Ideas for keeping pony out of stock tank

[wsmoak]

I have the usual 100 gallon Rubbermaid tanks. The new pony puts both front feet in the tank, paws to splash out water, and then tips the tank over.

What would you do in this situation?

210502_8419 by Wendy, on Flickr

I am looking at Nelson waterers, I like this word “indestructable” they use.

Free Standing 700 Series

[

730-10 & 760-10

Shorter round models are designed to install in standard-sized 12 and 15 inch concrete sewer pipe for an indestructible installation.

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An incomplete list of other solutions include switching to the half-height 50-gallon tanks so as least he’s not wasting so much water, attaching the tank to a post so he can’t tip it over and drag it around, and putting a tank in a fenceline with only the rounded edge protruding under so there’s room to drink out of it but not paw.

Brainstorming other ideas appreciated!

[trubandloki]

I have never tried it, but I hear simply raising the trough up some will discourage this behavior.

Make a platform out of concrete blocks and put the trough on top of it.

[Simkie]

I hate this habit, and also have a swimmer.

I’ve solved it by taking the tank out of the field. Removed the middle board of the three board fence. They reach through to drink.

Just this year that mare has gotten braver and reaches through the hole in the fence to swim. Moving the tank about 6" away from the fence has resolved.

She’s a pain in my ass, seriously.

[Marla_100]

here’s one solution- buy your pony a paddling pool- watch til end- little white mermaid!

I bought my ponies a PADDLING POOL!

[JBCool]

My trainer has all the stock tanks up on cinder blocks for that reason. Another idea similar to Simkie’s suggestion is to have most of the tank outside the paddock with just enough sticking under the fence board for them to drink. Another trainer used this method for 2 smaller paddocks to share a tank, too.

[B_and_B]

I couldn’t put mine outside of the fence, so what I ended up doing was building a wooden box (with a drain) out of 2x4’s and then a cover that is made of 3/4" marine grade plywood. With just enough of an open area that they are comfortable drinking. It works quite well, even with a repurposed iron claw foot tub as the tank (water in style!). The drain actually goes directly into a buried four inch pvc drain pipe that daylights out beyond the fence. The top is hinged to open completely so I can clean it.
So far, it has withstood a large draft horse putting his front foot up on it and going ‘thump’ because dinner is late.

[skydy]

@wsmoak
I’ve never seen that sort of automatic waterer used outside of a barn. Wouldn’t it get hot in the summer unless it was under some sort of shade structure?

[Simkie]

@skydy

Wouldn’t it get hot in the summer unless it was under some sort of shade structure?

No more than a non automatic water tank…?

Actually, auto fill probably keeps the water cooler, since it’s fresher.

[skydy]

I was thinking about the sort that has a little water left in the bowl. These are probably not that kind then. We had one ages ago outside but it looked quite different. I wasn’t metal.

[mmeqcenter]

This is what I did, though I used scrap lumber because it was this year and

Built a wood cage/cover for it so there’s just room to get their nose in to drink

[trubandloki]

@skydy

@wsmoak
I’ve never seen that sort of automatic waterer used outside of a barn. Wouldn’t it get hot in the summer unless it was under some sort of shade structure?

Nelson waterers are installed lots of places outside at the local zoo.

[skydy]

That’s great. Maybe it’s the answer for the OP. The only thing I didn’t like about ours was not knowing how much each horse was drinking.