Automatic water feeders in stables ... love 'em or hate 'em?

[Greylegs]

Today our YO announced that the plumber was booked to install automatic waterers in our stables to replace the plastic tubs we all currently use. This is to make life easier for the staff (a full livery yard with 20 or so horses plus the YO's own, making around 30 in all, so a lot of bucket carrying!) as well as trying to keep a lid on the escalating water bills. During the hot weather, people have been hosing down horses almost daily and using water like it was going out of style tbh, so I can understand this. In addition, people empty almost full tubs and refill them almost on a whim, even though they are all washed out daily: I dread to think what the water bill is every month.

However, my only experience of automatic feeders to date (on a previous yard) was poor to say the least, with me having to supply buckets for a horse who wouldn't go near them and getting a telling off from the YO for my trouble. My concerns are around whether they supply enough water, how do you keep them clean, will my horse (who has never seen one before) get used to it etc.

So who loves 'em and who hates 'em? Any shared thoughts or experiences welcome. Thanks

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I moved last year, the horse had never encountered them before. He was fine, straight to it for a drink. They refill automatically as the horse drinks like the trough in the field so the water is generally fresher than using a bucket. To clean mine, I get a big tub and unscrew the bottom (by hand, v easy) and hold up the ball clock to prevent more water coming in. I then wash it out and let water come in to rinse. There is sediment at the bottom but generally, even my spud horse doesn't disturb this.

In winter, ours all froze so I have a spare water bucket at the yard which doubles up as receptacle to empty automatic feeder. I much prefer them and it saves me trying to lug round buckets.

 

[MudMudGloriousMud]

My experience of the small ones - like these -

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...kLNOO7Ab1o4GICg&sqi=2&ved=0CEMQ9QEwAQ&dur=685

is that they get sour and dirty very quickly, however they are relatively easy to clean and keep on top of.

The big ones - like these -

http://equineplus.co.uk/shop/articl...fc5oFMThWxgRjPuYp&shop_param=cid=13&aid=DBL3&

Are much better.

I completely understand why your YO would want them installed, but I'd be keeping a close eye on how fresh they are kept.

As an aside, my little broodmare, who was scared of her own shadow was fine with a drinker when she had to be stabled for a couple of weeks even though she had never encountered one before.

 

[flowerlady]

There are good and bad points to automatic water feeders. You have no idea how much water your horse is consuming and they can freeze in bad weather. But saves on water bills and carring heavy buckets. So like anything its a matter of choice by your YO

 

[RobinHood]

The small ones are very easy to clean. I sponge the water out into the feed bucket after mucking out every day, and once a week I prop the ball cock up so I can give it a good scrub. My horse dunks his hay in it as he eats so that keeps it clean anyway.

For the bigger ones we put a bucket underneath and push the plug up, and then use the water to dampen the wood pellets.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

love them, I have the big ones. tbh they only freeze in the worst of weather (and I am in Scotland). If you have a horse you want to monitor you empty it and give them a bucket. they save loads of time and am surprised more yards don't have them-if they added up the man hours spent filling buckets they probably would. You can always clean your own..

 

[TandD]

they need to fill up quickly!!! we were on a yard with drinkers that their size would only provide a mouth full of water then take 30seconds to refil :O....not good for a 17.3 horse (in the end horse becaome dehydrated and not very well). so we put in big buckets and filled them everyday our selves - yard staff couldnt do them for us apparently - yes horse may use water drinker but what use is it if it doesnt give the amount of water needed (ended up having argument with YO over this).

however yard we are now at are excellent - even when being drunk from stay at 'filled up level' and are so easy to clean!!! they are the plastic kind with a bung in the bottom! - defo need a bung as cleaning with sponge and cup just doesnt get all the yuck out

 

[atropa]

They're a fab time saver as you don't have to spend time lugging about heavy buckets and the ones at my yard are great at filling quickly and remaining full. Have never seen them freeze yet either. Downsides are trying to keep them clean and it being more difficult to restrict water intake after a heavy exercise session.

 

[MiniMilton]

I have them and hate them. They still have to be cleaned out every day and its much more awkward than a bucket. One of my horses scratched his bum off one during the night, dislodged the pipe, and I found him the next day beneath a waterfall, practically knee high in a sea of sloppy shavings. The whole deep litter bed had to be removed, it took days to dry the stable out, and I swore never again. I switched them off at the mains and have gone back to buckets.

Eta and they are the very first things to freeze in my yard!

 

[FionaM12]

One of my horses scratched his bum off one during the night, dislodged the pipe, and I found him the next day beneath a waterfall, practically knee high in a sea of sloppy shavings..

Yuck, no wonder you hate them!

I've had them in the past and liked them. However some horses do poo in them and unlike a water bucket you can't move them around if the horse insists on pooing in that corner!

I believe my vet doesn't like them as she likes owners to know their horses' normal water intake.

 

[MrsNorris]

Hate 'em! My daft ned seems to think that they are his own personal toilet and dumps in them regularly even though he never poops in his water bucket! So he has to have both anyway so it doesnt save me any lifting and carrying and it takes ages to clean a waterer full of *****.
Havent got one at my current yard and its great!

 

[muckypony]

I've only ever experienced the ones where the horse has to push on a pipe with its nose to get the water out! I did like them as they were easy to keep clean and the water was always fresh, but I don't like that you can't monitor how much they are drinking. Ours also frozen in the winter so we had to use buckets!

 

[vickyb]

If it is a big yard they are a wonderful time saver I suppose, but I too have experienced the 'waterfall' effect when a horse got cast and kicked the thing off the wall with one of its hind legs while thrashing about. The faff of getting a plumber in to repair it made buckets seem preferable at the time!

 

[eggs]

Another vote for "yes". We have the large ones which hold about two buckets of water and have a plug at the bottom to empty and clean them.

I never understand people who use the not being able to monitor the horse's water intake as I have no way of monitoring how much water my horses drink when they are out in the field - which is for at least 8 hours a day in winter and more in summer. I have automatic troughs in the field and no individual turn out.

 

[snooples]

I love them as I hate nothing more than lugging buckets around!

However one racing stable I was at had a good alternative however this was an inside barn where the stables only had bars between them but every stable had a water bucket on alternate sides so there was two together and at these there was a tap inbetween the stables and a tiny hose onto it so hose was stuck between the bars and water buckets were filled up quickly with no lugging of buckets or hoses all around the place!

 

[_GG_]

I hate lugging buckets of water around BUT, at least then I know a few things...

The buckets and water are cleaned, refreshed twice a day

If there is an accident in the stable, the tub trugs will not cause any injury to the horses

and most importantly for me, I can monitor how much water the horses are drinking. Just as I know how many poos I should see in the mornings, I know how much water there should be left. Noticing changes means I can spot something right away and go from there if the horse is unwell.

I love the idea of waterers, but I think I will always go for buckets.

Only exception actually, I did design stables a few years back when I was close to being able to build my own yard and they included automatic water supply, but it was in a recess in the wall, so not an injury risk.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I love the big ones we have on our yard they have a drain at the bottom so are easy to drain and clean. A full waterer will fill a large tub-trug 3 quarters full when drained. My gelding occasionally poos in it but then he sometimes does in his manger the dirty git!

Mine has never fully frozen although am in the South where it is generally milder and only once in the last 3 years has a horse dislodged one of the pipes and flooded his stable - most of the pipe is hidden in the wall or covered by drain- pipe.

 

[pinklilly]

I like mine but clean it out daily which I don't think many people on my yard do. It froze a couple of times in winter but just put a trug in.

 

[Polos Mum]

When I was on a yard with them my horse at the time soaked his hay - they got so gross in a day I turned it off and had buckets.
They had a horse that pulled/ itched it off the wall and flooded a whole section of stables and they frooze easily, oh yes and competing/ill/ off colour horses had buckets too.

They were probably used less than half the time so I wouldn't spend money on them I'd rather more taps around a yard if I was designing one from scratch

 

[MotherOfChickens]

ours are corner ones, have 'scratch' bars bolted in the wall along the front edge.

 

[Copperpot]

When I was at a yard with them my horse used to hold the thing in with his nose and flood his stable. They turned his off and he went back to using a bucket

 

[FinnishLapphund]

A few years ago, I read that two, three Swedish riders (who competed on a very high level) had made a little informal study based on their own horses, and they found out that their horses drank less water per day if they used automatic water drinkers, where the horse pushes with their nose on something to get water, like this

But if their horses instead drank out of buckets, supplied with water through some system that automatically kept the buckets filled up to a chosen level, then they drank more water per day.

 

[OrangePepper]

I have found the best water drinkers are the automatic plastic Paxton 45 Corner Water Drinkers. They have a drain hole and are easy to clean out. We fitted a plastic stop cock to each one so that the water can be turned off while giving them their weekly clean.

Ensure you also order spare ball cock valves with the water drinkers so that if they do give up the ghost you have spare ones too hand.

 

[Goldenstar]

Hate them ,you have no idea how much the horses are drinking .

 

[Vinney]

We have them at our yard. They are fine until the winter when they freeze up. One of my ponies fills his with hay so I have to make sure it is clear every evening when I muck out. I also scoop out the water and make sure the sediment is cleaned out every evening as well. I would rather have this than heavy buckets of water that seem to be spilt all over the floor after the first drink. My boys also seem to think the bucket is a football as it seems to be kicked about the stable.

 

[snooples]

Hate them ,you have no idea how much the horses are drinking .

Tbh I'm surprised no company has come up with a reader to say how much water is being used everyday. It could have a button that you could reset everyday. It would calculate water drank much better than buckets and would encourage much more people to buy automatic water drinkers.
Maybe Il invent it.

 

[camilla4]

Tbh I'm surprised no company has come up with a reader to say how much water is being used everyday. It could have a button that you could reset everyday. It would calculate water drank much better than buckets and would encourage much more people to buy automatic water drinkers.
Maybe Il invent it.

They have - they've been around for a while now. This is one example but there are others:

http://www.irrigationonline.co.uk/3-4-water-meter-measures-in-litres/

 

[Sparkly Snowdrop]

I dislike them as with the majority of them you have no idea how much the horse is drinking. I like to know this as it was the first sign that my horse was suffering Colic, when his water bucket was vitually untouched overnight. I know several yards locally where the pipes freeze every winter too.
I can understand why big yards install them as they make life so much easier for the people but I don't think that they benefit the horses at all.

 

[purplerain]

Prefer buckets myself but put empty buckets in the stables and use the hose to fill them up. Don't need to wreck my back lugging heavy trugs of water across the yard.

 

[PleaseVenus]

After having to dip my hand in stagnant water full of moving things (fly larvae?) the other day I'm not the biggest fan at the moment. If you don't clean them often they get bad really quickly, the water stinks and turns black and It's pretty disgusting to think your horse drinks that.
I'm happy to clean more often and not have to carry buckets byt would be good to know how much they're drinking