Automatic Water Drinkers

[superpony]

Looking at getting these fitted.

I have 3 on DIY livery and it would save a huge amount of time as queueing for the tap in the mornings in winter is a real pain.. especially when I need to head off to work! All three have previously drunk from them on other yards so not worried about them not drinking from them. I know some worry about not knowing how much they are drinking however I know them so well I am not too concerned about this. They also spend most of the day outside when I obviously can't track what they are drinking anyway.

I would like them with plugs for easy cleaning. My main concern (and the YOs!) is them managing to get them off the wall and flooding the place...! Any advice for which ones are best (nose touch ones or auto) and any top tips to help prevent freezing/them getting them off the wall?!

Another factor is we have quite low water pressure.. does anyone have them who has this?

Thanks.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Looking at getting these fitted.

I have 3 on DIY livery and it would save a huge amount of time as queueing for the tap in the mornings in winter is a real pain.. especially when I need to head off to work! All three have previously drunk from them on other yards so not worried about them not drinking from them. I know some worry about not knowing how much they are drinking however I know them so well I am not too concerned about this. They also spend most of the day outside when I obviously can't track what they are drinking anyway.

I would like them with plugs for easy cleaning. My main concern (and the YOs!) is them managing to get them off the wall and flooding the place...! Any advice for which ones are best (nose touch ones or auto) and any top tips to help prevent freezing/them getting them off the wall?!

Another factor is we have quite low water pressure.. does anyone have them who has this?

Thanks.

The best ones they don't make anymore, they are the 12 lt ones, whish I bought more at the time, but then bought the 6 ltr ( not too bad) then had to buy a 4lt ones, they are tiny and would suggest you go bigger

 

[ycbm]

Fit it high to stop them taking them off the wall with their bums. I have successfully used tiny ones they can only get their muzzle in as well as big ones. There are different ones available for low pressure/ high pressure. You can't do anything about them freezing except lagging the incoming pipe wherever it's exposed, unless you can fit a tap which can let a trickle into a nearby drain.
.

 

[babymare]

Sorry but I don’t like them. I’ve worked on yards that have them but no idea how much horse had drunk. Give me a bucket any day ?

 

[Cragrat]

i don't know how much my horses drink when they are out in the field for 12 or 24 hours at a time. I know if they have drunk enough by their urine colour and their skin.

I have 15 litre waterers in the stables, and love them. Big enough they can have a decent size drink, small enough to empty out and clean frequently. They are double walled plastic, so very very rarely freeze. I fitted them too low for them them rub their bums on, and it also gives a more natural drinking posotion.

 

[Xmasha]

If you are having pipes fitted into the stables to feed the drinkers, why not just add a tap/connector to the end of the pipe where the drinker would be and fill the buckets up that way .
It’s what I’ve done in a couple of stables , and it works well .

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

I be had automatic drinkers and honestly they havent been as good as I hoped. They don’t refill quickly enough to refresh my mares whe n they want to drink. We have low water pressure too and that doesn’t help. They have frozen in winter. My mares poo in them…scratch their bums on them(and break them off the wall)….In winter I have a canister for each mare pre filled for use when hose is running slow or there is a queue etc.

 

[Bojangles321]

Buckets every time, I know you say you can’t monitor when out in the field but…. My horse was out overnight but coming in for the day. First sign he was unwell was the HUGE amounts of water he was drinking when in his stable. Turned out he was fighting an infection that eventually killed him a few weeks later. If I hadn’t have noticed the water consumption it probably would have been another couple of days of him masking the pain he was in before being able to help him

 

[Michen]

Hate them. Had a horse with a liver issue whose ONLY sign was excessive drinking.

 

[mini_b]

Other than not being able to monitor water consumption, they are constantly getting booted off the walls. Then they break and spray water up or leak water everywhere.

yes good idea on large busy yards but I’d prefer a really long hose and gorilla tubs.

 

[DabDab]

I have muzzle sized ones that have always worked well. We slosh and wipe them out every day to keep them clean and check they're working properly, and I spend enough time in the stables that I'm fairly confident that I would notice if one of them was drinking excessively (probably wouldn't so quickly notice one not drinking, but dehydration signs kick in pretty fast if a horse has stopped drinking).

The pipes will freeze before the drinkers if exposed. I'm fortunate that the feed for my drinkers comes up from underground inside the stable block so the drinker feed freezes considerably less than the outside tap. The only time mine have properly frozen is during the Beast from the East. In 6 years of being here we have had one come off the wall once, but it was the high level pipe that the horse pulled so the drinker didn't come off the wall, the pipe just got partially ripped out of it. Also that was in the stable of the horse that had dismantled her door frame around the same time so... Mine are held on by bolts into concrete block walls with the bolts set into adhesive.

Our water pressure varies, but I've never noticed an issue.

Tbh it really depends on your setup and how the system is installed.

 

[scats]

Friends yard have put wooden frames around theirs to try and limit the chance of bum scratchers removing them.

 

[twiggy2]

I am not a fan of them, due to the not knowing how much they are drinking and the pooping in them.
I would either fill spare buckets or a container when the tap is free

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

'Sorry but I don’t like them. I’ve worked on yards that have them but no idea how much horse had drunk. Give me a bucket any day ?'

I've had them & don't have them now for the previously mentioned reason, you have no idea how much water is being drunk..

 

[ycbm]

I am not a fan of them, due to the not knowing how much they are drinking and the pooping in them.

How do you stop them pooping in a bucket?

I have found dead stuff in buckets (mice, birds, beetles) but never poop (though I know that does happen).
.

 

[Polos Mum]

They aren't as great as you'd think, they are really difficult to clean (even with the bung) they have lots of little nooks and crannies that are hard to scrub. The small birds sit on the edge of mine and cr£p in them so I have to clear every day (when they are in).

There is nothing you can do to stop them pulling them off - horses are very inventive. The key is to have a tap at the top of the pipe into each one so when the little darling does his / her special trick you can turn it off easily and not have to repair in the dark at 11pm.
It's also helpful to be able to turn each one off individually in case you need to track water consumption in a specific situation / colic etc.

I find they freeze with the float down (horses drink the increasingly cold water) then when the pipe thaws they flood the stable - lost 3-4 full stables of bedding which is expensive ! I now turn them all off and go to buckets in cold weather (also useful to check they are drinking enough in the cold!) - which really makes them pointless as I have them out most of the time.
They were put in by previous people and I more often use the stables that don't have them.

I've also found one which has been used as a windsucking toy and is trashed / sharp

 

[Cragrat]

They aren't as great as you'd think, they are really difficult to clean (even with the bung) they have lots of little nooks and crannies that are hard to scrub. The small birds sit on the edge of mine and cr£p in them so I have to clear every day (when they are in).

There is nothing you can do to stop them pulling them off - horses are very inventive. The key is to have a tap at the top of the pipe into each one so when the little darling does his / her special trick you can turn it off easily and not have to repair in the dark at 11pm.
It's also helpful to be able to turn each one off individually in case you need to track water consumption in a specific situation / colic etc.

I find they freeze with the float down (horses drink the increasingly cold water) then when the pipe thaws they flood the stable - lost 3-4 full stables of bedding which is expensive ! I now turn them all off and go to buckets in cold weather (also useful to check they are drinking enough in the cold!) - which really makes them pointless as I have them out most of the time.
They were put in by previous people and I more often use the stables that don't have them.

I've also found one which has been used as a windsucking toy and is trashed / sharp

I must have been lucky! I have had 3 15 litre ones installed for 9 years. Two in horse stables, one in a stable shared by 2 donkeys. They very rarely freeze, have never (yet ) come off the wall (I fit them too low to sit on) . I haven't yet had them flood fingers crosed. They do have bungs, but I rarely use them - just scoop the water out and wipe around with a sponge, before releasing the float to refill.

I do have some smaller ones in a shed for some deer, and they flood occasionally when the float mechanism wears out, or when the deer abuse the pipe fittings entering the troughs.

 

[PeterNatt]

I fitted some Paxton AT23 Water Drinkers to each of my stables about 25 years ago and they are still going strong. They fit in the corner of the stables and have a drain plug for easy emptying and cleaning. I have fitted each of mine with a stopcock so as to be able to switch off the water supply when I want to clean them or service them. I used the Philmac plastic fittings to plumb them in.
The link is https://paxtonagri.com/product/at23-drinking-bowl/

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

We’ve got large ones in our stables.

- they are really easy to clean imo.
- hold about half a large trug of water
- they only froze to the point we couldn’t use them once during beast from the east but I’m down south so rarely that cold. I think we have some sort of heating wire (according to electrician who rewired the yard a couple of years ago) on the pipes above the stables so that may be why the pipes haven’t frozen.
- position in stable plays a large part in whether they get pooped in. I’n my old stable my oldie used to stand with his bum resting on it and pooped in it on a regular basis but then he poops in his manger fairly regularly.
In 12 years I’ve been at yard only one horse has pulled one off completely but certainly a few including once or twice mine have fiddled with the pipes and occasionally the ball cock stops working properly. I would ensure you have an individual easily accessible (by you) stop cock per drinker.

 

[rabatsa]

I had automatic water troughs in my old stables and loved them. You can fit meters so that water consumption can be measured but I never bothered.

I would not get the nose push ones as I know of a horse that caught its nostril on one, mind that horse was a walking disaster magnet.

 

[blitznbobs]

Well I’m a huge fan… love these ones. I fit them with a tap above so that I can turn them off to clean or if horse is ill but they make life so much easier.

https://www.chelfordfarmsupplies.co...EVrR7zEiwNB2GpKyM1vIEJqhCKof5wtxoC190QAvD_BwE

 

[twiggy2]

How do you stop them pooping in a bucket?

I have found dead stuff in buckets (mice, birds, beetles) but never poop (though I know that does happen).
.

Just move the bucket to a different location

 

[superpony]

Thank so much everyone for the ideas and links to various ones. I really do appreciate it. Off to investigate which one will fit best in our stables.

 

[ElleSkywalkingintheair]

I have big corner ones and wouldn't be without them. Big enough that will do a days water for horses even if pipe freeze but I've fitted taps to each anyway so turn taps off if likely to freeze. Ponies do itch on them which is annoying but I could easy box them in if I was very worried about them itching off walls

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Looking at getting these fitted.

I have 3 on DIY livery and it would save a huge amount of time as queueing for the tap in the mornings in winter is a real pain.. especially when I need to head off to work! All three have previously drunk from them on other yards so not worried about them not drinking from them. I know some worry about not knowing how much they are drinking however I know them so well I am not too concerned about this. They also spend most of the day outside when I obviously can't track what they are drinking anyway.

I would like them with plugs for easy cleaning. My main concern (and the YOs!) is them managing to get them off the wall and flooding the place...! Any advice for which ones are best (nose touch ones or auto) and any top tips to help prevent freezing/them getting them off the wall?!

Another factor is we have quite low water pressure.. does anyone have them who has this?

Thanks.

I used to not like them, but my knee and other ailments It is easy to have drinkers. If your horse is ill you can temp put a bucket in, I won't use a bucket now as I have had too many liveries buy huge Gorilla buckets, fill them up to the top, then the next day once horse drinks about 3 gallons tops sometimes less, they tip the huge amount on the ground to waste. Even though we are on meter they do it, Prob because they don't pay the bills.


so now 98% have drinkers all recently installed.

The other thing I have had so many tip their buckets over, so they end up a big % of the night with no water, and next day a soaking bed and half bedding has to come out.

I have moved with the times of my previous views.

Well I’m a huge fan… love these ones. I fit them with a tap above so that I can turn them off to clean or if horse is ill but they make life so much easier.

https://www.chelfordfarmsupplies.co...EVrR7zEiwNB2GpKyM1vIEJqhCKof5wtxoC190QAvD_BwE

Wow I wish I had known about those when I did my new ones, Thanks for link I saved it. These are my big 12 lt ones

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

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