won't drink water

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kimlucky13

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OK, here I go again with the questions. I have 4 mini's and a TWH that is 3 y/o and 16 hands but is a huge chicken. He will not drink out of his water because "OH no, there is this terrible blue floating thing in it!!" He eats snow and he will drink if I stand out there and give him water out of my hands and slowly move closer and closer to the container. He will drink out of the water if I put my hands just under the water, he drinks right over top of my hands, it is very cold to be doing this with a 1200lb baby. He is afraid of the floating deicer that is in the water. I bough a sinking deicer that has red on it that is only about 3 inches in diameter and he is afraid of that too. Everyone keeps saying that if he gets thirsty enough he will drink but I worry about colic and the fact that he just isn't getting enough water. His best friend is a mini (about 30" tall) so I hoped once Jimmy (the mini) drank out of it Chief (TWH) would also, (Chief "hides" behind Jimmy when he gets spooked, it's too funny)but no such luck, Jimmy drinks and Chief stands back looking at him like "Be careful it's gonna get you!!!" So right now, I am carrying water in 5 gal buckets to the barn (about 40 yards) twice a day because they freeze. Will he drink if he gets thirsty enough? And any suggestions on what I can do for this "chicken butt" horse? I've tried putting apple juice in the water to intice him and nothing!!
 
Get yourself a tube of electrolyte paste and give him the whole tube.This stuff encourages drinking.I have a Mini who gets dehydrated and then has problems so she gets a partial tube every day.It sure helps.Good luck with your big chicken.Hope he gets the idea soon.
 
I had a problem with 2 of my big horses not drinking enough water, and my vet told me to put 2 T of Iodized Salt on their grain twice a day. Worked like a charm, and they drank alot more for me. You could also put a mineral block and salt block out for them to lick on. This will also have them drinking more water----if he is not afraid of the mineral block! LOL

Lori
 
Hi Kim,

Snow is not any kind of replacement for water for a horse which I am sure you realize,

but if your horse does not drink adequate water, he is likely to colic as you said. So you are doing a

good thing by hauling water to him as often as you can. Also try feeding him a sloppy wet beet pulp

mash to help keep him hydrated.

I think that you might want to check the ground connection also because sometimes horses can "feel or smell" that there might be something wrong. You may want to check into

that .

Best wishes and good luck to you.
 
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Can you switch over to one of those big 16 gallon heated buckets? They look like muck buckets. I have one of those in each of my paddocks and they work very well. Been using them for years.
 
It sounds to me like he might have gotten a light shock from the heater and when you put your hand in the bucket, you are grounding the small current just enough for him to drink. Many horse are very sensitive to light stray current (sort of like biting on a piece of foil on a filling) if not an outright shock.

Do you have a ground fault circuit where you are plugged in? This should trip if there is current leakage.

Anyway, at this point, your horse might have "learned" that the water bucket with the float is off limits. It might be worth while investing in one of the heated buckets that have the circuit built inside the walls of the bucket (the plug comes out of the bottom). I have used these for many years with great success. You can get them in the US at State Line Tack at <http://www.statelinetack.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=SLT810003%20KGR> , but many tack shops, feed mills and TSC stores carry them as well.

And do feed either salt or electrolytes in the very cold weather. If it suddenly turns cold the horses usually don't drink as much so I add regular table salt...1 tsp for Minis and a Tablespoon for the big guys in their grain rations for a day or so is a great precaution against impaction colics.

Good Luck.
 
thanks for everyone's advice. I do have salt licks out. And as far as i can tell the heater is working properly, no shocking or anything, I've even changed the floating deicer for a submersible and he still will not drink(retard) he is just afraid of any change. When I'm standing there giving him water out of my hands and slowly coaxing him toward the water he will drink because then I think he feels I will protect him. He is showing no signs of dehydration or colic (which I worry about constantly) I just worry that he is not getting enough to drink. Can someone tell me how much electric the bucket heaters pull, i know the floating deicers are 15 amp. One problem I'm having with my one mini's deicer is that I have a heavy extension cord run to it and it keeps kicking the breaker. All of the heaters are on ground fault breaker/plugs. I just had my barn put up and do not have electric or water yet which is a royal pain, everything is run from the house to the barn, but I can't seem to get my brother off his tail end to finish hooking everything up. So right now it's all just sitting there teasing me. i have been fighting water and electric issues since the cold weather hit.
 
If you have deicers you must have snow. I have one group of 9 boys who drink virtually no water despite having it available 24/7, and were the same last year. I feed the hay on the snow and towards the latter part of meal (horses primarily drink about 1 -1 1/2 hours into meal) they will crunch snow about every 10 sec. Unless overfed, they clean up every leaf or morsel and you will see significant gouges if the snow is hard. In looser snow they will get snow with each mouth full. I have NEVER had a colic under these conditions. Do NOT feed in feeders , as then they have to very deliberately go and find snow. One group of broodmares also fed on snow but they drink more water. Aside from brood mares, I would never worry if they are fed on top of snow. ALL my horses have access to warmed water. I carry water to these 2 groups so I know what they consume. Have been feeding minis for 20 years.
 
If your de-icer isn't shocking your horse, then maybe putting some kind of cover over the top of the trough, with just a smallish hole for him to drink from, could work? He wouldn't be able to see the de-icer, if that is what is spooking him. Of course, he may not like the cover either.... I like the idea that others have expressed of using the heated buckets with the elements inside-- I have two of those and they are nice! Good luck!
 

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