Ice cold water in feeds, and colic?

kerilli

kerilli

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 April 2002
Messages
27,417
Location
Lovely Northamptonshire again!
Visit site
If there's a frost overnight, i use hot water from the kitchen sink tap (bit of a faff, but i need lots more than a kettleful from the yard!) on all my horses' breakfasts, because i have a weird suspicion that ice-cold water can cause colic.
Is this true? Do you feed warm breakfasts on icy mornings, or just use the cold water, cold sugar beet, etc? thanks.
 
Presumably the water in the horses' stables is ice cold too and they are drinking that without a problem, so can't really see why the water you add to their feeds should make any difference.
confused.gif
 
If my horse drinks cold water (that has had ice in) then she does start colicking so we have to be very careful.
 
i dont feed them cold waster/feeds at all in winter- they always have warm water on their feeds.
i just think that we wouldnt like to be eating freezing cold wet breakfasts would we? so why should they?
 
[ QUOTE ]
If my horse drinks cold water (that has had ice in) then she does start colicking so we have to be very careful.

[/ QUOTE ] I can see the point of warming drinking water AND the feed water, but to just warm the feed water seems pointless if the drinking water is cold.
 
Well in that case I can see your reasoning! Personally, I don't add warm water, but then my feeds are soaked overnight in the feedroom which is part of the stable block, so the feed will be the same temperature as the water in the stable buckets.
 
I assumed that it was after work that very cold water can cause colic. Like in Black Beauty. Beau gets cold water in his feed, even sometimes Sugar Beet is a bit frozen, but by the time it is mixed up, then he takes mouthfulls, chews it and it makes its way up his mouth, it will be tepid, and as it moves along the throat it will warm up more. As presumably fed will move slower than water.
 
I think we humanise our horses too much! My mare can smash her way through ice that forms on the water tough in the field for a big drink and would never turn her nose up at a ice cold water trough water. On the other hand, she adores a hot bucket of warm water from the shower room
wink.gif
 
my horse had colic 3 times last winter - caused by feeding his breakfast which had been made up the night before and had frozen slightly in the feed room. Mine have Simple Systems which has
a lot of water on it so is very prone to freezing. He also got it from soaked hay which had frozen overnight. If it is freezing I will put hot water on the feeds. And I never turn out without a basic feed even if there is frost on the ground.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top