Water overnight

[NinjaPony]

Just wondering how much water you give your horses when they come in from the field and overnight. Eg, do you top up at all, how much do you leave them? Having a bit of an issue and want to see whether I’m over reacting...

 

[limestonelil]

Mine have access to water from bucket or trough all the time overnight.

 

[Shooting Star]

Depends on the horse, I’ve had ones that would only drink one to two standard buckets and others that would drink 1.5 plastic trugs worth.

if there isn’t around a standard bucket full left then I always feel that I’ve given too little, I’d rather wash out the buckets with the extra and waste a little than not give enough.

 

[Shady]

Better too much than not enough. I always have at least 35-50 litres and iv'e noticed it varies enormously to how much they drink. Even the type of hay makes a difference to fluid intake with mine. I'd rather chuck a load away than not have enough for them.

 

[Surbie]

I have a 40L trug and a standard bucket in the stable. Some mornings both are near empty, mostly there is about a third left. This is for a 15.1hh heavy cob who is in 5pm to 7am at the moment.

 

[Twohorses]

My horses are home. I'm ok with the horses missing a feeding if they have to but there would be "trouble in River City" if I couldn't keep water in front of them 24/7. We are on unreliable county water so I am anal about keeping their water tubs full at all times.

They have tubs outside during the day. They have a white salt block at each water station plus I add 5cc of table salt to their feed pans

At night one has an 18 liter bucket in his stall because he does the bulk of his drinking before he comes in at night. .

The other horse has a 68 liter tub in his stall because he will drink a lot during the night.

It is winter where I live, with temps at or below freezing off and on -- that means every water container available to the horses is heated

 

[tatty_v]

My horse has two standard buckets to last him 6pm to 8am. Most days he’s drunk one and the other is still full but on occasion he’ll drain both. Sometimes it corresponds with how juicy the grass is/isn’t or how much hay he’s had, but it’s not always fathomable!

 

[SEL]

The little draft will empty 2 trugs most nights. The Appy barely sipps from 1 trug - she's on soaked hay tho

 

[Archangel]

The big horse will drink 60l a night, the large pony about 30l but they get a lot of hay. They drink less with haylage.

 

[Red-1]

We have a trug that holds 3 standard buckets, cleaned and filled daily for when they get in at 4pm. At 10pm we generally pop another bucket in. There is generally at least 1.3 a trug in the morning. I get upset if it goes too low. Don't want to risk colic.

 

[MrsMozart]

They always have two full trug buckets. Wouldn't leave them with any less.

 

[NinjaPony]

Alright, glad to know I’m not going mad. I’ve had a bit of a disagreement with the water situation at my yard. When I’ve come up around 7pm after work to see my pony (he’s on ‘full’ retirement livery, stabled etc), he’s only had about an inch of water left. So I’ve been topping it up every time but I can’t come up every day. Turns out this is because he only gets half a trug which is expected to last from 3pm-7:30am. He’s been drinking the top up every time. So asked if he could have a full bucket and got told no, because he leaves the small inch so ‘no point’. I know this is because he doesn’t like drinking stale water- he likes a fresh top up. Fussy yes, but I didn’t think it was a big deal. All my years of livery I’ve never had an issue with amount of water. It never even crossed my mind they would say no...

 

[Tiddlypom]

Oh dear, that is absolutely unacceptable. Free access to water is as basic as it gets. Is their water metered? I've known similar happen on a yard which had metered water.

 

[pippixox]

Agree that is not ok.
Mine actually prefer their scummy metal trough water in the field so tend to drink more when they go out (mostly live out) but they will get through a big container a night each when in, I wish it was less as I have to push containers to a tap bit that near the barn!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

B Fuzzy clears the equivalent of about 2 full buckets between 5pm & 6am, her trug holds 3. She's on ad lib dry hay.
The little ones hardly drink at all, usually about an inch of a water bucket in winter if in overnight.
L Fuzzy can do 2 buckets but usually its equivalent of just over 1.

I'm metered, I do watch what I use for anything else, but they will NEVER go short of fresh water in stables daily.
Even the tinies left over water from stables is tipped out into a field tank or used for rinsing feed buckets & replenished with fresh daily.

OP, that is def not ok in my opinion!

 

[be positive]

They have as much as they need, usually a full trug for each but if one routinely drinks to less than 1/3rd overnight they get an extra bucket, I do late checks so have a good idea of when they drink, if they need topping up then they would also get an extra bucket early to save me doing it at late checks, there is the odd occasion one drinks more or less than normal but to only give enough to routinely leave an inch, which many will not drink, seems extremely tight or lazy.
He is in a long time for a retired pony and should not be spending a long period without water, they also tend to stop eating if they are genuinely thirsty.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We use 50l trugs. When the cob took to tipping over her trug we gave her 2, because we really did not want her to be without water overnight. I would not leave my horse somewhere where access to water is restricted.

 

[catkin]

OP
That is NOT OK! access to drinking water is just about the most basic need. And your pony is actually being very sensible in wanting to drink fresh water.
I would suggest that in not providing drinking water that the yard is either breaking the law or very very close to it.


PS for my ponies, the little 10 hander usually drinks a standard bucket-full overnight and the 13.3 drinks two - they drink more in dry weather or if they eat more hay (ie snow and frost) We top-up at night-stables, and will always replace water that's got a bit dirty or full of bits of hay. We are on a meter.

 

[milliepops]

Oh blimey, that's really not acceptable

Mine have swimming pool sized trugs, I tend to put 4 standard buckets in. Kira will usually have plenty left the next day (I'm going up once a day now as turn out is done for me in the mornings), salty sometimes drinks it all and other times just makes it dirty by dunking her hay

 

[Alibear]

We're really lucky on livery with this as every box has a corner manger with a tap over it so really easy to refit. The grooms love that Daisy drinks so much as it means they only have to tip an inch out to wash and refill it in the mornings and that's with it being brim full at late checks. Its lovely not having to lug water buckets around.

 

[Blurr]

If your horse has dry hay, can you ask for soaked? It will reduce his need for water. If he's on dry hay with restricted access to water, I'd worry about the potential for impaction colic.

 

[Michen]

We're really lucky on livery with this as every box has a corner manger with a tap over it so really easy to refit. The grooms love that Daisy drinks so much as it means they only have to tip an inch out to wash and refill it in the mornings and that's with it being brim full at late checks. Its lovely not having to lug water buckets around.

But that’s the same as OP, there only ever being an inch of water left. I wouldn’t be happy with that at all- mine would never drain his water bucket empty, he will stop drinking if there’s only a little left in the bottom.

 

[whiteflower]

If there is an inch left is that because that's the inch he can't actually drink as he needs to submerge his lips inorder to drink ? If so then he's running out and you are right to be concerned. I like to see at least 1/3 of a trug left for mine in the morning

 

[Alibear]

But that’s the same as OP, there only ever being an inch of water left. I wouldn’t be happy with that at all- mine would never drain his water bucket empty, he will stop drinking if there’s only a little left in the bottom.

That means she's had the best part of 30 litres overnight from about 11pm to 7am, so I'm happy with that. She's not big either, about 14.2 Also if you top it up before turn out in the am she's not really interested so I don't think she's left thirsty.

 

[Hallo2012]

can you buy a bigger trug (or do you think they will then only fill 1/3 full???)

 

[Polos Mum]

What was the reason for 'no' ? You're the paying customer and if you want your horse to have 2 4 or 8 water buckets as long as not harm will come to him from that I don't know why they would say no. Unless they are saying they don't have time to fill two buckets? - in which case I'd offer a bit more £ to get the service I was looking for (if everything else on the yard was OK)

 

[ester]

Ours have trugs they are about 6 buckets full. Mine drinks a fair bit and with less we’d always be thinking we should top up at late night checks. They don’t get completely fresh every day then though.

 

[Darbs]

OP if I was in your position, I would give whoever is restricting the water a £2 coin, which in the UK buys well over 1000 litres of mains water (one metric tonne!), then ask for all the water your horse needs.

 

[Hipo]

That's ridiculous.
Mine have constant access to water as they have auto drinkers, but when they had buckets, Highland would have one full to brim large trug and one full to brim medium trug. Is it because they are metered, can't be bothered or trying to stop them weeing so much?
Whatever the reason it's not acceptable.

 

[holeymoley]

That’s nuts. My guy has a full large tub trug of water. He’s a bit funny with stale water so normally drinks right away then it gets topped up.

I have heard of a yard near me doing this, they used to draw lines on the bucket too. Needless to say they didn’t keep a lot of liveries.