How to Water a Horse

A steady supply of clean and fresh water plays an essential part in the care of your horse. You have to make sure that your horse is always having sufficient water in its stable and pasture. While traveling, dehydration is an apprehension and during events or long trail rides, you must give water frequently to your horse. You can get a good deal of knowledge about how to water a horse in the following lines.

Quantity of Water Required by Horse

The requirements of individual horses widely differ. Factors that affect the amount of water required by a horse are workload, pregnant or nursing mare, air temperature, size, food, and health. Unsullied hygienic water should be made available to horses all the time. Insufficient water can throw in poor health. Dehydration can cause grave results. Colic can be the result of lack of water particularly during the winter season when the diet of a horse may be based on more or less exclusively dry hay. Unhygienically offered water to your horse may carry bacteria and viruses that can make it sick.

Methods of Providing Water to the Horse

In stables, you can use buckets or automatic waterers to provide water to your horses. The latter ones are easy to be used but it is intricate to scrutinize how much water your horse is drinking. Automatic waterers may be new to horses and they may feel uncomfortable with these apparatuses. It is convenient to clean buckets and they are safe to be used.

Water Concerns in Winters

If you reside in an area of chilling cold, water can freeze here. Thus, you need to have heaters. There are heated buckets available for horses. The water will be kept at a pleasant temperature with the help of trough heaters. They also avert outdoor supplies from freezing. If the water is too cold to be drunk, the horses will not drink it. In case, you do not have heaters, clear the ice. You can do this with help of plastic pails with a rubber mallet. The process is, however, time taking and can cause the breaking of the pail. Another method is to use hot water to kill the chill of the water but its effect is transitory.

In the meadow, you may rely on a natural water source. During freezing weather, there are requirements for alternative water sources. Ensure that the banks of ponds and streams are safe for horses to get to water. If the bank becomes too dubious, the horses may not safely advance or get out of the water. Fence off the treacherous water sources. It is not possible for a horse to eat adequate snow to endow it with sufficient moisture. Indoor and outdoor automatic systems should be examined every day to make sure that they are working properly.

Maintaining a Fresh Water Supply

Automatic waterers, troughs, or buckets that you are using outdoors have to be cleaned and regularly refilled. Clear out the chaff, insects, leaves, and other debris every day. Clean the containers appropriately. Natural sources may not be secure and should be monitored for water quality.

Watering a Horse as it Weighs

The approximate amount of water to be consumed by a horse according to its weight is listed below-

Body Weight Minimum Average Maximum

900 lbs or 410 kgs 3 gals or 13.5 l 4.5 gal or 20 l 6 gal or 27 l
1200 lbs or 545 kgs 4 gals or 18 l 6 gal or 27 l 8 gal or 36 l
1500 lbs or 680 kgs 5 gals or 22.5 l 8 gal or 36 l 10 gal or 45 l

Source: About.com: Horses

The constant provision of cold, fresh water is a vital element of good stable management and horse mastership. If you are mounting a horse, dismount it before giving water, loosen the girth, and take the bit out of the horse’s mouth. Never give water immediately before exercise. You can take advice from your local health unit or agricultural extension on how to test the water for the safety and health of your horses.

See more: How to Treat a Horse with a Cold