Water in Field - essential at all times?

G

Gorgeous George

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 April 2007
Messages
6,268
Location
Essex
Visit site
Do you think it is essential for a horse to have access to water in the field at all times? My boy has been coughing on dry hay in the field, so we tried him in a paddock on his own but he wouldn't settle. The next idea is to split the winter turnout paddock in two so he can have half to himself and have haylage but still be able to see his mates etc. The problem is there would be no trough/water supply in his half, bearing in mind he will be turned out for 3-4 hrs and only in the winter (not in hot weather) is it essential he has water? I realise in an ideal world the answer is yes, but I just wondered what people's thoughts are? When in his stable he has unlimited access to water.

Please be gentle if this is a stupid idea, i will just have to think of a way of getting water to his half of the paddock and sorting out a suitable container for it.

Thanks :)
 
Buy a huge trug tub and fill it up, if you're lucky you would probably be able to fill it up every other day unless the water gets really mucky.
 
I would imagine that a bucket of water will suffice. My honest answer to your question is no, not really essential for short periods of time. The recent thinking is that is essential that a horse has adequate hydration over a 24hr period, but anything up to 6 hours is a ''safe'' time without water.
 
Well considering how little 4 mares drink when out 8-5 I don't think it would seriously damage him. Obviously not the best idea but still not that bad.

A riding school I used to work in had ponies that lived tied in a barn 4 days a week (turned out the rest of the time 24/7). They didn't have water buckets and were offered water every hour or two and tried for a drink before every lesson. We finished work at 5pm and didn't start until 8am. they were offered water before the YO went to bed and didn't have anymore until 8 in the morning. Not ideal, not my choice. But the ponies seemed quite happy, didn't show any signs of dehydration and didn't always take a drink when they were offered it.

3-4 hours in the field at this time of year when the grass is damp probably won't bother him but for the sake of topping up a bucket a few times a week it's probably not worth the abuse you would get from others for not giving him a bucket.
 
Well, my lot drink very little in their fields during the winter, but if they are eating hay or haylage, they definitely do drink quite a lot. If it was me, I would have a big bucket out there, and stand a jerry can next to it that you can top up from. :)
 
I think two hours would be fine, but would be uncomfortable leaving a horse without for much longer than that. Three hours maybe okay. Many horses go for long hacks up to 2 - 3 hours and are therefore working without water.
 
i'd get a medium sized tubtrug and put that out - taht would allow access to water but is very carriable. in such a short period i'd not expect the horse to drink much if anything but better to allow water
 
Our field has a stream running round it but it tends to run dry at times so I supplement the water with 2 x 20 litre trugs. My top tips for watering this way are:
tie trugs to fence with baler twine - then they don't blow away/get kicked over
Collect 4, 6-litre milk containers to fill - they're far easier on the wrists and back than a huge water jack and are not much more of a pain to fill, also far easier to empty into the bucket especially if you're pouring over the fence
Sacrifice a hessian 'bag for life' - the 4 milk containers will slot into one and give you 24 litres of water in one go.
:)
 
Since posting this I have been thinking about this, the reason I asked is that the ground is very poached etc. so a bucket would probably fall/get kicked over. I have now seen online an 80litre plastic bucket with handles which would probably be more stable, so I think that would be the best idea, and I will be happier.
 
Che has his own field with no trough in it. I have a large tub trug with handles. a lump of rock in the bottom for stability and I fill it by bucket from the main trough in the next field. Until March he stays in at night and I only need to top it up a couple of times a week, give it a thorough scrub at weekends though. Overnight he has two full buckets and they are never empty so he must be getting enough to drink. During summer I make sure he has two trugs and fill them with fresh every day, but with more daylight its not a problem. Going back to your original question though, the horrid little welshie in the next paddock and stable to Che tips his water over within minutes of coming in at night (we have yet to find a way to stop him) so he stands in for up to 12 hours with no water and he doesnt seem to have suffered, he never makes a dash for the trough in the morning!
 
I think you'd be ok not to but I personally wouldn't feel comfortable doing it since it's such a basic need. The girls in our yard have their fields fenced off into fifty thousand sections and they do what is suggested above; a tub trug filled with water. A simple solution to a basic need:)
 
Don't shoot me - I think he would probably be fine at this time of year with no water for that amount of time - if it's cold it may well freeze anyway. I put water out in a tub trug and stand it in an old tyre to stop him kicking it over but he hardly drinks anything at this time of year and is out from 7am to 5pm. I tend to carry a couple of watering cans out to fill it, easier to carry than a bucket.

Different in summer, have automatic drinkers on but turn them off because of freezing in the winter.

Runs and hides......
 
My first reaction is that I would never leave a horse in the field without water but then I would take G for a lesson with my trainer and he'll be without water for four hours as he won't drink away from home.

If at all possible I'd buy a large tub trug, pop a brick in the bottom so it doesn't get kicked over and then fill it up with a water carrier but he probably won't suffer unduly if its only for a few hours every day.
 
Mine don't drink huge amounts in the field in cold weather, especially if the grass is wet and they're on haylage rather than hay. They often refuse water after lessons/hacks away from home, so can go hours without a drink.

I use a tub trug and take water to it in a plastic jerry can in a wheelbarrow - tip the wheelbarrow onto it's handles, open the lid and the water pours perfectly into the tub trug :) I used to struggle lifting it until OH showed me this useful trick :rolleyes:
 
In an ideal world then yes, I would get water to the field. However I have noticed that my horses come down to the trough to drink a couple of times a day only so I would say that a few hours in the field without water would not be the end of the world, especially if your horse had access to water before andvafter turnout.

I picked up a couple of old baths free from a builder which I fill with water when the troughs are frozen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top