Not drinking as much, change in poo colour?

[duvet-thief]

I don't know if this is just the change in grass quality. But I have noticed that my old boy isn't drinking as much as usual (normally only leaves an inch in his bucket overnight) for the past few days it's not even been half full.
With this his poo has gotten lighter. But he's still eating . . .

Am I being daft? But considering he's 21 y/o I don't want to take any risks

 

[Wagtail]

I don't know if this is just the change in grass quality. But I have noticed that my old boy isn't drinking as much as usual (normally only leaves an inch in his bucket overnight) for the past few days it's not even been half full.
With this his poo has gotten lighter. But he's still eating . . .

Am I being daft? But considering he's 21 y/o I don't want to take any risks

It has been a lot colder lately and some horses will not drink much water if it's really cold or icy. I would try putting it in his stable warm.

 

[Miss L Toe]

I would try him with two buckets per night, one with a little bit of sugar beet in it, try some slightly warm water, it will make a lot of difference to the temperature overnight. Last week, I had mine standing on bedding and surrounded with bedding, so it did not ice over.

 

[MissTyc]

At this time of year I tend to add a bit of salt to feed to encourage drinking

 

[Goldenstar]

Increase the salt in his feed . Give him warm water and sweetening a second bucket with sugar beet water or apple juince and making his feeds sloppier are all good ideas it's very important you keep,an eye on the quantity and the hardness of his droppings if there are fewer and they look harder speak to vet staight away impaction colic is common at this time of year and often starts slowly and you catch it early if you are on the ball.

 

[be positive]

The lighter colour is probably because he is eating more hay than grass but it is a little worrying that he is not drinking more water, is the hay soaked as this could mean he needs less to drink. The ideas above are all good to try as he must drink to prevent dehydration and possible impaction.

 

[AnnaPureFeeds]

Yeah, you'd be surprised at how much more likely a horse is to drink warm water than really cold water. And warming it slightly (if you can!) will reduce the risk of colic.
Salt is a great way to trigger the thirst mechanism, and is certainly something that can be put into practice. Also, if you make sure that there is lots of hay being eaten, then this will act as a sponge throughout the gastrointestinal system and retain the water that is in there, which means there is more available to be absorbed as it passes through the tract.