


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

I sometimes let my horse play with a giant ball. He eventually breaks them so Ive stopped buying expensive ones and just buy the cheapie stability balls from Walmart. At $12 each he will usually get a couple months worth of fun from it.
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## TimWhit91 (Feb 3, 2012)

I got my horse one. He ignores it and plays with his rubber feed bin instead. Oh well, it was cheap and my dog likes it


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

My horse is one who loves to grab his halter and launch it down the barn aisle, steal his neighbor's bell boots and launch those, drag his blanket into the stall with him, etc, so I bought him a Jolly Ball thinking that he would love it. He showed absolutely no interest. I tried shoving little pebbles into the hole so that it would make a shaking noise when he hit it, and there was still no interest. Put it on the ground thinking that maybe he'd kick it around. Nothing. This was all still happening while he was throwing his halter and anything else down the barn aisle, so I tried hanging the ball on the outside of his stall thinking that maybe he'd play with it if it seemed like some sort of deviant behavior. The ball wasn't touched, but I'd still find the halter on the ground! I finally ended up taking it down and giving it to a friend's horse, who loves it. 

Despite my disappointing experience, I know several people whose horses love them. It isn't a lot of money to spend, but I'd still ask around and see if a friend has one you can use before going out and buying one that your horses may ignore. I ended up putting a hanging salt lick in my boy's stall and he loves to knock that around. Go figure!


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## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

.

Horses can be like your child, you buy them a 200.00 toy and they have more fun with the 5.00 box it came in.

One of our young Horses played with the ball we bought her, another youngster was scared of it, never can tell :lol::lol:


.


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## Failbhe (May 8, 2012)

Well hopefully at least one of my 3 will like it, lol!


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I was given a Jolly Ball for Christmas, 2011. Buster Brown took to it immediately and carried it around, like a dog. Then, Cup&Cakes took a shine to it and played with it. Then they both learned from the dogs, started to use it as a tug toy and it...died.
Last Christmas I was given a _dog_ Jolly Ball. My dog Rose plays with it all of the time and hasn't broken it yet. She will even put it in your lap if you are sitting so you'll throw it for her. She's part BC and still runs a lot, even at 6yo.


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## Failbhe (May 8, 2012)

Corporal said:


> started to use it as a tug toy and it...died.


:lol: That made me laugh. I'm hoping my minis will use it as a tug toy, that's why I want the one with two handles - we'll see! 

So far my dogs have successfully destroyed every toy I've ever bought them in less than 10 minutes


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

I have the Jolly Stall Snack with Ball. I rarely catch him paying it any attention, but the treat part gets eaten, and every once in a while I find it knocked over the wall into the neighboring horse's stall, so he must be playing with it pretty hard at some point (either that or the stall cleaner gets frustrated with it hanging down in the middle of the stall and is the one to toss it over... ;-))


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## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

I hung my Jolly Ball from a rope & my mini donkey loves kocking it around. On the ground, he ignored it. He prefers his plastic coffee can with un cooked macaroni in it. makes lots of noise as he pushes it around


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## sportschick068 (Sep 1, 2012)

When my previous horse was a foal, she never played with her Jolly Ball. She just pooped on it... Every time :/


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Our Jolly ball sits in our ring, lonely and unloved. Every once and a while one of the mares will nose it around for a minute, but that's about it. Even our colt who loves to mouth everything has no interest in it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

PaintHorseMares said:


> Our Jolly ball sits in our ring, lonely and unloved.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


**sniffle**
It belongs on the Island of Misfit toys!!! NO toy should be lonely and unloved.


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

PaintHorseMares said:


> Our Jolly ball sits in our ring, lonely and unloved. Every once and a while one of the mares will nose it around for a minute, but that's about it. Even our colt who loves to mouth everything has no interest in it.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Same here, I was wondering what I could do to maybe teach them to play with it or make it interesting. Any tips??


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Baseball, Dodge Ball, Bowling...


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

Play with it with them. Make them kick it under saddle with their front legs, push it, roll it. They might not understand that they can interact with it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Failbhe (May 8, 2012)

I was thinking maybe smearing some molasses or something on it if they didn't seem interested... though they would probably just lick it all off and then ignore it again  

Even if they only play with it while I'm interacting with them, it could still be fun - they thought eating the rubber grips off my wheelbarrow was awesome


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

BTW, if you want to amuse our mares, just take a bucket of brushes, combs, and hoof picks of different colors into the pasture. In less than 10 minutes they will carried and scattered all over everywhere. I haven't been able to get them to put their toys away when they're done, though.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

C'Mon MY rubber grips were gone a LONG time ago!
I say pick it up and let her sniff it, then bounce it on the ground and work towards softly bouncing it off of her shoulder and legs, they roll it away from her and see if she follows it. Like I said, MY 2 geldings learned from the dogs!!


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## morganarab94 (May 16, 2013)

I had one given to me because a barn mate had one and her horse ignored it. Well my horses did nothing with it either, so now my dog enjoys playing fetch with it.:lol:


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

Mine has teeth marks on the handle from when the neighbor dog stole it! I was like, who the heck would come way out here and steal a friggin Jolly ball. A few months later my neighbor was at the door apologizing, lol.


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Have had some that like them, but I have bought 3 now...and the hooha they tell you about how it "keeps shape" is a lie, they get squashed and you can't get them back to shape.


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## SEAmom (Jan 8, 2011)

My horse loves his Jolly ball. He plays with it frequently in his stall. One of his favorite games is trying to throw it to his friends and is successful more often than I like to admit. My husband and I make friendly bets on whether it will be in his stall or not. I think a lot depends on your horse's personality.
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## SEAmom (Jan 8, 2011)

That reminds of early this year! He threw his ball out and it went MIA for months. One day, the BM laughingly told me her husband fished it out of the pond out front! I guess one of the boarder's dogs likes them, too. I almost bought a new one at Equine Affaire that very next weekend.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

I had a few for my horses. My dogs played with them...that's about it.

but I have cones I use for training, and they are ALWAYS moved. My moms gelding is the culperate. I catch them in his mouth all the time. Same with my poles I made. They are always knocked over. Or 55 gallon barrels, always rolled out of the pasture.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

Didn't read all the posts....
But...
We have a jolly ball from when my mare was on stall/pen rest. 
We have it out now with 2 or 3 horses, no one messes with it at all. The only fun I have seen it have is when the coyotes stole it. I found it a few hundred yards up the hill with bite marks in the grippy part. 
A toy my mare seems to enjoy is a milk jug without the lid with a bit of grain in it. When I gave her those in the evening, they were smashed and empty by morning. I assume one could fashion something to hang from the ceiling of a stall as well with a gallon jug with holes in the bottom.


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## kctop72 (Aug 25, 2011)

I put one on with my yearling filly a few years ago and I never saw her play with. I came in one day and her foot was stuck in the handle! Not sure how she manage that but we had to cut the handle off to get her free from it.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

After 4 months of seeing it, my 2 year old is still terrified of the jolly ball in his neighbor's paddock. Occasionally it'll roll into my horse's paddock and he'll then stay at the opposite side until someone retrieves it.


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## Failbhe (May 8, 2012)

Cynical25 said:


> After 4 months of seeing it, my 2 year old is still terrified of the jolly ball in his neighbor's paddock. Occasionally it'll roll into my horse's paddock and he'll then stay at the opposite side until someone retrieves it.


Lol! Poor boy, hopefully that nasty horse-eating jolly ball will stay in the right paddock. :lol: 

All three of mine are extremely curious and mischievous (especially the minis!!) so we'll see what happens. As I've mentioned before even if they only play with it when I'm out there with them, that's fine.


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## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

I got a giant one(like a yoga ball) for the boys. They did not like it! They'd snort at it, sniff it a little bit, then accidentally knock it and flip their lid. I maaay have kicked it at them a couple times. :lol: Then I got a normal one for Henny and he never touched it. I will tell you who does like jolly balls though. PIGS. I got a small dog one for my show pigs and they'd sit there and chew and throw them for hours. That, and shoes, and a bowling ball. Whatever they could get their little snouts on.


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## cebee (Apr 4, 2010)

We had one for years and neither of my boys played with it, although periodically it did seem to move a short distance but that could be wind. THen this spring, when both pastures of boys were put in together ( 8 boys.. ) I tossed it in with the whole group. It managed to get deflated, and THEN they loved it! Daughter and our BO stood there watching for ages while 3 horses grabbed it with their respective mouths and walked in circles like a windmill, played tug of war with it, etc. Unfortunately it somehow got tossed out... It was MUCH more fun for them deflated. AM thinking of getting another one and popping it!~ MY horse prefers to grab his rubber grain pan and toss it... although that is less about play than it is about pointing out that it is ... ahem... empty!


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