Horse sensitive to tank heater voltage?

[Keg-A-Bacchus]

I’m out of ideas. My mare is ten years old and for the last five years she will not drink out of a trough with a heater. Since I live in Wisconsin, this is an issue. It started when she was five, I’d had her for two years and we were at a new barn. She kept pulling out the heater and being weird about drinking. We replaced the heater and still issues, but she would drink… just cautiously and lapping like a dog. The other horses were fine.

The next winter we put the heater in the trough and didn’t plug it in. She drank fine. Plugged it in a few days later and she stopped drinking and started scraping the trough with her teeth, leaving rubber floating in it and she would paw at it and scream when we would come to the barn. We had to fill buckets for her and let her drink out of those. I pushed her almost 24 hours without water to see if we could get her drinking since the others seemed fine, but no luck and I didn’t dare push her longer. We had all the wiring in the barn redone, three new heaters of different types and still no luck.

The last three winters I boarded her where they had underground auto-waterers, so no heaters, and she drank fine. I just moved her home and got brand new electrical installed on GFCI heaters. Three days ago I put a drain-plug style heater in the trough and didn’t plug it in. Today plugged it in. I came home tonight and heard her screaming at me while I was in my car. I knew something was wrong so I backed up and shined my lights on her and she started pawing at the trough and screaming. She’s very vocal and this is her “help” cry. So I got out and sure enough she was showing me there was an issue with the trough. The water level was down so I know her pasture mate was drinking. I filled up a bucket for her and she guzzled it down.

What the frick!? Is it possible she’s just THAT sensitive to voltage?? I can successfully use those 16 gallon heated buckets with no metal inside the water and I think that’s what I’m going to have to do for her unless someone has another idea? It’s just SO WEIRD! She’s very nervous about trusting the water in the buckets I fill to give her a drink after she’s been “shocked”, but after cautiously testing it by flapping her lips over it and touching it with her tongue repeatedly she’ll then guzzle it. Her true fear of trusting water after she’s tried drinking out of a heated trough makes me really feel like something really does hurt her when a heater is in the trough. Anyone else been through this? Any other suggestions other than just fill a 15-gallon heated bucket every day?

[4LeafCloverFarm]

You might try grounding the tank. She may be more sensitive than your other horses. This can be done in many ways - but easiest/cheapest with a ground rod (like you use for an electric fence) and a piece of a good gauge wire. There are also grounding kits I believe you can buy.

You could always go to a local pet store that carries marine fish/aquariums and pick up a titanium probe. They are meant for fish tanks but should also work just fine in a stock tank. I have one in my 90 gallon salt water aquarium to capture stray voltage. For $13 bucks or so, it would be worth a shot (its probably cheaper locally than online).

https://www.amazon.com/RV2735-Rid-Volt-Titanium-Grounding-Probe/dp/B0002DGSWE/ref=asc_df_B0002DGSWE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167116240456&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4876531302088563366&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9059321&hvtargid=pla-362740440207&psc=1

[HPFarmette]

I was going to suggest the 16 gallon tubs but you already thought of that. I started grounding my metal troughs but I notice they have started rusting, when they never used to.

[Bluey]

Decades ago we tried a heater for a trough in the broodmare pasture and there were a couple of mares that just flat would not use it if the electricity was turned on.
Electricity was overhead to a post by the tank, then down the post to a plug.
We also had electricians measure, changed floating defrosters, but they would be fine with them in there, just not if turned on.

We had a pond in that pasture they drank from also, so they had a choice, but we really didn’t want to be breaking ice in the pond all winter when they had that trough of nice, clean open water not 100’ away close to the fence.

After a bit, we quit trying to make them drink right along with the others, that didn’t care at all.
Best I remember, we may have tried a couple winters and every time there were a few that just would not drink.
We decided that some horses are just so much more sensitive than others.
Water was too important, especially in the winter, not worth pushing it.

[NancyM]

An electrician who looked at my issues a few years ago gave me the answer… “Electricity is magic, and sometimes does stuff that you don’t expect and can’t explain”. He tried grounding my auto waterers AGAIN, but on and off, a current continued to be a problem. My issues, I decided, were mostly related to the electric ticker box, which was located at the end of my barn, and supplied energy to the electric fencing wire. It was located next to the panel, and next to the barn’s ground rod. It was a plug in box. I changed the source to a solar box, located remotely to the barn. This worked, no more current in the watering system, even though there was no change in the configuration of the electric fence. The plug in ticker box was obviously part of the problem… And it wasn’t ALWAYS a problem, just sometimes, no rhyme or reason why or when. But my remote solar box was located in a distant pasture, and the wire had a lot of bush to go through with numerous opportunities for grounding out, especially in winter, to get as far as the barn. So I installed another solar box, located well away from the barn but without the potential for grounding out that the previous one has. This has fully alleviated the problem, and supplied reliable power to the electric fence. Since then, I have heard that the ground rod for the barn needs to be located FURTHER AWAY from the barn, further away from the panel, not right next to it. IDK if this is true, or an issue, but could be something to try. Making sure the ground rod is into damp ground helps. We have moved the ground rod from where it was sheltered to outside the barn. Yes, some horses are more sensitive to the tiny amount of current that leaks into the water source, when it does. And once “bitten”, twice shy about trying to drink again. I greatly prefer watering from our creek, if possible- the “natural” way. The horses prefer it as well, when they have access. Supplies water for bathing, pool parties, pawing, rolling in the water, AND drinking. A far superior situation. They keep it open themselves in the winter.

[Keg-A-Bacchus]

Interesting to hear others have horses sensitive to it as well. I’ve never had one pay it any mind unless the trough really was shocking, but then the whole herd told us and we fixed it and back they went to drinking. I’m going to put the 16 gallon heated bucket next to the trough and just bail water into it daily since dragging 200’ feet of hose through the snow every day would be a nightmare. I’m also going to ground the trough and put it on rubber mats the horses will stand on just to see if that helps. For grounding, I have a copper ground rod and copper wire. If I tie the wire to a weight and drop it in will that work? Or should I attached it to the drain-plug tank heater at the bottom?

[clanter]

@Keg-A-Bacchus

For grounding, I have a copper ground rod and copper wire. If I tie the wire to a weight and drop it in will that work? Or should I attached it to the drain-plug tank heater at the bottom?

the ground cable should be attached or bonded to the tank to ensure a pathway of the least resistance. And the ground rod should be at least ten away from any electrical ground or ground rod for a fence charger.

Is the water supply line metal? …if so there is a possibility current is being conducted to the tank by the water line … it could be picking a charge for a fence charger or a buried electrical conductor that is leaking

[ShotenStar]

Is it possible she just doesn’t like warm water? As opposed to any ‘tickle’ from the electrics. Have you tried any experiments of offering her warm water independent of the heater system?

star

[js]

There is a heater that is made for rubber maid water troughs, it fits thru the drain hole on the tub. Maybe the rubber would make a difference?