Extended box rest following injury or surgery is a significant welfare challenge for horses. Managing the physical and psychological impacts of confinement is essential for recovery and wellbeing.
Box rest is a welfare paradox: the physical injury requires confinement while the confinement itself causes new welfare problems. Horses on extended box rest commonly develop anxiety, stereotypies, and ulcers — and return to work challenges that may be as much behavioral as physical. Managing box rest well requires active intervention to minimize confinement stress: slow feeder haynets for continuous forage access, stable mirrors or companions visible through grilles, gradual introduction of controlled movement as healing allows, and owner presence. The goal is to protect the healing injury while preserving as much normal behavioral expression as possible.