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Encouraging a horse to drink

From: Karen

Dear Jessica, Thank-you so much for your very much for all of your helpful information. I bought a five year old Quarter Horse gelding three weeks ago. He drank plenty of water until four days ago, when the weather turned quite cold. The first night he didn't touch his water I went out and bought a heated bucket, which only keeps the water 45-55 degrees. That didn't work, so the second evening I put hot water in the bucket to make the water no quite luke warm. That didn't work either. This morning, the fourth morning I went back to his other bucket in case the new one smelled bad. No luck. I tried adding a small amount of molasses to the water to entice him but he just played with it. The horses are out in the pasture almost 10 to 12 hours every day, so I know he is getting some water in the grass. The vet said that as long as his manure is moist he should be alright but I am still concerned. I would really like to entice him to drink a little more. Please give me any suggestions you can. Thanks again for your wonderful service.

Karen


Hi Karen! First, your vet is quite right, there's no need to worry as long as your horse has an adequate water intake from SOME source. If his manure is soft and moist and breaks apart when it hits the ground, your horse is very unlikely to be dehydrated. If it lands in the form of solid balls that do NOT break apart, that's when you should worry.

Now, as to how to get your horse to drink more: are you sure that he's not drinking while he's in pasture? It's hard to tell from the level of the water tank, unless he is the only horse in the pasture. If he's not the only horse, or if your pasture tank refills automatically, then you'll need to pay attention to his manure (see above) to know whether he is drinking enough.

You can also check him for dehydration by taking a pinch of skin at the point of his shoulder, letting it go, and counting the seconds until it is flat again. If it takes a second or less to flatten, no worries. If it takes more than two seconds to flatten, he is slightly (if two or three seconds) or more (if longer) dehydrated, and you'll need to do something about his water intake. I know that this method is difficult to use in winter, because of the horse's long winter coat obscuring your view, but it's possible to keep your fingers lightly on the horse's skin and FEEL it flatten.

Horses do tend to drink more in winter if their water is warmed for them - not "warmed" to a point where you could make tea with it, but enough to keep the chill off. 45-50 degrees F. should be just fine.

Molasses doesn't mix all that well unless the water is considerably warmer than that, and it makes buckets hard to clean out, and horses are frequently given medications, especially bute, in molasses, so many horses are justifiably suspicious of molasses appearing in an unfamiliar location. Let me suggest that you use apple juice instead. A cup or two of apple juice in a bucket of water will usually entice a horse that isn't eager to drink.

You might also check his salt blocks. He should have at least a small one in his stall feeder, and a larger one in the pasture. Horses need free access to salt, just as they need free access to water. If he isn't consuming enough salt to meet his needs, you can help him out by adding an ounce of table salt to his feed. You can also help by dropping a handful of water on top of the saltblock, so that the water can seep into and soften the top layer. Those blocks are really designed for cattle, and cattle have very rough tongues that can lick salt blocks easily and come away with a good amount of salt. Horses have smooth tongues, and often simply can't get enough salt from licking a block. Some horses will try to bite the corners of the block; others will just give up, do without salt - and eventually reduce their water consumption!

You're also right about the possible odour of a new plastic bucket. If you set the bucket outside where the sun and air can get to it, it will lose at least some of that nasty new-plastic smell.

Good luck, and remember that as long as his skin and manure tell you that he is NOT dehydrated, he's not in danger. Your vet sounds like a wise and helpful person - if I were you, I'd call him tonight, tell him what you've done so far, and ask if he has any other suggestions. Don't worry about being a pest. As long as you aren't calling every fifteen minutes, your question will probably be welcome. Good vets would much prefer to help you with preventive advice over the phone, and help you come up with good ideas to keep your horse hydrated, than to be called out later when your horse really IS dehydrated and suffering from impaction colic!

Jessica

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