Empty h2o buckets

[LittleRibbie]

Does anyone hang 2 h2o buckets for their stalled horses. I use just the regular size buckets and they have always been OK. I refill last barn check of the night...usually at 9. Lately a couple of them have been almost dry in the AM at about 7/8am. The only thing diferent that Im now feeding is a handful of boss every night. I used to just feed them a handful on occasion...does that make them thirsty? I should be happy thay their drinking plenty of water. The horse thats drinking the most is Holly...who we think is prego....is it normal for pregnant mares to drink more?

Thanks for your thoughts

 

[Becky]

Pregnant mares always seem to drink more water especially late term. I use 5 gallon buckets in my foaling stalls. I don't want my mares to run out of water!

 

[Joanne]

I have a few mares that will drink most of their 5 gallon buckets at night when they are pregnant.

We have ours in the corner on the ground and have a snug fitting tire they fit into.

 

[Charlotte]

Water is top priority around here. I use 5 gallon buckets wherever needed and at night in winter, if some of the buckets aren't heated, I will add a gallon of hot water. This really increases the amount the horses will drink and I feel saves me vet bills for impaction colics.

I would think anything dry you add to the horse's feed program would require more water for them to process. Also, don't sunflower seeds have quite a bit of protein? If that's the case they might drink more for that reason. I've never looked into feeding the sunflwer seeds as I use a diet blanacer and don't want to mess up the vitamin/mineral ratio.

Charlotte

 

[Texasspook]

Check your buckets for hairline cracks. I had one that was low a couple of mornings and when I started really looking it was damp underneath the bucket. I checked the bottom of the bucket and it had a very fine crack in it.

 

[LittleRibbie]

Thanks, I never thought of looking for cracks...but I did and no cracks...just thirsty horses I guess. I'll head to TS in the morning and get a bigger bucket. Even here in Fl. I do occasionally fill w/hot water in the winter and they always seemed to drink the same amt. its just recently started and mostly in Hollys stall.

Thanks,

Heidi

 

[Katiean]

My mares have NOT been drinking all the water I think they should. Princess, since she has been brought into a stall all but quit drinking as long as she was in the stall. When I was in Utah I found this stuff made by Mana Pro that is a multi-species electrolyte supplement called "Bounce Back". It comes in a 4 lb bag and mixs very easily in water. I add it to my beet pulp. They have no choice but to consume it. This way I know they are going to retain the fluid they need. As the weather warms up I hope I won't need it. I am going to see if I can get the local feed store to cary it since it can be used in cows, horses, sheep,goats, Llama/alpaca, fawn or elk calf, pig, dog or cat including the baby version of any of the animals mentioned. For horses you give 1 scoop (inclosed) per quart of water. I use 5 quarts of water in my beet pulp when I mix it all in 1 bucket for all 4 horses. Our water hose is running at the moment so there is plenty of fresh water out there for all.

 

[bonloubri]

We have 5 gallon heated buckets and I have noticed that ALL of our horses are drinking more.

 

[MiLo Minis]

I find all of my horses tend to drink more in the winter. A good dry cold windy winter day can easily rival a hot summer day for water consumption. We used heated pails and troughs with heaters in them. I check and fill the pails 3 times daily. The troughs get filled every night to be sure no one can't reach the water. I use lower troughs in the summer and only have to fill them every few days because then I want to clean them out regularly without wasting a lot of water so I let them drink them right down. In the winter I want to be sure the water covers the heaters at all times and of course nothing is growing in them so they don't need cleaned out as often. I use a large fish net to clean the troughs in the winter.

Remember that once your mares foal their water consumption will increase dramatically as well!

 

[LittleRibbie]

Thanks ya'll!! Just replaced all buckets, the 5 gal ones!! I like the idea of using lower troughs....I empty daily and sometimes I do feel like Im really wasting the water...not to mention they are so dang heavy to tip over and empty.

 

[wantminimore]

At the moment I have a pregnant mare in with her 2 yr old filly, this is just a temp. thing and i've noticed that their 5 gal bucket has less water in it then normal when I go out for the am feeding. I use 5 gal buckets in all of the stalls and I have a few that don't even drink half a bucket at night, they hardly put a dent in it, that's been normal for them all along.