Field troughs?

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Merlod

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I've always had galvanised water troughs, I could do with new ones and was wondering what was better - galvanised or plastic. I would have thought the latter would clean up better?
 
When I moved in many years ago my neighbour warned me about metal ones as if a horse kicks them they can fracture a leg.
I installed plastic ones (which I put on concrete bases) and each with their own stopcock so that I can turn them off (to make it easy to clean them out).
http://paxtonagri.com/Troughs_and_feeders/Rectangular_water_troughs.aspx
I use the 272 litre ones and plumb them in with 25 mm blue poly pipe and plastic fittings.
 
I have a small plastic one auto filling one (about 50 litres I think). It's about 3 years old now. I didn't want a huge one that took an age to clean out and it's perfect. I just empty and clean once a week. It just has a standard hose pipe attached with adapter.

I'd go for plastic if you don't have horses that might end up in it.
 
I now use those plastic trugs which come in multi colours and sizes. easy to clean and move and fill. depends on how many horses you have.
 
I have a herd of 8, my current trough is self filling so it would just be a case of changing the trough fortunately. I think I will go for plastic ones, hopefully they won't freeze up in winter so much!
 
I have old cast iron baths. So much higher capacity than plastic trugs and way easier to clean. horse would also fracture a leg kicking any other hard surface (wall, tree etc) I dont really think that putting my metal bath against the wall increases the risk. I like that they have no sharp edges and appear to last forever, and the old overflow hole conveniently holds the hose in place.
 
Cold water storage tanks from plumbing suppliers (round ones you find in the loft).
I have a couple, easy enough to keep clean, take a great deal of bashing from equines too :)

Also have a couple of smaller ones, holding around 30 and 45 litres or so too.

In the winter I keep both big ones filled to brim, in a sheltered place - and in really bad weather I can use them for dunking water buckets in for stable use.
 
Alongside mucking out straw beds, scrubbing metal troughs is something I do not miss. I use a giant trug. Easy to clean and, as their field is not situated too far from my hose, easy to fill.
 
Ours are nearly all concrete in the fields, the ponies summer grazing field has a small galvanised. The interior ones are also a mixture of concrete and galvansied. We don't have any plastic ones as they don't withstand tractor and cattle impact as well!
 
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