Uncle Jimmy's Hangin' Balls

[calicocalgirl]

http://jimmysballs.com/

Manufacturer: Uncle Jimmy's Hanging Balls
Horse Treats
Carrot, Apple, Molasses, Peppermint flavors available.



"This product is great for the horse that suffers from stall boredom (cribbing, weaving, kicking walls, & chewing down the barn!). Completely edible (except for the leader rope), nutritious, durable (3.5 pounds, last a week to a month depending on horse and how well hanging instructions were followed)" Entertaining for owners as well. Ball is the size of a grapefruit with twine coming out of it for hanging.

Pros: Keeps them busy in the stall. Most horses love them. Relieves boredom if horse licks it properly.

Cons: Must not be hung near the edge of the stall or will be gone in a day or two. If horse learns to corner and bite it, it's not worth the money. Horses will get "gooey" faces. Wouldn't use before a show..

Sells for about $15-$20.
Overall Product rating: (out of 10)- I'd say about 7
Reviewed by: Calicocalgirl

Hickory's New Toy.. Molasses Hangin' Ball.


Check out the video of horses playing with their balls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtVoflESiM4

[kindredspiritsia]

I have to admit, I was expecting something else.

Your boy looks quite happy with his new toy.

[BarnBum]

I had a girlfriend who put this up in her horses stall. Her horse got so aggravated he coulnd't get to it from the swinging. He was very mad/mean. She had to corner it in his stall so he could 'win' ....... after he was done with it, she didn't get anymore.

[DanielleS]

sounds dirty!

[RealFolkBlue]

I tried that thing with Moontahr a while back. He had fun with it but he managed to destroy that thing within a day. To pricey in my book for something that I can make at home for half the price.

[Jess6092]

Any ideas on how to make one similar?? I think that is a little too pricy too

[TDH]

Originally Posted by kindredspiritsia

I have to admit, I was expecting something else.

Me too. Made us look at the thread though, didn't it?

[calicocalgirl]

Originally Posted by RealFolkBlue

I tried that thing with Moontahr a while back. He had fun with it but he managed to destroy that thing within a day. To pricey in my book for something that I can make at home for half the price.

I was wondering how to make them at home and keep them together for long.
I think they work good for some horses, the horses that lick them and dont get completely crazy over them
It is driving Willy insane that he can't get a grip on it. I may have to let him win alittle on it. But when I put it closer to the wall he had it gone in 2 days. Hickory is working it just right.
They are a bit pricey for all the more they last the average horse. Of course I work at the store and get a discount, so I got them..

[taelesean]

My old riding instructor had a couple of boarders try those, and they worked great, even helped one poor guy control his cribbing habit so he could gain some weight.

So my instructor tried a few with her horses...one of them who was known to be really smart and a chowhound, figured out the trick. He grabbed the cord and snapped it off, the ball fell on the stall floor. He then stepped on it, breaking it into pieces which he polished off almost immediately. Then Once he'd figured out how to kill his ball, he managed to get several more over the space of a week. Once he got to a ball, it's life expectancy was zilch.

I guess it really depends on the horse - most horses will either ignore them or lick them normally. Some smart horses will figure out how to get them fast, and some horses will just become aggravated. I noticed in the video that the horse furthest from the camera had made serious inroads on his ball already, there was a bite missing from one side, and the bottom was majorly flattended.

I can't imagine they'd be that hard to manufacture...basically a peanut brittle ball with grain instead of peanuts.

[kindredspiritsia]

Originally Posted by TDH

Me too. Made us look at the thread though, didn't it?

Uh-Huh!

[Kendra]

I didn't even know you had an Uncle Jimmy!!!

[99horses]

I think the basic concept is great but I thought they'd be bigger.

[Red Gate Farm]

Does anyone have a good recipe for making these at home?

[DutchessMare]

I thought this post was about a stallion or something.

[livelovelife6930]

The owner of the farm I board at recieved one of those balls as a gift.
She decided to put it in a three year old mare's stall to hopefully stop her from cribbing. This mare wasnt afraid of anything, always had to go stick her face in things, except this ball.
We don't know what it was but she was TERRIFIED of it. It started that she just wouldnt touch it, and as the weekend progressed, she became terrified of it. We took it out of her stall on the saturday evening and put it in the filly's stall next to her. The next morning they went down to feed and she wouldnt eat, she just stood there glaring at the ball in the next stall trembling. That afternoon she coliced.
She got better and then worse, it fluctuated until tuesday when she got realy bad and the vet sent us to the clinic. We got up there and they found that 7 metres of her intestines and part of her colon were dead.
She was euthunized.

Tragic story, she was such a beautiful mare.

Now, I know people have had good reviews of this ball, and I am not putting it down, it just goes to show you however, that you have to be careful what horse you put these things in with.

[taelesean]

I might wonder if that mare's fear of the ball was caused by the stomach problems, not the other way around.

[Slim Pikkens]

This give me an idea, I may make some molasses licks by freezing them in foil pans and then tossing the contents into the snow.

[sugarsgal]

Ya, I had a chuckle when the supplier sent me the email "Uncle Jimmy's Ball's"

I had made something simular, sorry I have no exact measurements as it was more trial and error.

Molasses
Sweetfeed or whole oats
Bran Flake's (Human cereal)
Sugar (white)
Corn Syrup

I heated the Molasses, corn Syrup and Sugar till boiled and thickened, than added the sweetfeed and bran flakes untill quite thick and hard to stir.

I used about 3/4 carton Molasses (small carton) and 1 cup sugar, 1 cup Corn Syrup, 2 cups plus sweet feed and about 1 to 2 cups bran flakes. This made 4 snacks....hehe, I didn't say "healthy snacks"

Before I added the feed and cereal I kept testing the molasses/sugar mix till it formed a sucker type consistancy on waxed paper. When it was no longer tacky but yet hardened I added the grains. I used a recipe for making suckers but added the grains and molasses for horse treats.

I used a likit sized disposable foil pan (Small pie plate) and inserted a stick made of foil to make a hole in the center. When fully hardened (over night) I removed the foil stick and used bailer twin to hang. I thought Angel food cake pans would be Ideal but couldn't find small one's.

The horses Loved them but I'm not sure how long they would have lasted as I was afraid to leave them in the stalls unattended (me the worry wart) and My silly mare broke the twine on hers and it was covered in poop on the floor but she was still trying to eat it.

[taelesean]

Originally Posted by sugarsgal

Ya, I had a chuckle when the supplier sent me the email "Uncle Jimmy's Ball's"

I had made something simular, sorry I have no exact measurements as it was more trial and error.

Molasses
Sweetfeed or whole oats
Bran Flake's (Human cereal)
Sugar (white)
Corn Syrup

I heated the Molasses, corn Syrup and Sugar till boiled and thickened, than added the sweetfeed and bran flakes untill quite thick and hard to stir.

I used about 3/4 carton Molasses (small carton) and 1 cup sugar, 1 cup Corn Syrup, 2 cups plus sweet feed and about 1 to 2 cups bran flakes. This made 4 snacks....hehe, I didn't say "healthy snacks"

Before I added the feed and cereal I kept testing the molasses/sugar mix till it formed a sucker type consistancy on waxed paper. When it was no longer tacky but yet hardened I added the grains. I used a recipe for making suckers but added the grains and molasses for horse treats.

I used a likit sized disposable foil pan (Small pie plate) and inserted a stick made of foil to make a hole in the center. When fully hardened (over night) I removed the foil stick and used bailer twin to hang. I thought Angel food cake pans would be Ideal but couldn't find small one's.

The horses Loved them but I'm not sure how long they would have lasted as I was afraid to leave them in the stalls unattended (me the worry wart) and My silly mare broke the twine on hers and it was covered in poop on the floor but she was still trying to eat it.

Make a batch of that an poor it into a small, deep feed pan (the kind with a flange around the bottom) and bolt it to the stall wall, and I bet it would last a while, and keep a horse pretty busy licking it - and it wouldn't end up on the floor.

[Red Gate Farm]

Thanks sugarsgal!