My friend (who has owned several horses over the years) got a new horse that likes to put its front feet in the water trough. It is a big trough in a big pasture shared by several horses. The horse likes to stand in it and paw some. Any suggestions on how to stop it?
We are in the South so cold weather/ice is not a problem. The horse may just like to cool off this way but it is getting to be a problem.
I had one that did this. The only thing that helped was putting the trough up on cinder blocks.
I have one that does this. Like ParadoxFarm said, the only thing that helped was raising the trough up. I built a stand out of 4x4s and 2x4s and raised the top of the trough up to about horse chest height.
I also have one like this. I put the tank outside the field and removed the middle board of the three board fence. They reach through to drink. Works really well.
My long yearling used to get in the water trough until, as others suggest, it was elevated. But walking through a puddle was just not in his operating manual.
I agree, you need to raise it so the horse can’t get his legs in it. We have two horses in one field that do this and I top off their 100 gallon tank every day. If I don’t, it wouldn’t last more than 24 hours for 3 horses. Usually this time of year, you can get 5 days from it. It is also generally dirty. I keep having words with these mares but they just don’t listen!
If I’m there in the evening and coming back midday the next day, I will not top it off and will be low enough to drain and clean out. Otherwise they just get dirty water, because that’s what they get!
Sometimes, when it’s really hot out, I will catch them playing in it WHILE I’m filling! WHILE I’M FILLING IT!!!
We had trouble with a bunch of boarding horses who did this last year. Ended up pulling the auto waterer off it’s moorings, and flooding the run in shed, substantially. Our waterer is located in a corner of the shed. Obviously, it can’t be elevated more than it is, and these were short term boarders only. So, we built a barricade diagonally across the corner of the shed to protect the auto waterer. The height was at chest level, so horses could easily reach over it to drink, and could maybe touch the walls of the waterer if trying to paw under the barrier, but not close enough to do any substantial damage, Too high to get a leg over with normal antics, and the barrier was deep enough that the foot could not reach up high enough from underneath to get into the water tray. The barrier is about 12 inches deep I guess, solid, and about 3 feet off the ground at it’s top. This stopped playtime in the water bowl, and rescued the auto waterer and the shed floor and the horses from severe damage. If they did it again, I was gonna kill them myself.
Just out of curiosity, are they red mares?
One’s a bay, one’s a chestnut. There are two more chestnuts and another bay in that field currently.
Not really on topic because my guy just plays with his head in his water, but I did once watch him submerge his head into his trough so the water was above his eyes.
Literally every Thoroughbred I’ve ever owned has done this. Drives me absolutely nuts! I’ve elevated; put out multiple troughs, and nothing worked to keep them out of the damn trough. I have wire fencing and never resorted to cutting a hole in the fencing, but I did re-home each and every one who did it consistently and unceasingly. Not entirely because of this personality trait, but it did make it much easier to let those horses go because of this very aggravating tendency.
My Tb mare used to play in her water troughs. One barn owner friend of mine threatened to put an electric collar on her (like for disobedient dogs) and zap her any time she’d hear her do it :lol: Elevating the trough worked fine. This horse is now 21 and has apparently abandoned that habit, but I make sure her trough has high enough sides that she won’t be tempted 
My Morgan mare does this and drives me crazy, especially since her favorite time to do it is right after I’ve scrubbed and filled them. I haven’t really found anything that works (although thankfully she only does it on hot days). Even with it raised on blocks (two high at that!!!), she’ll rear to put her front legs in. I also tried the hole in the fence and she still did it but would get stuck. sigh… I’ve just taken to making sure there are at least a couple full troughs at any one time
I am trying to figure out how to thwart my obnoxious paint gelding (yes, a chestnut!) who has developed this habit now that he’s home from boarding barns forever. He’ll look me in the eye as I’m yelling at him from the house, raise one hoof and plop! splash! swish! ARGHHH!! I can’t raise it, as it sits under and between a pipe panel to provide water for both horses in their shared/split paddock. I am realizing that I’ll need two water troughs, one raised to chest height…and this doesn’t make me happy.
I’m betting he’d love a pond, which isn’t happening! He has no problem with puddles in rings, liverpools, flooded paddocks…but show him a water bottle on a mounting block? Uh, nope!
We have a pony here who viewed the bigger water troughs as her personal hot tub/spa. Arrrghh! Even in cold, rainy weather! The only way to keep her out of them was have her turnout pasture use the 25 (?) gallon plastic buckets instead of the bigger troughs. After dumping them a couple of times, she lost interest… for whatever reason! But the UPS driver did sigh that she missed seeing that pony standing in the troughs and splashing with delighted enthusiasm…
Out of curiosity, did you remove the top board, or the middle board? (Or do you have some other kind of fence?)
I’ve seen people take off the top board, leaving the bottom and middle, but figured my idiot swimmer would just wind up going over the fence and trough and then panic because she’s loose :rolleyes: Pulling the middle board has a learning curve on figuring out how to reach through to drink, but that top board keeps a nice visual barrier, and I just can’t see how they stand in the tank to swim?
It’s 3 board fence but situated oddly on a fairly steep little hill. I took out the bottom one and then set the trough where only enough of it went in for them to get their heads in to drink.
I have none of the tank in the field–it’s entirely outside the fence. They have to reach through the fence to drink. It works really well! Might be something to try :yes:
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For me I’d have to cut out a big part of the bank/hill that the fence is set into (not my property, I board).
Aww, bummer. It’s about the only thing that’s kept mine out of the tank! Also makes it easier to scrub and fill without horses “helping” :lol:
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