Tip... I know from experiance

[RNR]

JUST A LITTLE TIP!!! If your horse is not drinking don't just stick your hand in the bucket

Look around and in it first!!

RNR

 

[crponies]

Ok, now we need the rest of that story!

 

[Sun Runner Stables]

Dead rat or some other critter is my bet.

Yeeesh.

 

[RNR]

Ok so here is the rest of the story! My older stallion has not been drinking much water last night or today I was like that is odd so I got him a salt block poured some cold water in ect thinking when I got home tonight he would have drank it. I went to give him his dinner and I wanted to wash the sticky off my fingers I stuck my hand in the bucket and got the CRAP

Shocked out of my hand.. THe Electric fence had falled down and was touching the Bucket.

So I thought I should share my new found inforamtion and awareness so no one eles gets the rude awwakening i got tonight!

RNR

 

[Sun Runner Stables]

Ouch!!

I had that happen with an outside water bucket-

Went to check the next morning, and noticed that there should have been more water missing-

Did my normal swirl with my hand to loosen the crud and got a handful of dead rat.

Bleh!

 

[RNR]

OH GROSS I WOULD RATHER HAVE THE FENCE SHOCK ME!!

 

[CZP1]

My gelding usually chows on his grain like know tomorrow, if he doesn't eat it there is something seriously wrong! Couldn't understand why he wasn't eating it - there was a little (skink (I call them skanks

) lizard in his grain bucket that couldn't get out. It was funny!

 

[wildoak]

Ouch, that's pretty shocking LOL. I've had the dead critter in the water bucket experience...not fun either.

Jan

 

[ErikaS.]

Ouch, that's pretty shocking LOL. I've had the dead critter in the water bucket experience...not fun either. Jan

My two and a half year old son said to me, " Mommy, mommy, come look! A duck in the water! A duck!"

Well, there WAS a bird in the horse's water, but not a duck and it was doing the backstroke if you get my meaning.

 

[Miniv]

YES! Thank you for that reminder.

We all get "ho hum" with our management when things are going smoothly. And then WHAM.

We have group troughs for many of our kids........and a few months ago I was shocked by something similar to what you described.......It's a WAKE UP CALL. *CHECK YOUR WATER TROUGHS*.......DAILY!!!!

No, our fence wasn't electric near the the trough.....but we've had that happen too........with de-icers in winter.......this time it was a rock chuck! It drowned getting a drink!

Anyway......thank you......

 

[Brandi*]

This same thing happened to me 5-6 years ago with my TB mare at the time. The poor girl! I was so lucky that she didn't colic. Lesson well learned!!!!

 

[candycar]

Dead bugs and shavings- that's why I keep a little fish tank net hanging by the buckets.

 

[christina_ski]

Dead bugs and shavings- that's why I keep a little fish tank net hanging by the buckets.

We are under the attack of these little orange beetles and all the horses water tanks or full of beetles, leaves, and beetle poo everymorning BAD! I use to have a swimming pool, one of those cheap $20 wally world ones till attack of the beetles in one night turned the pool black with I don't wanna know lol

 

[Sterling]

I've had the rodent thing happen before. In the beginning of spring we get the crows coming around dunking their lunch in the horse troth. I've found sandwiches, buffalo wings and ribs--talk about nasty greasy water!!!

 

[laughingllama75]

Electic water heaters in the winter. I stick my hand in daily. Good warning though, some people don't think about it (like me, until I figured out the hard way!)

 

[bfogg]

When we had the horses here I put a length of baled hay twine down in the water buckets. We called them antisuicide ropes for the chipmunks!!! Otherwise we found the usual drowned critters. This way if they climbed down to get a drink they could climb back up!!!

Bonnie

 

[gatorbait4sure]

Wat's a "Rock Chuck"?

Are they related to "Wood Chucks" or "Nim Chucks"?

 

[txminipinto]

I have another tip with water and electric fencing....don't drink from the hose if you are filling a water bucket that's near a hot wire.

It's been so hot, dry, and dusty here that one evening I was feeling especially parched. Not squimish I decide to take a drink from the water hose as I filled a water bucket on the other side of the fence. Well, I didn't notice that the water was pouring over the hot wire. That'll make your lips tingle!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Ouch, that's pretty shocking LOL.

*groan!*

I think the worst thing I've ever personally found in our water trough was a dead squirrel. He was so rigid you could pick him up by the tail like a stick but it was still gross. I think I scrubbed that tub with bleach for at least half an hour!

that's why I keep a little fish tank net hanging by the buckets.

Ditto. For us it's the little pine seedlings. This time of year the paddocks are just red with them and the water tub is full every night.

They don't contaminate the water so it's easy to just scoop them out with the net and voila! Clean H20 for the ponies.

Leia