Not drinking enough

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Mini~Lover

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My mare(full size) doesnt drink near enough water. SHes not dehiderated or anything, but Id like to see her drink more. especially after I ride her. Is it ok to mix water with her oats to add some moisture? Would that help? Any ideas? Thanks in advance! ~Katie
 
Try cleaning out her water bucket and water troff with baking soda.

Yes it's ok to add some water to oats.

On these really hot days, I make my horses a very sloppy wet serving of beet pulp for the same reason. I want to be sure they are getting adequate water.

Be sure not to be riding in the extreme heat.
 
One of my favorite tricks is to cut up apples carrots and watermelon and put it in the water bucket. You'd be surprised how much water they get while trying to fish them out, plus they have fun doing it too.
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Yes, add water to your oats, if needed to make it wetter you can add to her oats and water mix, some beet pulp and extra water. I make mine with really cold well water and they all seem to love it!
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I switched ALL my biggies to beet pulp and bran from oats. Just so I could get additional water into them. LOVE THAT BEET PULP! You could add table salt to the feed also. I always give electrolytes during really hot weather too.
 
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On these really hot days, I make my horses a very sloppy wet serving of beet pulp for the same reason. I want to be sure they are getting adequate water.
And I do too, for the same reason. The sloppier the better, and they love it.
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Sometimes I will add some salt, even though they all have access to blocks, some of them need a bit of a "push" in the right direction.
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Well my show horses are getting Powerade or Gaterade daily............they will drink it out of the bottles (32oz) and it is so funny as they LOVE it, or If I have worked them and they are hot/thirsty, I will get the power and mix them up about a half of a bucket.

They drink it like it is going out of style. They have automatic waters in their stalls, but they get this as a "treat" on the hot days........

My weanlings are also in a pen that is right by the show barn and now they are on the Powerade bandwagon - they love it!
 
If you really want to see them have even more fun, during that heat wave I made sloppy beet pulp and soaked it in Gatorade. The darn barn cats were eating it too!
 
At my 4-H State show a few weeks ago my friend's horse Red wasn't drinking as much water as she wanted, so she fed him a little bit of peanut butter and he drank a lot after that ;)
 
Neat idea, Marty!

We don't feed beet pulp to everybody, but for situations such as not drinking enough -- a good sloppy beet pulp is the ticket!

Also, for situations on the road??? In this heat, it's almost a requirement to take tubes of Electrolyte PASTE for your horses (and donkeys). We use the paste so we know they are getting it. Then we give them buckets of water in their dividers for the ride....... With the electrolytes, they suck down the water every time.

MA
 
I soak all of my feeds; sweet feed, beet pulp, alfalfa pellets, etc., but I also add regular table salt to their ration. It's great in the hot summer and cold winter where you want to make sure they're drinking enough.
 
I used to add molasses to my big mares water because she wouldn't drink enough. I also added tablesalt to her grain so she would drink. She loved those molasses.

Christy
 
We use electrolytes in the hot summer months added to their grain and a large helping of water mixed with the grain. We don't just make a mush, we add extra water so it is really full of water. They will do anything to get to that grain, even if it means drinking all of the water to get to it.
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First off you have to understand that horses, as people, drink different amounts. One of my Show Team does not drink ANYTHING!! I swear the bucket is exactly the same each morning- turn her out and the water in the paddock can be three days old and she'll drink it!! NOT thirstily- if she did that I would be worried. I always carry my own water and, at the show on Saturday we had an early start and were not back at the trailer before one thirty- maybe a bot later. The other two took a good drink- she stuck her muzzle in and soaked me than had a good laugh and went back to her hay. Since she is nearly five years old and has not dropped dead yet |I consider her drinking habits to be normal. I do not measure the amount of water she drinks form the river, and have not for five years, why should I worry now I know?? Of course I satisfied myself that she was eating normally, not stressed, not dehydrated, etc. But, all things being equal, I would not worry about it- even when it was in the low 90's she did not drink much more and was as healthy as anything.
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My gelding NEVER used to drink at a show, and since he wasn't drinking he wouldn't eat either ... talk about trying to stress me out! We would make him "soup". We feed hay cubes, so we would soak is cubes so they were really sloppy, mix in his grain, and he loved it. He still loves soup, even though after 9 years of showing he drinks good at the shows.

We'll often give all of them soup at a show, or on the way home in the trailer, to make sure they're all properly hydrated. Then you open the trailer door and they're all green to the eyeballs ... and anywhere else the horse beside them can reach them!
 
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With the unusually hot weather this summer we have been giving all our horses electrolytes daily in their feed. This seems to have really helped. The mares drink ALOT more water than the geldings and stallions though. Just each individual horses differences i guess....

jennifer
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THanks guys, thoughs are some great ideas! so putting oats and hay cubes and treats and water together is ok?! i always thought it might make them colic or something, i guess im to paranoid
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THanks for the help!

Katie
 
[SIZE=14pt]I top dress the morning feed with Mineralized salt. That has improved their water consumption.[/SIZE]

Lyn
 

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