Encouraging horse to drink in field

little_critter

little_critter

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 June 2009
Messages
7,329
Location
Somerset
Visit site
My horse won't drink while she's out. As soon as I bring her in she has a big drink and is clearly thirsty. There is plenty of water in the field and I have tried a selection of different buckets / trugs / barrels just in case she doesn't like the container but it's clear from the water levels each day that she doesn't drink in the field.
Any ideas on what I can do to encourage her to drink in the field?
It's got to the point that I have to remember not to bring her in and tie her on the yard, tack up and ride - I have to put her in her stable so she can have a drink before I ride.
(She drinks fine in her stable at night)
 
My youngster is exactly the same, he empties a bucket before he goes out, and another when I bring him in, but won't drink out of the trough all day. I did take a bucket of water out everyday for him , but he knows where the trough is, so I think it's his choice. Trough is cleaned regularly ie scrubbed out and refilled with fresh water.
 
What are people's views on providing a salt lick in the field? If the horse uses it, that would encourage drinking - and it is a ready source of essential electrolytes in really hot weather (like wot we get every summer).
 
I'd put a salt lick in the field and see if it works, if not you could put some apples cut in half in the buckets so as he's bobbing for them he may take some of the water up. It would owrry me in heat them not drinking alld ay. Im sure you can get flavoured sachets to put in water aswell like apple flavour etc to encourage them to drink :)
 
My horse would not drink from any of the new plastic/rubber type containers I tried him with in his field until they were 6 months old! I now believe most new ones give off chemical smells some horses object to. With not drinking from a metal trough used by other horses however we can only guess it tastes different from his usual tipple and he is fussy!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top