Why is he so wet?!!

Trish C

Trish C

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My new boy is settling in very well - exactly a week from his arrival and, apart from being a bit of a pain by not standing still beside the mounting block (which we will start training tomorrow!) he's been excellent. Previous owner warned that he can be problematic to catch but neither I nor the yard owner have had a problem. He has fantastic stable manners and is a joy to ride.

However, he is the dirtiest horse I have ever owned. He p*sses a great deal more than even the proverbial racehorse. He does what, to me, seems like a normal amount of droppings but every day his bed is absolutely soaking. It isn't water bucket spillage as the stable has an automatic waterer which he would have to be a magician to spill over his entire (huge) stable. He's fed on hay and a scoop of sugarbeet morning and night. He was on sand school turnout for the first few days whilst he adjusted and for the last few days he's been out to grass during the day.

What I'm wondering is this: could it mean he has any difficiencies (or surpluses?) in his diet? Or is he just a thirsty horse and drinking too much?! His droppings were loose for the first couple of days but they're absolutely fine now.

Any ideas?
 
Have you asked the previous owner what is normal for him? A friend of mine had a mare loan who came with an enormous water bucket for her stable as she drank loads and then of course out it all came! This was normal for her and she had always been like it. If it's not normal for him then I'd be wanting a vet out to look into it.
 
quirky said:
How is he rugged?
If he is too hot, he will drink more and what goes in has to come out :).
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He isn't - no rug at all as he'd been living outside all winter in previous home (he hasn't been in work for months) without a rug, so I decided to leave it off since he's stabled at night up here. And since he lived out before, previous owner says she doesn't know what he was like. Stumped! :confused:

I think the vet is visiting the yard anyway this week so I'll maybe ask him then.
 
My TBxID always appears a lot wetter in his stable than my TB. The TB always wees in the same spot where as my other lad wees in a different place every time so literally the whole of the middle of the bed is wet. Also when he lies down, this seems to spread the wet through the bed.

If the vet can't find a physical problem, might be worthwhile observing him to see if he also wees all around the bed. Hope you are not are shavings like I have to be as it gets very expensive!
 
Hmmm, maybe it's that vetsbestfriend. His stable is MASSIVE (it's a very VERY large corner mare/foal box which they call the 'ensuite' at the yard) and he still manages to cover it. If it's that though I'll just have to grin and bear it. Though I suppose the further into the year we get the more turnout the horses get so the less time he spends in his stable!

Mercifully we're on straw... shavings are at a truly stupid price over here at the moment.
 
hes probably drinking because hes bored, since hes used to being outside all the time!Mine goes for a good scuba dive in his drinker every so often when hes left to his own devices in the stable and spends his time between the jolly ball and playing with the drinker! ;)
 
also rubber matting might be a good idea for the winter months as you'd use less bedding and therefore save money in the long run! :) ive too much experience with dirty horses!! :D :D
 
Could be that as well Spins! The yard has a variety of horsey toys around and he's had a few of those at various times, and loved them all. May look into some other things to keep him occupied. Also he'll be getting into regular work now as well and I'm going to start clicker training him so that might keep him mentally stimulated and, along with the increased turnout, hopefully this'll improve situation... hadn't thought that drinking could be a boredom reflex. Although I've been known to drink (smirnoff) when I'm bored :D He's certainly very curious and likes to investigate everything - figures out stuff very quickly and is very clever so could easily be a boredom thing. Must invent new games!

I'm loathe to put in rubber matting just yet as I'm waiting on finding out whether I might get a PhD at a new university in which case I'll be moving home in a few months - as will he and our everything! I previously had a very dirty CB (didn't ***** and p*ss much more than most horses, just had an incredible ability to distribute to every last little nook and cranny of his box) and rubber matting was great for him. Just don't want to splash out on it down here if I'm moving home after a while, where the boxes are matted anyways.

If not I'll look into how much sugarbeet he's getting, thanks Sov-n-Dom :)
 
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haha sounds just like our lad.. hes a big chestnut fella too... always looking around etc etc got to the point during sj team training one summer he peed 3 times in the space of 2 hrs (was quite embarrassing :D) but it was all because we had kept him the day/night before to keep the bugger clean! (we realised after we got his urine analysed- not fun trying to collect it let me tell you! :D :D) Sounds like he'll be having lots of fun in no time anyway! Can't wait to see the pics/updates :)
 
Hehe, gotta love a character! :D

To hijack the thread (tis my thread so I'll hijack it if I want to!), he's been a superstar so far - touch wood - everyone on the yard is mad about him already. Rode him in the sand school for the first time yesterday and he went brilliantly - only spooked once when the YO and one of the other livery owners popped up onto a roof to inspect the tiles... and in fairness I jumped when I saw the two of them appear!

The yard is brilliant as well, cups of tea on tap whenever I'm there, everyone's uber-lovely and helpful and great craic. We have plans to go for a few 'bonding' drinkies on Thurs, woo! Happy happy :)
 
Should maybe adapt PhD topic to thread hijacking, might be more successful :D

He had some nice lateral work established with the previous owner for a while when she first got him, but he turned out to be so safe and bombproof that she then used him more for trekking (he was in Dingle so pure trekking country). As such he's not really done much schoolwork for the last couple of years. He has stunning paces though - lovely engaged walk, nice uphill canter and an extended trot that made me drool when I went to see him - and a good jump. So even I should be able to make something of him ;) going to give us a few weeks to get to know each other then get an instructor up. Would love to get back into competitive dressage eventually :)
 
Whats his diet like? Excessive amounts of drinking (leading to lots of urine!) could indicate protein overload. But also agree it could be boredom :)
If you do stay, i also highly reccomend rubber matting, you can hose it etc, make it so much easier! :D x
 
Teasle, I checked this and I'm almost positive it's not - and the two lads were up on the roof the other day and they couldn't find anywhere it could leak. Also the floor where his bedding isn't is dry, so it would have to be a leak over a full three quarters of the stable and not a drop on the other quarter! Wish it was though, would be an easy fix ;)

Selinaswift - sugarbeet and hay, how's that on protein? Totally, if I do stay I'll invest in matting, we had it in all our boxes at our old place and it was the best decision we ever made for time and money saving. :)
 
When I was first introducing my youngster to stables he was very wet and absolutely trashed his stable every night. Over time it has settled down. My boy had lived out for the first 2 years of his life until I bought him and then we moved to a yard that insisted they came at night over the winter. It just took a bit of time, now he can still be a bit messy, but thankfully no where near what he was like before!
 
I think he's got plenty of bedding amymay - big thick helping of straw across three quarters of a huge stable. I've put as much as I feel justifiable in, and he's just soaking it all, so I don't want to keep putting more and more in when I just have to throw it all out the next day. He practically has to step up to bed as it is at the moment anyways! :D

mmel001 - good to know, thanks :) maybe it is just an 'unsettled' reaction. He seems very laid back and chilled out in every other way though, but fingers crossed for the improvement over time (coupled with more work/mental stimulation/turnout!) thing :)
 
I,ve noticed that Nas is a lot wetter since the winter started, i,m assuming its because he is in more. and its chilly out. normally in the summer its just one wet patch but recently its been averaging at about 3 big ones. we are on shavings the only way i keep on top of it is a deeper bed. which i dig out once a week...
i dont like doing it that way. i used to turn the bed everyday but it was costing too much on bedding and then muck heap removal.

sounds like you are getting of to a great start with him though, your posts made me :)
 
Trish C said:
I think he's got plenty of bedding amymay - big thick helping of straw across three quarters of a huge stable. I've put as much as I feel justifiable in, and he's just soaking it all, so I don't want to keep putting more and more in when I just have to throw it all out the next day. He practically has to step up to bed as it is at the moment anyways! :D
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A full bed would probably make a world of difference.

How many hours a day is he in for??
 
His stable is absolutely vast - he already has more than a normal size stable's worth of bed in his box. Really the only part of the box that doesn't have bed on is the part where he's fed his hay (on the floor) and to leave a clear space for the door (which is on an angle). Realistically it's less 3/4-1/4 split and more 7/8-1/8 split. I might try bringing the bed a bit further into the one corner that isn't bedded - although there's only a couple of feet that isn't bedded there anyway - but I don't want to bring it too close to the door or his hay.

He's been in for longer than I'd like for the last week, only having three or four hours out per day, since he was new and we were gradually introducing him to the other horses, but he's now going out for longer (9amish - 4.30pmish). This will increase the further the year goes on, but the yard are still in 'grass conservation' mode for another little while.
 
He's been in for longer than I'd like for the last week, only having three or four hours out per day,
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So unless you were skipping out and freshening up his bed quite a few times a day - this will be another reason for a messy, wet bed.

I expect once he's out for several hours a day you'll notice a huge difference.
 
My cob is only in for 4 or 5 hours and he'll drink 2 big skip buckets of water! I've had him since he was 3 and he's always been a huge drinker, therefore it obviously follows he wee's alot too. He's been checked out by my vet and he said it's just his thing and it's nothing to worry about. ;) Likely your lad is the same but won't harm just asking for the vets opinion. My lad farts all the time too..not sure it's related!! I just say he's a typical fella!!:rolleyes:
 
Straw is a drainage bed and doesn't really soak up the pee .

My 14.3 Connemara is very wet also and if ever he is on straw its just horrid , my clothes stink after mucking out.
He's on a deep litter shavings bed at his Livery Yard. Its still not great but hugely better than straw. To make matters worse he much prefers being out so almost boxwalks when he's in and mashes the dung into the bed.

I take him away a lot and have had him on all sorts if beds and different mats and matresses .
Straw or mats with not enough soakage on top are the worst. Sawdust and shavings a lot better and at least I don't stink. :rolleyes:

The only thing he hasn't been on so far is wood pellets I'd love to compare them.

I've a feeling Alfalfa can make them pee more but don't know for sure.

Could the waterer be leaking when he puts pressure on it ?
I would be inclined to cut off the waterer and put in one of the large water buckets so at least you know how much he's drinking . Do it for a couple of weeks just to see.

Look on the bright side , you wont ever have to worry about dehydration.:D
 
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