Using an automatic drinker for the first time

Birker2020

Birker2020

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 October 2008
Messages
23,595
Visit site
As far as I know my horse has never used an automatic stable drinker in his life - he is 16 and has always had a bucket of water or a water tub on wheels.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can help him to adjust......or do they just get thirsty, smell water and then start drinking it?

I am moving to a very smart yard soon and it has one of these. I am getting a bit worried that he might bite it or lean on it, or do something silly with it. How do I 'teach him' to use it?? I wondered if putting a sweet in there might help but that might encourage him to chew it or stand for hours waiting for it to dispense extra strong mints! :) :)
 
Patterdale said:
He'll just drink when he's thirsty. I wouldn't worry about it.
Click to expand...

This.

They just figure it out. My friend moved in with her 16 yr old warmblood a few weeks ago and he took to it straight away. When they bring the yearlings in from the barn at the yard they also get it straight away. Im sure yours will too :)
 
They can sense where the water is, what i dont like about them is you dont know how much your horse is drinking, much prefer a bucket, dont forget the clean behind the pipe inlet can get really filthy there, sludge, bird poo etc
 
I worried a bit about this especially as daughters pony has sight problems and is nervous anyway but even he took to it no problem.
It's one of those no need to worry worries honestly! X
 
putasocinit said:
They can sense where the water is, what i dont like about them is you dont know how much your horse is drinking, much prefer a bucket, dont forget the clean behind the pipe inlet can get really filthy there, sludge, bird poo etc
Click to expand...
I agree with this. There was a horse at the RS I used to go to that could not be persuaded that automatic drinkers were not the work of the devil and had to have a bucket, but he was also a hay dunker, so perhaps that was why!!
 
Have never had a problem converting to waterer - except the pony who was initially terrified of the sound of the water valve - he would drink and then rush to the other side of the stable while it refilled! He did get used to it in the end.
 
Gwyntbryn said:
Have never had a problem converting to waterer - except the pony who was initially terrified of the sound of the water valve - he would drink and then rush to the other side of the stable while it refilled! He did get used to it in the end.
Click to expand...

This!!

If they are thirsty they will drink from it, may be a bit startled at first with the noise but will quickly get used to it. I find the more fussy owners who used to worry about their horse not drinking from it, would also put a bucket in the stable. This usually meant the horse would prefer to drink from the bucket because it's what they are used to, thereby defeating the object of having the waterers in the first place as they are meant to save you the trouble of filling buckets!
 
I have automatic heated drinkers in all of my fields and once in a while we get a horse in who hasn't used one before. It takes them about 2 minutes to get used to it normally. Once I had a horse who had clearly been shocked by one elsewhere so she took a bit more persuading and I did in fact leave a large rubber bucket right next to it for about a week, then took the bucket away and hey presto she drank.
 
You'll know if he's not using it as it'll get a layer of dust over the surface after a couple of days. Most adjust fine, we've got one that still hasn't though, he'll drink from it about once a month but the refilling sound scares him so much he wont do it again for a while so he needs a bucket.

Another quick word on them, make sure they get cleaned properly as the amount of disgusting gunk that gets under the metal bit (or any crevice) is foul and smells rancid!
 
Patterdale said:
He'll just drink when he's thirsty. I wouldn't worry about it.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bet on it! When I imported Karina and Cleo (aged 9 and 3) they were 'held' by the transporter at his very posh yard for a week, as wind had stopped the ferries taking horses! He persevered with them for 24 hours with automatic waterers - and tried them outside the stable after 8 hours with a bucket. They drained 2 each! He tried for another 8 hours - same result - they had totally gone without water to the point of being seriously thirsty. He gave in and put water containers in their stables!

I wouldn't 'trust' conversion without regular checks.
 
Thanks for your replies! I guess you are right he will learn when he is thirsty. I say that all the time about his hay, if he is fussy about the new hay I've got him and won't eat it, he soon will when he's hungry! :)

He is a really quick learner and learnt how to use his snackaball in about ten minutes and within a couple of days learnt that all he had to do was have the yellow screw on cap uppermost and rock it a few times and he didn't even need to push it around for the nuts to fall out the bottom.

And I taught him to overturn a bucket inside another bucket containing his hay in his field by showing him I was placing it over his feed in his stable. It took him about five seconds to work that out! I guess I am stressing as I will die if he tries to chew it or rubs his itchy backside on it and breaks it and we have a shower of water everywhere!

Its just its rather a posh professional yard I am moving to and I keep waking up in the night with what if's!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top