horse drinking lots of water after hard feed

J

Jericho

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I remember from my younger days that horses shouldnt be allowed to drink straight after a hard feed because 1) the water swells the food and 2) the water washes the food through the stomach. Nowadays it seems to be that they should have access to water at all times, which he does.

I have noticed that my horse is consistently drinking a lot of water after his feed (I dont feed extra salt before anyone asks and he gets sloppy alfabeet added) and it doesnt seem to do any harm but I got to thinking that maybe the water is sloshing the food too quickly through his system and he is not getting the benefit of it (espec expensive as I feed him TopSpec) as I am struggling to put weight on him despite adlib haylage, teeth check, oil, worm check, vet check, linseed - you name I have tried it!

So is it an old wives tale about not letting them drink after a feed and I should withhold water for a while and if so how long? I guess an hour as that is how long it would take to digest a feed prior to riding. Seems a bit mean though as I know its pretty uncomfortable not being allowed a drink if you are thirsty whilst eating.

Any words of wisdom from anyone??
 
Maybe you could offer him water while he's eatting but take it way after he's had a few mouth fulls? I think that swhat I would do for a few weeks and see if he put on more condition.
 
I was always taught that water after feed would wash all the food through the system too quickly for it to be digested properly. When I did my WP the horses were always watered before feeding.
I have not had the problem so I can't think of a decent solution but maybe you could leave him with a half bucket of water so he has a little if he wants while eating, then top it up a while after he has eaten so there is some gap ?
I'm sure there will be plenty of other suggestions for you though!
 
Not sure what the answer is but my horses who have always lived out come in for their feed, and then when turned out always go straight to the trough for a drink.
They always have it soaked with sugar beet so it isn't dry. None of them have come to any harm.
As long as your horse has access to water at all times I think he should be alright. It's not as though he's dehydrated, eating dry hard feed and then drinking!
I don't think withdrawing water would be a good idea, can you imagine having a meal and then not being able to wash it down!
 
Water is absorbed into the blood in the stomach so it won't all go washing down into the intestines. Mine always drinks after a feed. I think the horse knows what he is doing!
 
At a feeding lecture I went to a while ago, the equine feed specialist said that feed is only in the stomach for around 20 minutes, because most of the digestion occurs in the gut.

I would have thought that most of the goodness from the feed would be extracted from the gut, and the stomach mainly adds the digestive acids and starts to break it down. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will add to that
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But therefore I wouldn't have thought that it would be a problem if horse drank alot after a feed.

Most of mine have a good long drink after, but I don't ever give very much hard feed in one go - maybe another idea would be to divide the feed into smaller amounts and feed more often? I know that's not hugely practical but it would mean more room in the stomach for all that water!

Edited to add: as above then!
 
my horse always has a big drink after his breakfast and tea. i think even if i took his water away he would wait and still have a big drink when i put it back in.
 
Barnaby used to go one further than this, he used to take a mouthfull of feed then dunk his head in his water bucket to just under his eyes then repeat.... he'd end up with a tide mark around his head complete with bits of food.... even if you soaked his feed he'd still do it... crazy fool
 
Do you add any more water to his feed other than his sloppy beet.I always add a fair amount of water to my horses feed and they dont drink afterwards.
 
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Wouldnt this mean the french have their dinner washed through them?
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Not sure what you mean have I missed something or have we moved on from horses to french people maybe Im being thick
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Ha!

Could you 'water him before giving him food? Horses at our yard get watered at 6 and fed at 7. I think it's better as feed distracts a bit, also lot's of salt. I heard long drink after feeding could cause colic or serious illnesses.
 
My vet happened to be on the yard a when I fed my ponies and one of them had a huge drink afterwards and when I commented to the vet about the amount he had just drunk, the vet said, better now than when the food had gone out of the stomach.

I wouldn't worry as long as they have water available at all times.

Jane
 
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