Does anyone use muck tubs (heated or not) in the stall for water?
Stall is 12x12 considering making it 12x22 as horse does better with bigger stall (mess wise and happiness wise). I am concerned with dumping it to clean if she were to poop in it or it gets dirty. I wouldn’t top it off but dump it when it get to 1/3-1/4 full. I am moving the horse home and am thinking it will be a good way to do water (especially heated water) without dumping and filling 2 times a day as I also have a desk job that is almost an hour away (so long days as is).
General plan is to have her stall connected to a small paddock (like a run but much larger) with hay and water inside and outside so I have the ability to lock her out or in depending on weather.
Yup. I use them all through winter. If I’ve had a horse poop in one, I don’t recall. I scrub them weekly, fill daily. No problems, no complaints. If you do have to dump a full one, just bail out with a regular bucket. They’re only 16 gallons, so it’s not like it’s difficult to empty a full one. My horses generally each drink 1/2 to 2/3 tub overnight. They’re in from dark to ~9am.
I had a horse in on layup that would only drink out of a muck tub. Kept it in the corner and full so he couldnt knock it over. Dumped and scrubbed it every other day. Its more prone to getting shavings in it being closer to the ground.
How would you heat the muck bucket? with a floating heater? IME a horse that is confined to a small area gets into mischief. She might tip over the bucket, chew on the electrical cord, and/or toss the floating heater out of the bucket. I’ve used floating heaters in outside applications where horses had acres to roam. Even then, I found it was really important to limit the amount of cord that is exposed. Dealing with water buckets in the winter is a drag. Have you considered some of the insulated options?
I know this isn’t a low cost solution, but consider treating yourself to a heated auto waterer. Growing up in the NE, that is a vow I made to myself; i.e. when I had my own farm it would have heated auto waterers. :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
I have a muck tub for spring summer fall, and a heated tub with the element built in for winter. the electrical outlet is close to the stall. Her hay drops in one front corner, tub is in the other corner, she mostly poops outside in the run-out bu when she does poop inside it is at the back of the stall, away from her head which is in the hay.
We have drains outside our stalls, so dumping a big tub is not so difficult. We all mostly dump and scrub our water tubs and buckets daily. if it’s cooler weather we may not fill the tub to the brim, depending on how much water the horse is drinking.
My horse also has a flat back bucket hanging in her hay drop corner, just to encourage her to drink more.
Will your water freeze in the winter? That might have a bearing on recommendations.
Thanks for the feedback so far! The hay in one corner water in the other is what I was thinking too.
Yes water will freeze but I have seen a barn use a heated muck tub outside (for a mini) through the winter without issue.
Yes, my repeat colic horse preferred the water from soaked hay, so we put a muck bucket in the front corner of his stall. He would eat his soaked hay, then drink the flavored water.
He never dumped it, nor pooped in it, as far as I remember.
Didn’t know they make heated muck buckets! That’s convenient for winter water.
I use heated muck tubs in cold months, inside and out. Unheated muck tubs in the warm months.
hay is in the opposite front corner.
Thankfully my geldings have designated areas of their stalls (12 X 14) where they take care of business, so the water isn’t in jeopardy of getting mucked up:)
In the winter, all the tubs get dumped and Cloroxed once a week. Thru the week (all year long) , I use a fish tank net to scoop any drippings the horses might leave when they get a drink – that really helps keep the water clean:)
I use heated muck tubs in cold months, inside and out. Unheated muck tubs in the warm months.
hay is in the opposite front corner.
Thankfully my geldings have designated areas of their stalls (12 X 14) where they take care of business, so the water isn’t in jeopardy of getting mucked up:)
In the winter, all the tubs get dumped and Cloroxed once a week. Thru the week (all year long) , I use a fish tank net to scoop any drippings the horses might leave when they get a drink – that really helps keep the water clean:)
I use heated muck tubs in cold months, inside and out. Unheated muck tubs in the warm months.
hay is in the opposite front corner.
Thankfully my geldings have designated areas of their stalls (12 X 14) where they take care of business, so the water isn’t in jeopardy of getting mucked up:)
In the winter, all the tubs get dumped and Cloroxed once a week. Thru the week (all year long) , I use a fish tank net to scoop any drippings the horses might leave when they get a drink – that really helps keep the water clean:)
I use heated muck tubs in cold months, inside and out. Unheated muck tubs in the warm months.
hay is in the opposite front corner.
Thankfully my geldings have designated areas of their stalls (12 X 14) where they take care of business, so the water isn’t in jeopardy of getting mucked up:)
In the winter, all the tubs get dumped and Cloroxed once a week. Thru the week (all year long) , I use a fish tank net to scoop any drippings the horses might leave when they get a drink – that really helps keep the water clean:)
As long as you have electric run to the barn, why not just use a standard heated 5gal flatback bucket?
Those can be hung rather than set at floor level.
So no danger of tipping.
Use 2 in the stall if you’re worried one won’t be enough.
I use these (& have for the last 15 years) with cords run through the feed opening on the stall grilles. Horses eat grain from pans on the floor.
First 6’ of cords are encased in coiled metal (like a spring), but no one has tried chewing on them.
GFI outlets are centered between stalls. I stapled - with wideset heavy duty staples - cords to run along stall walls outside to outlets.
Buckets are left in stalls year-round, unplugged when night temps stay in the 40s.
I dump, scrub & refill infrequently.
Maybe twice a month.
And do so by dumping the stall buckets into a spare bucket, so no need to remove them from the stalls.
Horses do not require pristine crystal clear water.
In fact, when I dump, scrub & refill either stall buckets or the 50gal barrel outside the barn, they often drink from the puddle of dumped water.
The barrel is kept liquid in Winter with a sinking de-icer.
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would never work with my horses as they would pick the thing up to see what was hidden under it
Horses do not require pristine crystal clear water.
I will have signage made of that and hang it in their stalls
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:lol:
Yes, my sinking de-icer has a Rube Goldbergian arrangement of PVC pipe, duct tape, cinderblock & rocks to prevent my Science Majors from disassembling it. :rolleyes:
Nothing like arriving home on a frigid Winter evening to find the de-icer sputtering on the ground & an inch of ice in the barrel.:mad:
And how many times have I stood back proudly after scrubbing, bleaching & refilling buckets & barrel, only to watch all 3 ignore the sparkling, pristine, crystal clear refills & sip from the scummy water/bleach dumped from the barrel 
Answer: Many
This is what I do. One bucket is plugged in/heated, the other is not. I have never had a horse empty both overnight. Most often they will drink from the unheated until it forms a thick ice skim, then drink from the heated the rest of the night. Neither gets drunk dry. The unheated only freezes on the coldest of nights (and I am in the upper midwest, so yes cold winter).
To get rid of the ice in the one bucket, I just pour the remaining warm water into the bucket. While I clean the stall, it melts enough for me to pour out any ice chunk there might be.
I have a hole drilled in the front stall wall (just big enough to fit plug thru) just below where the cord exits the bucket bottom. Cord is pulled thru to GFI plug located between 2 stalls. There is minimal exposure of the cord where a horse could get it and that is the part of cord that has the metal coil protection.
I think my curious boys would find a sinking deicer an intriguing toy. Not something I want to find out about. :lol:
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I dont use the heated buckets because:
Two buckets are often not enough for my horses overnight and they would be dry or close to it
I don’t have enough outlets to plug two things in per stall without using extension cords or splitters
It’s easier for me to dump a tub than unthread cords and dump eight buckets
Filling four tubs takes less attention than filling eight buckets, so my barn routine is more streamlined
Heated tubs provide more water for my horses, don’t need any electric stuff and are easier for me to deal with.
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@2DogsFarm I have outlets at each stall. If I use the tubs, I don’t need extension cords or power strips or outlet splitters. I have to use those things if I use the buckets. Tubs are quite a bit more convenient, but the additional safety factor of having them plug into the outlet directly is very attractive.
Only one heated bucket in each stall doesn’t come anywhere near to being sufficient for me. Plus the huge hassle of buckets.
The concept is fine…but a sturdy, blue plastic poly tub (55 gallon) cut in half is sturdier and wayyyy cheaper to use. The lining of a barrel is smoother than a muck bucket and easier to clean…and you’d have two to swap out if you cut it in half…just a thought. Blue barrels run around $10 each…muck buckets I’m seeing are close to $50 these days!!
