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Pasch
Platinum Member
2277 Posts |
 Posted - 20 May 2015 : 12:51:07 PM
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Armos had a colic due to dehydration after a day out with unexpectedly hot temperatures for the season (30C!)
He's ok now but it was scary!We crossed a stream in the middle of the hack and most of the other horses drank,he only played with water….vet says he has to learn to drink when he's offered water…easier said than done!
How do you (especially the endurance riders here) get your horse to drink? Apparently they don't necessarily drink when thirsty….
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sab2
Platinum Member
8467 Posts |
Posted - 20 May 2015 : 7:09:36 PM
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You could always try putting some apple juice in his water or if you use sugar beet try adding some of the juice from it to his water. Good luck  |
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Ari
Platinum Member
1657 Posts |
Posted - 20 May 2015 : 7:31:49 PM
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Can't help with getting a horse to drink when out but I used to float pieces of apple in my old girls water to get her interested in her water in winter.
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Pauline
Platinum Member
England
3185 Posts |
Posted - 20 May 2015 : 8:42:30 PM
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Sugar Beet water is good. Apples and Carrots in water. Make their feeds very wet or you can put a handful of a mix in a bucket and fill it up with water. Add salt to their feeds. Add Apple juice to water.
Every time you feed offer the horse a drink. |
Pauline Higgs
Equine & Human Holistic Therapist
www.thegentlestouch.co.cc
www.endurancegbmidsouth.co.uk
Berkshire / Hampshire Border |
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Callisto
Platinum Member
6905 Posts |
Posted - 20 May 2015 : 10:39:35 PM
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| My sister's gelding does not drink easily, my mare drinks more readily, we get liquids into him by offering very sloppy sugar beet pulp, and wetting his feed. He still doesn't drink as much as we would like, but will take slpppy sugar beet water, or water with electrolytes in (offered alongside fresh water. |
  Zahkira (GR Amaretto x Taffetta)
Linda
East Sussex |
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brack369
Gold Member
559 Posts |
Posted - 20 May 2015 : 10:47:03 PM
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| Glad to hear he's ok. such a worry dealing with colic, at least you know the cause and can try to prevent it from happening again x |
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barbara.gregory
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4531 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2015 : 11:03:24 AM
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I know where he is coming from as I too don't drink a lot; family joke that I am a reincarnated camel!
Try different things at home by offering them as a treat; as others have said, sugar beet water. Just soak some sugar beet in a lot of water and strain the water off; put carrots in a blender then add to water; try lots of different things to see what he likes and at what temperature.
Also, see if he likes cool water. If the water has been in the lorry/trailer and got warm he might not like it. I have a horse who will only drink fresh water at the correct (for him) temperature. In the summer it must be fresh twice a day (unless he in the field with the huge autofill trough) where it stays cool. In the winter it musn't be too cold!!! If the criteria are not met he doesn't drink. I guess he would if he was thirsty enough but I worry about him getting an impaction colic at night when he is eating hay/haylage; OK when on grass as he is getting lots of water in the grass. |
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Pasch
Platinum Member
2277 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2015 : 12:34:14 PM
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Thanks all for the advice.He has no problem drinking at home (water trough) I have to get him used to drink when water is offered outside.I think it was the sudden heat as well,we went from a nice spring temperature to hot summer in one day.Now back to spring…
I bought a foldable bucket to carry with me and can try to carry a couple of apples or carrots (that will drive him crazy with the smell ) we don't usually have a car following us so what I can carry is limited.
Linda my vet told me never to give electrolytes when he's dehydrated,don't ask me why I was too sick with worry to remember,will ask.
He suddenly went down a couple of km from home,had to walk of course,by the time he was home he was trembling and could hardly stand,luckily I have a wonderful vet who came on Sunday evening and stayed until 10.30 pm.She gave him something for pain and to relax the guts and put him on IV fluids.After 12 litres he was trying to eat pasta from my plate
Barbara can't you give him soaked hay in winter? |
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Callisto
Platinum Member
6905 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2015 : 2:42:11 PM
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Marina your vet is quite right, you should never give electrolytes when he is already dehydrated - we give them to our horses every day during their competitive season to compensate for the salts they lose while sweating, and we always offer fresh water along with them. If he won't drink on a ride then it is probably best to try and ensure he has plenty of moist fibre in his gut before you set off (sugar beet, wet feed etc.)
A bum bag might be the best way to carry his fruit and veg when you go for a ride? |
Zahkira (GR Amaretto x Taffetta)
Linda
East Sussex |
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Etoile
Silver Member
275 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2015 : 8:31:26 PM
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Senj is a reluctant drinker. We always use soaked feed, his hay nets before/during rides are always doused in water, and we hand graze at rides (grass has a high water content). Beyond that it's trial and error to see what will persuade them to drink - sugar beet water, very sloppy food, bobbing for apples, ribena/apple juice to flavour water, molasses to flavour water etc. Horse quencher and equidgel are both commercial products that are in packets/powdered, so might be useful for carrying with you when out and about if the horse liked them. Have to say though nothing has completely worked, several years later and his drinking is still rather hit and miss.
Also after vetting out with metabolic issues (and subsequently what looked like signs of mild gut discomfort) last year we worked out that the problem was not enough salt/electrolytes. We now routinely supplement them all with varying levels of salt or electrolytes depending on work level etc. and haven't had a reoccurrence. |
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barbara.gregory
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4531 Posts |
Posted - 22 May 2015 : 12:06:53 PM
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Pasch, I just pander to his whims. It is never a problem as I change the water daily (in at night, out during the day) and saves the fag of soaking hay for him. He mostly gets haylage with a little hay sometimes. He is a big drinker so I know when he is being fussy as the huge water bucket will still be half full; his water bucket takes over two normal buckets of water.
It may also be the smell of your collapsible water bucket as they smell very differently to a horse although we can't really smell them. A bucket of water with a couple of handfulls of sugar beet might tempt him. You could wet the beet the night before so it is almost dry but has crumbled, put it in a small container and then add that to the water when out. |
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Pasch
Platinum Member
2277 Posts |
Posted - 22 May 2015 : 6:33:32 PM
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Thanks Etoile and Barbara.I haven't used the collapsible water bucket yet but will try a little apple juice or sugar in it.Unlike Pasch he doesn't like sugar beet that much so I doubt he would go for that.Will try several things and let you know!
I have been told temperatures reached 32C on Sunday!With hardly a light breeze.It was really exceptionally hot given we had 10 degrees less only the day before.Now we are back at 15C and raining…Climate change anyone? |
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Arachnid
Platinum Member
England
1872 Posts |
Posted - 25 May 2015 : 12:18:27 PM
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| You could try some Horse Quencher in the water. Sometimes works for Spider who is a bit of a reluctant drinker. Also offering a drink in a shallow bucket like a washing up bowl (quite hard to take with you on a hack tho!) I'm not sure why this helps but it seems to. |
   
West Sussex |
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Judith S
Platinum Member
Wales
15686 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2015 : 7:39:30 PM
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| Over many years of competing Endurance in the past.... found that most of the many neds I have done it on won't even dain to look at water for a 25 mile competition. I used to make sure their feeds for a day or so pre ride were very moist! One of my endurance horses would never drink till we upped his competions to 40 milers.... he suddenly switched from not drinking on a comp... to drinking at every oppertunity. He still does this even many years retired from competition & just a leisure hack now.... he can't pass a puddle or stream on the mountain when out riding now without stopping for a mouthfull or two :) |
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Judith S
Platinum Member
Wales
15686 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2015 : 7:45:46 PM
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| Another thing I have noticed.... my mob will happily drink from the most disguisting looking puddles on the mountain etc but will not drink from running water at stream/river crossing.... prefering to just play with it ! So... even puddles are worth "offering" for them to look at & maybe drink from when out riding.... just a thought |
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Pasch
Platinum Member
2277 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2015 : 9:31:40 PM
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Arachnid I am not sure I can get Horse Quencher here,will try with some apple juice first.
Judith your horses were probably fitter,we did a long ride with ups and downs but mostly at walk.Will also work on his fitness!Maybe he has learned to drink now?not many puddles here in summer! I remember him drinking before on long rides so maybe he was not thirsty yet and then the exceptional heat took its toll.I am trying to teach him to drink for a treat,he will now in his trough,we have to upgrade to the bucket now,he would do anything for a treat!
Arachnid my explanation of preferring a shallow bucket is that they won't touch the sides with their tactile hair,it's the same with cats,they prefer to eat on shallow bowls.
We have a long ride on Saturday so will bring collapsible bucket and see what happens! |
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Callisto
Platinum Member
6905 Posts |
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Topic |
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Drinking water
