Bucket pooper! HELP!

[Kottbulle]

So I have a 16.2ish Hd Andalusion/Thoroughbred Cross ( think larger grey Fresian type looking horse) who is a nightly bucket pooper. She also has the habit of standing with her butt towards it and resting her butt on it. Its not really low enough do that well, so she ends inevitably getting her tail caught in the hook and sometimes pulling the bucket off. She has broken two heated water buckets due to this. Both a hard plastic type and a more flexible black rubber type. I have told the boyfriend i refuse to buy her anymore heated buckets. thats on him and its his horse anyway.
last winter i bought the bucket hangers… that you set the buckets in that mount to the wall but he sad she would just break it an tear it off… I of course would like to try it but he is a horrible worry wart and in his defense if she did rip that off it would be a nasty metal ting to have laying in her stall. she isn’t the brightest bulb in the box, so she would conceivably end up really hurting herself.

Could i raise then bucket higher? I don’t want to deter her from drinking we live in SE michigan and its cold and below freezing now, so she needs the heated bucket and i don’t want to do anything that would discourage her from drinking.
While it is a huge inconvenience to clean poop out of her water bucket EVERYDAY!!! I really don’t like the idea of her having limited her access to water sometime between 10pm-7 am ( I normally do a night check between 10-11pm) We have hung a mother b bucket when the temps aren’t too low so that it would completely freeze, but she apparently takes that as a challenge and poops in both.

so any suggestions or solutions would be appreciated…

[Bluey]

Is there some way you can hang buckets on the outside, but where she can reach to drink from the stall?
Maybe on the outside of a stall feed door?
Buckets outside would keep her from messing in them.

If the stall is large enough, block a corner so she has to reach over to drink, but there is a gap between boards and buckets, so her hind end can’t dump in the buckets any more.

[2DogsFarm]

Since you have 2 buckets now, try hanging one higher.
Measure how high by putting it at a level just above her croup.
She s/b able to drink at that height 🤞& not be able to poop in it.
She can use Bucket #2 for that 😏

I have a 50gal barrel I use as an outside trough & my 34" mini can drink from it, even though it is above the height of his shoulder.

[Simkie]

How are her hocks? A lot of these horses that sit on the wall or on buckets (and then poop in them) are doing that because of hind end pain.

I’d be tempted to put the bucket outside the stall and letting her reach over to drink. For different reasons, I have all my pasture troughs outside the fence and it works SO well.

[Abbie.S]

@Simkie

How are her hocks? A lot of these horses that sit on the wall or on buckets (and then poop in them) are doing that because of hind end pain.

I’d be tempted to put the bucket outside the stall and letting her reach over to drink. For different reasons, I have all my pasture troughs outside the fence and it works SO well.

This, in spades.

Horses don’t do this for no reason. Typically a horse that “hangs” off of buckets is trying to relieve some sort of discomfort. This can occur even in horses that otherwise seem fine.

I would do a ground trough to eliminate the mess, but I think your underarching issue might need addressing as well.

[Kottbulle]

@Abbie.S ”‹”‹[USER][/USER] I wish I wish I could do it outside her stall but that would require some work redoing her stall she has a full slider. And honestly I hate to say this she isn’t that smart. Sweet heart of a mare, but just not sharpest crayon in the box.
[USER][/USER] hmmm… Ok now i feel kinda stupid for not thinking about that. She is old enough to be having issues,she is probably 17? And conformationally she isn’t the really set up to help her joints as she ages. Super long back, that will most likely be a sway back eventually… ( her sire had one… still not sure why my BF chose to breed to him knowing that)… and if any of my horses would be set up for issue behind it would be her. Feel really dumb forgot thinking of potential pain issues… maybe cuz I’m so annoyed by her disgusting pooping habit.

I was planning on deworming everyone this weekend, but since she isn’t really rubbing i wasn’t holding out much hope for that being a cure all. I wonder if I do a few days of Equioxx if i would notice a difference. Can’t hurt to try, the BF has joked that he has thought about just adding as shelf for her to rest on. I haven’t done Pentosan with her but may have to try. ( she hates needles) Ive had great results with my two Senior horses (26 & 27).

Thanks for the great advise everyone. I really do appreciate it…

[tipzythegreat]

I’d first investigate where she’s eating vs where she’s popping – can you move one or the other around? My horse tends to get fed in the same spot and consequently poops in the same spot. Might be worth a try!

[Kottbulle]

@tipzythegreat O)h she is very consistent where she eats and poops… she is fed in a feed pan, and gets hardly any grain cuz she is beyond and easy keeper, and we us a hay hoop hay net for hay. which is on the same wall ( front of stall as the water buckets). She she goes out of her way to rest her butt in that corner with the water bucket when not eating hay. Ive tried moving the water bucket out of the she closest to the corner but she still rest and poops in it. I don’t really want to move it another part of the stall cuz i don’t want o run electrical and she is a horse that if you don’t enclose it, would just find away to hurt herself or tear it all down. Plus i Honestly think she would still lean/sit on the water bucket. I’m really starting to think a few other reply are dead on that she may be having hock issues… so will explore that avenue and then see about changing things up.

[Bluey]

@tipzythegreat

I’d first investigate where she’s eating vs where she’s popping – can you move one or the other around? My horse tends to get fed in the same spot and consequently poops in the same spot. Might be worth a try!

Yep, some times just rearranging the “furniture” in their stall helps stop an annoying habit like that one.

Worth trying that first, is easiest.

[Twisting]

Maybe give her something else to lean on? Make a padded ledge out of a 4x4 bolted to the wall?

[Southernboy]

Does she do it during the summer? My 15yo QH mare backed her way into a heated wellhouse last winter to warm her butt. I had to reinforce the door. It is still her go to spot when it gets cold. A warm bucket would have to feel right toasty in MI.

[Kottbulle]

@Southernboy Shei s only ion at night in the winter months. the rest of the year they live out 24/7 with really nice run in with fans for when its hot. so its not an issue except when she is in her stall Thankfully she doesn’t poop in the $0 gallon water tough outside. BF thinks she likes the warmth of the heated bucket too… so glad she doesn’t sidle up to the water outside…or she would really be on my shit list then!! ( pun intended!!)