vineager in water to stop freezing

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charlie13

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has any one tried this we have no working water at the yard!! so am having to take up from home some one mentioned 2 tsp of vineager in water and it slows down the freezing process any one??? have tried tennis balls, apples but no luck :(
 
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Would you drink water with vinegar in it? All of our water pipes at the yard are frozen too. I just take up a container of water. Tip old water from stable buckets into field bucket and top up stable buckets with fresh. In this weather if the water freezes there is not much you can do about it other than to make sure that they have some to drink! I know we have had a few days of this weather but it's not as if it lasts forever and next week it will be back to normal temp again ( I hope lol)
 
Waterborn said:
If anyone can come up with a solution to this problem, they'll be a millionaire!
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Really? I already know of one. Tank heaters or heated buckets so I'll PM you where to send my million ;) . far below freezing half the year here and have to rely on these for the most part.


When my pipes/spickets freeze I take a bucket of hot water and have to thaw them out slowly. If too much of your pipe is frozen where that is not an option you may want to consider putting a heat lamp on them at night when freezes are predicted. Sounds like your yard owners need to be better prepared as you must get freezes every winter and a yard cannot be left without access to water.
 
Jade, think you would be surprised how many over here just expect you to cope. Like you say, it's not like it's a surprise when the snow and ice comes, but maybe they jus can't be bothered to prepare?
 
JadeWisc said:
Really? I already know of one. Tank heaters or heated buckets so I'll PM you where to send my million ;) . far below freezing half the year here and have to rely on these for the most part.


When my pipes/spickets freeze I take a bucket of hot water and have to thaw them out slowly. If too much of your pipe is frozen where that is not an option you may want to consider putting a heat lamp on them at night when freezes are predicted. Sounds like your yard owners need to be better prepared as you must get freezes every winter and a yard cannot be left without access to water.
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So, do you use tank heaters and are they expensive? I would be interested to see this and understand why not everyone uses them. I have access to hot water etc but time is an issue for me and would appreciate some clever, practical ideas. Perhaps if you could PM details?
 
somethingorother said:
Jade, think you would be surprised how many over here just expect you to cope. Like you say, it's not like it's a surprise when the snow and ice comes, but maybe they jus can't be bothered to prepare?
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I think those that keep horses at home where there is a tap handy are very lucky as, mine are at a field with no running water, with only an 800 gallon rain water tank which is now frozen solid!! It usually does freeze until late Jan/Feb and only for a few weeks but it froze early this year. There is no mains or anything I can use to unfreeze it and I don't drive so can't bring water in containers. I've got to climb under barbed wire into my neighbour's field and go across her field to the river with a stack of buckets, fill up from there and then walk all the way back and under the wire again with buckets of water!

The things we do for horses!
 
We're normally lucky enough to have a field drain running, so we can collect water from there which they quite happily drink. Its not even runnign yet this year though, so resorting to taking it down with us.

Although don't think it froze last, I put a sock over the top of the tap. As with everything, preparation prevents p*ss poor performance :)
 
I just take some old hay preserver barrels, scrub them out thoroughly several times with loads of washing up liquid over the summer (when I got it) and then just leave one in the back of the car or tow it into the field using horse/car.

I have not yet resorted to having to use it, its in the shed ready though.
 
scarymare said:
The tank heaters sound good. We have running streams but are about to move and will really miss this. Will go and google them now.
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Good luck with that cos I can't find anything suitable like they have in the US/Canada! I spent ages on t'internet yesterday and things that came up looking suitable and then I realised you can't get them in good old blighty! Please please let me know if you can find something
 
Heated waterers sound great but they are responsible for an alarming number of stable fires in the US (and they tend to use barn system stabling there so number of fatalities is far higher). I hate lugging water about but I think I'd rather stick to that, TBH.
 
I use a floating tank heater in my large outdoor tank and they cost about $40 USD here. Many people use submersible ones and they are about the same price. You can get a good heated plug in bucket for about $40 to use in stable but I doubt it would be needed where most of you live. Just bang out the frozen and add fresh the next day. Most of your horses will drink a bucket full a night anyhow I imagine.

Most everyone I know here uses tank heaters/de icers and I have never heard of a fire happening. I am sure they can happen and have but they are for them most part very safe and as commonly used here as a lightbulb.

I am not sure what they sell for where you are ( or if they even do) we obviously are frozen solid for months of the year so truly need them here. Our 'everyday' for months on end is like many of you are experiencing now so we have learned how to manage. In fields where there is no access to water or elec most horses are taken off for the winter and only spend summer months in these types of fields. Mine get brought into a smaller paddock for winter where I have water and elec and stay there until spring.
Seeing so many threads today stating that people cannot get to their horses in fields perhaps planning ahead for this may not be a bad idea either. I know the routines and set up most of you have is not geared to this on a daily basis but it does happen from time to time so a little planning ahead goes a long way to avoid chaos in bad weather.
 
sms said:
Good luck with that cos I can't find anything suitable like they have in the US/Canada! I spent ages on t'internet yesterday and things that came up looking suitable and then I realised you can't get them in good old blighty! Please please let me know if you can find something
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I would offer to ship you one from here but I think our plugs are different :D
 
Hmm, I suppose we've had quite mild winters over the last 10 years so wasnt really the market. I see solar panel ones retail for about $800 dollars which means you have to pay tax too. If the next 5 winters are as predicted then I think I'll look into importing some. Surely would sell out in no time!
 
For those who are taking water from a nearby river, it may be worth while taking hot water on tanks in your car instead. Beak and remove the ice in the water trough and fill with the hot water. Add a tennis ball to help stop it from refreezing.

oh and borrow a kids sledge to tow the water tanks on if you need to park away from the horses :-) Much more fun than carrying buckets!
 
_CJ_ said:
For those who are taking water from a nearby river, it may be worth while taking hot water on tanks in your car instead. Beak and remove the ice in the water trough and fill with the hot water. Add a tennis ball to help stop it from refreezing.

oh and borrow a kids sledge to tow the water tanks on if you need to park away from the horses :-) Much more fun than carrying buckets!
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I can't drive though, only have a bike LOL so it's carrying 8 buckets across a field from the river and under barbed wire for me! :p
 
JadeWisc said:
When my pipes/spickets freeze I take a bucket of hot water and have to thaw them out slowly.
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_CJ_ said:
For those who are taking water from a nearby river, it may be worth while taking hot water on tanks in your car instead. Beak and remove the ice in the water trough and fill with the hot water. Add a tennis ball to help stop it from refreezing.
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Not a good idea - hot water actually freezes quicker than cold water so you are accelerating the process. If you don't believe me fill ice cubes with boiling water and one with cold tap water and see which freezes first ;)

Your best bet is to completely start again with the water.

Or alternatively rug up well and turn out in the snow with plenty of hay. If given the choice the horses will choose to eat snow rather than cold water - the air in the snow means it never gets as cold as water...
 
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