Nudge waterers anyone?

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MrsNorris

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Have automatic nudge waterer at new yard but horse wont use it. He doesn't seem to mind the noise, not scared or anything, but he just prefers a bucket. Have shown him how it works, but I havent seen him do it himself yet.
Dont want to just leave him without a water bucket until I know for sure that he can use it properly, but when he has a bucket he has no incentive to try, so its a bit of a catch 22.
I have a dodgy back, so need to get him using it asap, its taking ages at the moment to fill up his water a few inches at a time, as I cant carry anything heavy :(
Any genius ideas gratefully received!
 
I had the opposite problem. Took my welsh cob hunting and stayed over the weekend with huntsman and his family in kennels. Horse put away with the hunt horses in a big barn, he was in the furthest stable from the barn doors with fours horses below him.

The following morning the grooms were huffing and puffing and calling my cob a few names. He had played with his new watery toy all night and flooded his own and his friends stables. Naughty cob.
 
I have nudge waterers in 4 boxes and have never had a problem teaching anyone to use them. Every time you go into the box fill the trough by pushing the "nudge" yourself and he will get used to going over and drinking whats in it and will push the "nudge" while drinking. Just make sure the "nudge" is loose enough that it doesn't take too much pushing as it should be fairly sensitive so that only a slight nudge will result in water flow.

Tbh I often worry myself that they don't get enough water from them (I wonder do they get a big/long enough drink) but if I offer them a bucket of water in the am they are not interested so I guess they get enough.

I only got mine as the local hardware store had got them in as a special order for someone whose horses wouldn't/couldn't use them and they returned them and the manufacturer gave the hardware store credit for them and the hardware store gave them to me as luck/discount when I bought 8 normal ones (I needed 12):)
 
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TBB - can you change the pressure on the nudge then? I've got them in my stables (I wasn't at home the day the builders fitted the stables as they're not the automatic drinkers I would have chosen) & the horses drink out of them & I know they nudge them sometimes but if the bowl is empty they haven't got the hang of nudging for more water! I'm getting fed up of putting buckets in the stables as well!
 
Thanks everyone, good and bad experiences there then, will definitely try the apple bobbing, I know he will slurp the water if I fill it for him cos its sometimes empty in the morning, but he hasn't yet pushed the mechanism to refil it whilst I've been there and because I dont know if he does, I cant risk him being without all night.
Thought having automatic drinkers was supposed to make life easier!
 
I'm not sure tbh Wells as I haven't had to alter mine!, I think you can loosen it a bit with a spanner but I haven't had to try. You will find that the bowl is nearly always empty even when they are using it as they will stop nudging it when they have enough and it will stop supplying water. Just try offering them a drink in the am out of a bucket, no need to fill it, and if they drink it all down in one go they are not using it but if they just take a mouthful its most likely they just took a drink because "its a bucket and my owner is willing to carry it to me"!
 
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