How do you encourage your horse to drink at competitions?

rotters13

rotters13

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My horse drinks nothing at competitions and I cannot seem to find any solution! What does anyone else use? I've heard about horse quencher? Does it actually work though?

Many thanks
 
Im lucky cos both my boys drink when they need to at competitions. Have you tried something like apple bobbing? At least they would take in a small amount.
 
Mick never drinks when we are out, even if its really hot and he's at a ODE. I have tried additives to his water and he still won't drink.

I take a big sponge with me and sponge water into his his mouth before I wash him down. I also take apples which adds moisture to his mouth.
 
Yes ,I have just tried horse quencher! I am very cynical about these things,but I have to say,I bought a couple of scahets to try, & all my lot loved it. One horse who wouldn't touch a drop at previous outings, drank happily whenever I offered it at his latest horse trial!!!. I did use a special coloured bucket to introduce it to them at home, & then used the same one out. Now whenever they see that bucket, they have to go investigate!. On balance they preferred the peppermint one.
 
Sugar Beet "Tea"! Basically fill your water containers 24hours before leaving and add in a few handfulls of sugar beet pellets. The liquid will look like tea when you pour it! It's sweeter than water and may encourage your horse to drink!
 
Have read somewhere that horses prefer the chill taken off the water, so their drinking water is slightly warm. May be worth trying taking a flask of hot water to add to his water bucket. I know when my sons pony has a bath she will drink a full bucket of warm water that is supposed to be used to wash her off, does it every time.
 
I do the same as KitC. Mine always drinks some sugar beet water. If he's got a while between things then I'll give him some wet sugar beet which I think helps further. I also add homemade electrolytes to it.
 
i have t0 grate up 4/5 carrots in to a tupperware container and add water to the top so its a very liquidy mush, at the show i tip this in to a bucket and once he's taken a few mouthfuls/slurps, i add another pint of water, let him have a bit more and keep adding pints of water, this seems to trick him in to drinking as he's so desperate to get the last few carrot strips!
 
MickeyMoo said:
Mick never drinks when we are out, even if its really hot and he's at a ODE. I have tried additives to his water and he still won't drink.

I take a big sponge with me and sponge water into his his mouth before I wash him down. I also take apples which adds moisture to his mouth.
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That's what I do. I once had success with putting a whole apple into a bucket with some water and the pony who won't drink chased it round with his nose and got some water in with the apple, but he got wise to it in the end.
 
I too have just tried horse quencher, I got it specifically to encourage my pony to drink on long journeys as she usually refuses and it worked! My girl has yet to finish a whole bucket and often plays around with it in her eagerness to get the bits but she drinks some every time she's offered which is a huge improvement. Lucinda at hq is really helpful with advice on how to introduce it and even enclosed a sachet of the peppermint with my tub of apple so I could see which pony preferred.
 
I had this problem recently when out with my friend eventing, her gelding didnt drink anything all day and had worked hard. So in an emergency attempt to get him drinking I went to the burger van and asked them for a few teaspoons of salt. I mixed this into a normal bottle of water, one of the ones with a squirty cap then squirted this into his mouth. The salt encouraged him to drink more plain water whilst helping replace electrolytes lost during the day- bonus!

A bit of salt can work wonders in encouring thirst :D
 
Sugar beet water, or a bottle of apple juice added to the water! I've also heard of accustoming them to peppermint flavour in the water at home, and then taking some along, but I've never tried it myself.
 
My gelding would never drink at a show, given the chance! When he's left overnight at one he won't touch a thing. I resort to squeezing out a sponge in his mouth, which we often do with the racehorses on a dry day. I aso make sure to thoroughly drench any feeds he's getting around the time, and soak the haynets he's left with. Even after he's ran XC he won't drink until he's home - it always frightens the life out of me, but he hasn't dropped dead yet...! Heaven forbid i ever forget my 'drinking sponge' though ;)
 
Coco has a bit of squash in some water, he quite likes strawberry ribena, and tesco apple. the amount you would normally put in a glass does 1/2 a bucket for him and its cheap and effective. I think he now doesnt drink normal water on purpose though, knowing ill put squash in it to "tempt" him. Hes a cheeky little so and so.
 
Molassis! I take an small water bottle with molassis in it and and put no more than about 1/5th of that into a bucket. I don't even top it up with more molassis if the water isn't all drunk, just dilute it further with more water. Works well with most horses, but have come across one mare that won't drink water with molassis in it!
 
I was always told "If the horse doesn't want to drink, the horse doesn't want to drink." My mare never drinks much, but I always offer water. And I always give her her sugar beet in her breakfast on the day made with double the amount of water.
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
i have t0 grate up 4/5 carrots in to a tupperware container and add water to the top so its a very liquidy mush, at the show i tip this in to a bucket and once he's taken a few mouthfuls/slurps, i add another pint of water, let him have a bit more and keep adding pints of water, this seems to trick him in to drinking as he's so desperate to get the last few carrot strips!
Click to expand...

My way's similar to this, have to chop up loads of carrots, feed him a couple out of the hand, then lower my hand underwater, so he drinks and eats a few out of my hand before trying to find the rest in the water. Usually at a ODE/HT/show where we're parked on grass he muches a patch down too, which must get some water into him!
 
I just wanted to add my support for Horse Quencher to this thread and also recommend that anyone who is having problems encouraging their horse to drink contacts Lucinda for help.
I have a very dark horse who sweats a lot on hot days and wouldn’t touch a drop of water away from home. I have previously used both sugar beet water and water mixed with some molasses but we have to be very careful with his sugar intake which is why a friend put me in touch with Lucinda to try HQ. Similar to an earlier post we used a few sachets at home and we can now compete on a hot day knowing that he’ll drink before we make the sometimes long journey home.
I did also believe that a horse would drink when it needed to but have recently discovered that they sweat in a different way to humans – we sweat mainly water so the body starts to build up salt which triggers the thirst centre to tell us to drink. The horse sweats an even mix of salt and water so doesn’t get the salt build up to trigger the thirst response, another one of their many design faults!!
 
TBH, if my horse didn't drink in one day, providing they weren't pouring out bucketloads of sweat I wouldn't overly worry - whats the saying, you can take a horse to water...?!

If I was staying away etc and they idn't drink then maybe I would worry more, but I'd be more inclined to make sure their feeds are wet and get them grazing than put stuff in their water - grass holds lots of water. I would think the sugarbeet tea sounds good though - and the apple/carrot ideas. I'd prefer that to a pre-prepared solution anyway :)
 
I'd suggest that you try horse quencher, honestly. It is not a gimick. It does work. Some horses go crazy for it as my big horse, but others are less keen as my oldie, but even he will drink when offered the mix. The point of it is to encourage your horse to drink, and whilst no single way can ever be the absolute way, most horses do see the horse quencher as a treat and will therefore indulge. It's just another trick for the tack box - effective and reasonably priced :)
 
One idea I have heard used sucessfully is that you take a bottle full of water from there water tank in the field. Even if it is slightly green, my boy definetly prefers water like than then totally clean buckets! Obviously foul yucky water isnt good but just a bit of what there used to may help.
 
I've given up trying to encourage Rosie to drink.

I just syringe water in her mouth. She stands there and lets me do it which is funny!

Last 2 times we've been out she has actually drunk from the bucket. Amazing!!
 
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