This may be a lame idea, but I have in the past used a giant syringe to give my horse water when he wasn’t so very interested in drinking.
He also gets highly motivated when I add in Quench, or a handful of sweet feed to a small bucket of warm water.
Men!
The hospital my horse was at called this “sweet tea”, apparently my mare liked it a little too much. She also likes apple cider vinegar with a little honey in her water so she might be a little weird.
Thank you very much for the updates and pictures. Your videos won’t ever load and play for me for some reason but I’m happy to read the good news and see the happy pictures. 
He took me for another walk at dinner. Earlier I found one maybe pile of his, but I haven’t seen any poop for sure - although if he stepped in it or it was in the muddy area, I might have missed it. He seems pretty happy though. I gave him a soupy mash of senior, which he side-eyed a little but ultimately was eating when I left. He’s been grazing, so I know he’s getting water that way too.
His poor little nose is chapped and cracked from all the times he had to be twitched 
I tried HorseQuencher , which is basically sweet feed, in my mare’s water at a clinic. She strained out the sweet feed and ate it, and refused to drink the water left behind.
I’m not a vet or vet tech, in fact I have no medical training at all, but I have been reading Huntin Fool’s thread over in the Hunting forum and some of the replies that suggested adding Kool-Aid to a horse’s water to get him to drink.
I tried posting a link earlier but was not able to, so I just deleted my effort and will try again now.
My horse is not a great drinker away from home-or at home either actually.
One of our show horses years ago was a bit fussy --our solution was Kool-Aid. We put a packet in his water at home every AM --when he was away, his water smelled/tasted the same with a pack of Kool-Aid in it. Worked for us.
Interesting… I have a friend with a horse that loves orange Gatorade, she buys the powder mix for him and he gets a small bucket after rides. I don’t have any kool-aid on hand, but I will keep it in mind if he doesn’t increase his drinking. He really doesn’t seem dehydrated, so maybe he’s getting more from the grass than I think.
He seemed pretty happy at 8:30 check in, had drank maybe a 1/3 of a gallon more, still interested in eating.
That is some Classic Side-eye 
But if he’s feeling good enough to give you 'tude, I’m all for that! 
Any chance he might eat watermelon? It’s almost nothing but water.
I haven’t the foggiest idea… I wonder if I can even find watermelon this time of year 
maybe in the pre-cut fruit section. He clearly MUST be getting a fair amount of water from grazing, I don’t find him to be dehydrated despite only drinking about a gallon every 12 hours or so. I am going to take him for a walk here in a bit and probably go to town with the shedding blade, and will try offering a bucket of warm molasses-laced water since I know he likes that flavor.
Good to hear he’s still coming along! I like your idea of molasses laced water!
Bet Bo will enjoy his grooming time!!!
We went for a nice long walk around the property, did some de-shedding, and then I FOUND POOP!
And confirmed that he thinks dirty puddle water is tasty. Despite having just walked him for 20+ minutes, he wanted to follow me around the pasture anyway.
And we put on a spiffy new fly mask, because yesterday it was raining, last night it was freezing, and now it’s 60+ and the flies are out. 
So, to sum things up: he’s eating, he’s drinking, and he’s pooping. 
The watching his weight continue to drop while I have to slowly increase his food intake is going to kill me, but we’ll get (back) there eventually. He seems pretty damn happy today.
What wonderful news!! He does look very happy. I’m so glad he’s home where he belongs. Good job, Mom!!
Great news!
Of course he is! He’s back at his happy place, with his person!
Great update. Can you determine any taste in your water? Maybe the rainwater tastes better? And an old horseman told me many, many, many years ago (55?), that horses don’t drink much when rain is imminent. Having mine at home now for 45 years, I can confirm that. None of mine are stalled, nor have they ever been.
If you think about it, water that has been sitting on grass and seeds might be pretty tasty…like that equine “sweet tea” mentioned up thread but you don’t even have to mix it. He’s finding his own soup bar at the buffet 
No weird tastes that I can tell, he just likes puddle water. I think it’s a convenience thing - that puddle is down at the front end, and his tubs are up the slope at the other end so why hike up the hill for a drink when there’s a convenient puddle right there. And like findeight says, maybe grass-water is tasty. LOL
I bet it also has more minerals in it. My horses seem to love to drink puddles on the driveway with the stone dust. So does my dog!
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
