Getting Horse to Eat Salt/Drink More Water

[Pico_Banana]

Hi all,

I have two horses at home. A 9 y.o. Oldenburg and a 27 y.o. Paint. Neither of them are drinking enough water now that the snow is here (Massachusetts). I don’t think either of them are touching the water in turnout (7am - 4pm) despite dumping it daily and adding hot water to make it not ice cold. They do seem to eat some snow, but I know that does very, very little.

The younger one doesn’t get much salt in her diet (hay, alfalfa cubes, sloowwllyy adding Vermont Blend in as a v/m supplement that contains salt but we are currently at 1/16th of a dose). She will drink in her stall especially if I add Horse Quencher, but that’s probably only about 6-8 gallons. The older one gets 4-5 lbs of Triple Crown Senior, so she gets at least some salt through that. She drinks very little in her stall - on a good day, half of a 5 gallon bucket. She has started to eat soaked alfalfa cubes again, so I’m getting water in her this way (and I can make them soupy). She turns her nose up at the Horse Quencher. I have been able to add about a tablespoon of salt to her water bucket and that doesn’t seem to change her drinking habits very much.

Neither of them will eat their meals if I add salt to them. I even tried the SmartPak flavored pellets and the younger one won’t touch them. I think the older one is eating them, but it’s hard to tell what forms the 1/2 cup or so of crumbs that she leaves untouched. (I’m still transitioning her off the food that she was on before I got her and I think she’s leaving some of that behind, too.)

Ideas of how to get them to drink more and/or eat more salt?

[Equkelly]

Whenever there’s snow on the ground I’ve noticed they touch the water a lot less since they eat a lot of snow. I wouldn’t worry too much but adding a heater could help and also cleaning out your water tank could help a lot too. Twice a week I dump my water tank, scrub it, rinse it, and refill it and they always drink more when they have fresh clean water.

[candyappy]

Do you have a heated water source available for them ? I have 2 16 gallon tubs that I put on a timer so it comes on randomly overnight if needed and the amount of continually warmed water they drink overnight is shocking once the temps get colder.

Could be it is just colder than they like even with you adding new and hot water. If I don’t heat mine the consumption drops dramatically.

They just can’t get enough eating snow ( even though they eat a lot) versus drinking water. Do you have loose salt available for them?

[Pico_Banana]

Thanks. I haven’t been cleaning the outdoor one that often, so I will try that.

[Pico_Banana]

The younger one will NOT drink from anything in her stall except for a regular, plain water bucket. Add a bucket cozy and she refuses to drink. Use one of the fancy built in insulated holders? She refuses to drink. So I have not tried using any kind of heated bucket in the stalls as I assume it will also be deemed JUST WRONG by my mare.

She even snorts when I carry the electric kettle in to add the warm water. Apparently water is only supposed to come from a hose or a bucket. She is a piece of work.

[Highflyer1]

You can try paste electrolytes (look for one that has a decent amount of sodium) or just mix electrolyte powder with water/applesauce and give it by syringe.

[IPEsq]

I used to make a warm bucket of water and break open some mint tea bags into it if just warm water wasn’t doing the trick.

My other horse will drink more if I add blue Gatorade powder but I have done this more in summer.

[goodhors]

Try just adding salt to their grain mix! We give a Tablespoon of salt daily all year around. When the temp drops below 20F, I will start giving more added salt daily. They eat it fine and it “seems” to improve water consumption. They have a large tank outside, as well as stall buckets. So water gone, can vary. A couple horses have a 3-day schedule, empty stall bucket one day, half bucket on 2nd day, empty full bucket on 3rd day. Water tanks (2) drops pretty consistantly, daily, with 4 or 5 horses using it.

Start adding salt in small amounts first, like a teaspoon for a couple days, then 2 teaspoons full, before finally giving the full Tablespoon to her. If she will eat the grain with a bit more salt on very cold days, give her more than the Tablespoon. It really did work on my “special princess” that did not drink well in winter. She got 2 Tablespoons daily all winter. Lots easier than pulling out her tongue and putting salt on that! Ha ha She WAS going to drink for me!! I told her eat the salt or we do the tongue thing. She was a smart girl and ate the extra salt! Not having the Vet visit her for impaction colic again was wonderful!

Horses just do not lick hard white salt blocks enough to get all the salt they need. Those white blocks are made for cattle who have much rougher tongues to get salt off with. If horses sweat much, they lose that licked off salt pretty fast. Studies are showing most horses are not getting enough salt, without salt being supplemented daily.

[Pico_Banana]

Yes, I have tried adding it to their grain, but I did just go straight to 1 tablespoon each. I will try again, but building up to it and see if that works.

I might try the Gatorade powder in her water, too. The Horse Quencher works, but it is EXPENSIVE.

I just took in my older one as a foster, so am still learning what she likes/doesn’t like. She is very opinionated but her opinions do change, so it’s a bit of a challenge to know what will work on any given day. She is really getting into her alfalfa cubes so I think I will continue to use that as the best way to get water into her.

Thanks everyone!

[wildlifer]

splash a little water in food with salt & swirl, so it sticks & is harder for them to sort out. this works for my picky ones. and yes, start small & wear them down with persistence, lol.

[candyappy]

They do make heated 5 gal flat back buckets that have no heating element visible. They look just like any normal 5 gal bucket, but you would have a cord. Would that bother her?

My mare refuses to drink from any 5 gal bucket if in stall or dry lot. Must either be a trough or the 16 gallon bucket and they will not drink from a trough with a floating or submerged deicer. So glad I have the 16 gallon ones.

They( horses) can really be a pain sometimes.

[JumperMan]

We’ve tried to get our horse interested in a salt block, to no avail.

What has worked well is Apple-A-Day, by FinishLine. It contains Calcium, Salt, Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc, and Copper. I put it in his morning and afternoon grain. He loves it (there us usually none left in his bucket), and he drinks well year round.

[Pico_Banana]

I am pretty sure the cord would bother her … she is very insistent that things in her stall look a certain way.

I put the tiniest sprinkle of salt in her alfalfa cubes and she refused to eat them.

I have tried Apple a Day in her water before and she won’t drink it.

She is quite the challenge!

[JennyN]

I have one that really resists eating anything with salt in it too! One thing that is currently working is to soak his hay cubes in salty water. He gets about 4 # of cubes that are soaked in about 2.5 gallons of water that have 1/2 - 3/4 TBS of salt dissolved in it. So far ( 10 days) it’s working!!

[moonlitoaksranch]

Bran mashes? I did that for my old mare when I was stationed up in Rhode Island. Sneaky way to get water in them and help prevent impaction colic. I would not mess with the water bucket they are drinking from. Don’t add anything to it or change it. You can add a second bucket with electrolytes, etc…, but I wouldn’t mess with something they are already drinking from. If they reduce their drinking because of the change, you risk colic.

[Pico_Banana]

I have found another solution! A handful of Triple Crown Senior in her water bucket, add two tea kettle’s worth boiling water (about a gallon) and brew for a bit. Top off with regular water. She literally sucks it down!

[demidq]

Glad you found a solution! Check out the “homemade thirst drink” thread. My mare will empty a 5 gallon bucket with her “tea” made this way.

[Pico_Banana]

Ooh, thanks! Which suggestion did you try? I like the idea of the molasses plus salt option. Gets both jobs (water consumption plus salt) done in one go.

I do have to worry about sugar for my mare, so am conscious of that … I wonder how a glug (not from Canada but it resonates more than a blob ) of molasses compares to half a cup of Triple Crown Senior in sugar. That is also flavored with molasses, if I remember correctly. (That is for my golden oldie without any sugar concerns, so I’m not hyperaware of the amount of sugar in it.)

[demidq]

I use blackstrap molasses which has more flavour and less sugar. I make her tea by pouring a kettle of boiling water over a couple of handfuls of pelleted feed, salt ('lytes in summer) and a small glug of the molasses. Let that sit while riding or grooming, then add another kettle of hot water, fill bucket with cold and give it a stir before serving. It is always greeted with enthusiasm!

[J-Lu]

My gelding gets powdered electrolytes in his feed year round. He also has a salt block and a Himalayan Salt block in his run-in and I watch those In the winter, their water troughs have heaters so the water isn’t freezing. No horses have water intake issues in the winter. But their salt block intake helps me adjust their electrolytes in the winter. In the summer, I’ll all about electrolyte additions.