New horse drinking lots of water

M

madeperfectly007

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 April 2011
Messages
95
Location
Essex
Visit site
Hi!

I recently got a new baby last Tuesday (he will be 3 in May). He's been stabled since then due to quartintine. He has be drinking and peeing a considerable amount. Could this be due to stress with the move? He has automatic water so difficult to tell exactly how much. I seen him at his water 4 times within 1 hour. His bed is extremely wet. He has horses stable beside him and can watch what's going on in the school. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks x
 
If he's not got access to grass (which contains a lot of water) then he'll be drinking more due to the dryness of the food matter he's consuming. As long as he is drinking I wouldn't be too concerned at the moment. However, when he is turned out I would certainly monitor his drinking if you can.
 
With an automatic drinker it could be really difficult to tell how much he is having. Can you switch the drinker off and put buckets into gauge? Or contact previous owner and ask if he has always been like this. My mare drinks a ridiculous amount of water compared to most. It's normal for her though.
 
wills_91 said:
With an automatic drinker it could be really difficult to tell how much he is having. Can you switch the drinker off and put buckets into gauge? Or contact previous owner and ask if he has always been like this. My mare drinks a ridiculous amount of water compared to most. It's normal for her though.
Click to expand...

We have two closely related mares. One drinks a large trug of water every night (and pees for England) and the other barely drinks half a bucket. Both are fine and it is normal for them... the light drinker always has a huge drink from the trough on turn out so we have to assume she prefers that water.
 
My mare drinks a lot as well, generally two full buckets at night. But she is in with dry hay so I think its fairly normal. I probably would try not to worry, but if it really bothers you then you could contact old owner and ask?
 
Hope you don't mind me asking but is he rugged? A girl who used to be at our yard got her first horse and commented how much he was drinking. He was unclipped, stabled and rugged up to his eyeballs - poor thing was overheating!
 
Are you sure it's being drunk? My mare was "drinking" gallons and gallons when she first arrived - but it turned out she was blowing bubbles and playing and the water was just going straight into the bed without passing through the horse first ...

I'd also switch off the drinker and use buckets to monitor intake.
 
There are medical conditions which cause excessive thirst - was he vetted? As has been said I would switch off the automatic trough and water with buckets to see exactly what is going on. It could just be normal for him. He could be too warm. Oddly he could also be too cold - I always know if I have left one of ours under rugged because he will drink and pee massively if he is cold. I suspect he likes to lie in the warm patch.

Depending on age, breed etc if there really is an excessive amount being drunk then it might be worth getting a vet check if that hasn't already been done. But most likely it is something less scary!
 
Yes make sure he is drinking use buckets. My horse goes through buckets upon buckets every day, as he has a awful habit of dipping every bit of haylage he eats so his stable floor is always drenched!
 
ljohnsonsj said:
Yes make sure he is drinking use buckets. My horse goes through buckets upon buckets every day, as he has a awful habit of dipping every bit of haylage he eats so his stable floor is always drenched!
Click to expand...

Omg my mare does this too! Dunks her hay into her water and by the next day her water bucket is just a bucket of scabby hay! I've even tried wetting the hay and she still dunks it...

I've known some horses drink buckets upon buckets of water and some drink barely half a bucket.

I'd switch off the water feeder and put buckets in, guage how much they are actually drinking. If it is consistent I wouldn't worry too much.
 
Damnation said:
Omg my mare does this too! Dunks her hay into her water and by the next day her water bucket is just a bucket of scabby hay! I've even tried wetting the hay and she still dunks it...

I've known some horses drink buckets upon buckets of water and some drink barely half a bucket.

I'd switch off the water feeder and put buckets in, guage how much they are actually drinking. If it is consistent I wouldn't worry too much.
Click to expand...

Have you tried any way to stop her? It's so bloody annoying his bucket is bone dry but luckily people are round all day to offer him a drink! He's on haylage too! It's just a habit but a really annoying one as his floor is always soaked!
 
Mine drinks a properly full tub trug every night - we top it up with a bucket to get it right to the top or he's got none left in the morning - probably about 3 'normal' buckets worth. He's always been the same. My share horse on the other hand (same size horse) barely drinks a 1/3 of a trug. I wouldn't worry if he's drinking a lot as long as it's normal for him. I too would switch off the auto drinker and use buckets to monitor just how much he's drinking. He might be a little and often sort of guy.
 
ljohnsonsj said:
Have you tried any way to stop her? It's so bloody annoying his bucket is bone dry but luckily people are round all day to offer him a drink! He's on haylage too! It's just a habit but a really annoying one as his floor is always soaked!
Click to expand...

My friend's horse does this. She puts a dustbin(!) of water next to his hay bar for him to dunk his hay and his water bucket at the other side of the stable. It doesn't stop the water going everywhere but at least he has some to drink too.
 
ljohnsonsj said:
Have you tried any way to stop her? It's so bloody annoying his bucket is bone dry but luckily people are round all day to offer him a drink! He's on haylage too! It's just a habit but a really annoying one as his floor is always soaked!
Click to expand...

She does it on hay or hayledge (although she isn't allowed hayledge), wet or dried. I cut my losses, fed the hay dry and put the water bucket right near her haynets - it seems to stop so much water soaking the front of my stable!

I also have a HUGE and I mean, MASSIVE water trug. I sent my mother out for a water skip and she came back with a paddling pool. It is about twice the size of the normal skip buckets, I fill it about half way and she always has water left come morning :)
 
annagain said:
My friend's horse does this. She puts a dustbin(!) of water next to his hay bar for him to dunk his hay and his water bucket at the other side of the stable. It doesn't stop the water going everywhere but at least he has some to drink too.
Click to expand...

I tried that too, I put one bucket by her hay and another across the stable. The one across the stable always remained untouched. Wally of a horse!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top