Freezing Buckets

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Christsam

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anyone have any ingenious ways of breaking that ice and removing it for their horses water outside? yesterday I had three troughs full to do as the three were out and the owner who turned hers out yesterday morning to join mine (who had been out overnight) did not check the water or put even a tiny amount of hay out (a different matter totally). So i plunged my hand into the icy water for the first time this year and my god what a shock!!!!! Someone has suggested using a sieve as you can then fish the bits of ice out after. I, however, decided to us my waterproof hay carry bag. I put my hand in and plunged into the water again......to find that said "waterproof" carry bay is not waterproof!!!!!

ideas anyone?
 
Shavings fork, that's what I did this morning. Yesterday I broke it with my heel, plunged my whole foot in, soaked to the knee. Then fished out the ice with bare hands, not good!
 
plastic sieve from the pound shop, or shavings fork. Old fence post for breaking the ice first if it's really thick. We also tried the old fish pond trick where you put a plastic football in the trough to maintain a hole when the ice forms; it worked for a while.
 
put a ball in the trough, ones made of hard plastic are best they help prevent the ice forming in the first place, i use my hands to fish ice out though-it wakes me up :D
 
I've just 'parked' the 2 shovels with metal shovel ends on, and also a trug each - by the 2 main field water tanks this morning.
I use them to cut or smash into the ice, then tip back - letting water drain out & park the ice into a trug. Easiest way I've found so far after a zillion years.....to not get hands or feet soaked in using them for smashing or sieving :D

If the ice in the trug does thaw out I then tip it back into tank as would rather they had some water than no water.
Mind you I do have big field tanks......
 
Im thinking a sieve may be easier. The Boy would probably play with the ball and it would end up freezing over and as I try and do so much in the morning before work and its a long track to the field then I try and take the Boy and hay etc all in one go. Saying that i do have a shavings fork I dont use any more! I just hate having freezing cold hands!!
 
I used plastic fittings on one of my plast ic water troughs to fit an over flow pipe. The pipe (alkathene water pipe) goes to the nearest ditch and the inlet end in the trough is below the water line. So the water keeps running and doesn't freeze. To turn the over flow off, I lift the pipe and tie it up so it is higher than the water in the trough. So far as good, but in a bad frost, even the over flow pipe freezes.:( I haven't solved this one yet but probably need more flow.

I have another trough which can just be kept running by jamming he ball cock. The excess runs straight into a ditch. This one never freezes.
 
I use a rubber mallet then use my hands 👋 Some times my mare gets to the trough first, she loves to paw it with her foot.
 
I use trug type buckets, safer for silly foals than square metal troughs. Downside is when frozen they get brittle and smashing ice has cracked more than one. Luckily I have access to kettle so pour boiling water on top. 5 mins later edges have released and i can lift the whole piece of ice out wearing rubber gloves. Other containers I use mallet and sieve. Glycerine in the water stops it freezing but gets a bit expensive. I do use it in the stable buckets over night when it's minus stupid degrees though.
 
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