Automatic water drinker

I inherited my automatic water drinkers when we bought our house and yard. There is an assortment but my favourite and the ones that are in most of the stables are large rectangular metal with a plug at the bottom that you can remove to clean them out. They hold about a bucket and a half of water each. I did have a tap fitted to each one on the inlet pipe to that I can turn them off individually if necessary.
 
If there is any chance of installing a guard around it, so he can't scratch his bum and knock it off the wall - do it! Don't ask me how I know this....
🤣🤣🤣 experience I guess lol
Absolutely will need to build a guard round it and the water pipe!

I think it will be so much better for him because he drinks tons of water every night and it will be fresh not sitting in a bucket all night.
 
If there is any chance of installing a guard around it, so he can't scratch his bum and knock it off the wall - do it! Don't ask me how I know this....
Mine managed to scratch his arse on it and break it off and flood the place as the water had been squirting out of the broken pipe all night.
 
I use these and really happy with them. Nice and big too and plenty room for noses https://www.chelfordfarmsupplies.co...EVrR7zEiwNB2GpKyM1vIEJqhCKof5wtxoC190QAvD_BwE
I also have these for 2 of the horses - I really like them. They have never frozen, hold plenty of water, fill really well, weasy to clean. I don't like the metal ones, and I don't like any of the small ones. I think they need to stuff their noses in if they want, and definitely need to be able to take a good long drink if they so wish.
 
We had them in some of the stables at the RDA, but they were the small plastic ones and the horses generally didn't like them much - one was terrified of the noise it made refilling and never got used to it. Another got broken so it leaked, presumably by an itchy bottom - it happened in early spring and the flood water froze in a sheet across the yard. That was fun.

The bigger ones look much better!
 
I use these and really happy with them. Nice and big too and plenty room for noses https://www.chelfordfarmsupplies.co...EVrR7zEiwNB2GpKyM1vIEJqhCKof5wtxoC190QAvD_BwE
My new yard has ones v similar to these and I love them. Maybe this one? I cant quite see on the product page but ours have a screw fit drain rather than a "plug" which is a godsend. At the old yard it was a rubber bung which was a nightmare to remove without also pulling your own fingernails off.
 
One of mine got banned for having an auto drinker, as she somehow kept managed to throw straw in it and blocking the ball valve inside the body from rising and stopping the water. A couple flooded stables/barns later she was relegated to a bucket 😬
 
Putting a water drinker in Orbis new stable, any recommendations?


Is there a better make than the other?

Does it matter if it is Stainless Steel or Plastic?
One man’s meat.....I took all mine out!
Don’t like ANY unnecessary projections in stables, frozen pipes, flooded stables, scrubbing the scummy bits out each day..... vet advised drinking from floor level, knowing exactly how much’s been consumed, better hygiene with clean buckets.
 
One man’s meat.....I took all mine out!
Don’t like ANY unnecessary projections in stables, frozen pipes, flooded stables, scrubbing the scummy bits out each day..... vet advised drinking from floor level, knowing exactly how much’s been consumed, better hygiene with clean buckets.
I agree with this, I think even if I win the lottery I will stick with my 14 litre black buckets in tyres because knowing how much they drink is invaluable.
Even if I do regularly slosh cold water down my boots 😢😆
 
My new yard has ones v similar to these and I love them. Maybe this one? I cant quite see on the product page but ours have a screw fit drain rather than a "plug" which is a godsend. At the old yard it was a rubber bung which was a nightmare to remove without also pulling your own fingernails off.
 
I don't really understand this idea of knowing how much your has drunk as a reason for disliking automatic drinkers.

Unless your horse is stabled 24/7, or is turned out in individual paddocks with buckets, you won't know anyway.

I can tell if mine is drinking enough by the colour of the urine, or too much by the wetness of the bed.
 
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