Raised Water Troughs

[ElbowRockFarm]

As the weather gets colder, the grass disappears, and the rotten baby-horse gets bored. His favorite past-time is now pawing and destroying water troughs. After he ripped the electric heater out of the Rubbermaid tank yesterday, we came to the conclusion that something else must be tried.

Last year, we placed a more shallow trough on top of an over-turn 100 gallon tank he already had cracked. This lasted about a week until he went circus elephant and climb his front legs into the trough and pulled the whole thing down. Today, we just have buckets on the fence post, but lugging buckets up the hill to his paddock every day is not a good solution for the entire winter.

So, has anyone found a better way to elevate a trough, so the naughty boy can’t get into it, but can still drink? We will need to use heating elements too since we will soon be entering frigid New England temperatures.

Thank You!!!

[FatCatFarm]

I had a similar experience with a rambunctious TB colt. All my trough pawers seem to be TBs for some reason. Even my big TB mare paws in the water trough when it’s hot. I tried elevating the big 100 gallon rubbermaid and all the colt did was tear it down repeatedly. I eventually sold him so, problem solved, but was seriously considering just investing in an automatic waterer if I had kept him. Not cheap, but neither is constantly replacing broken troughs or vet bills.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

I don’t know if this would help, but my water trough is on a shared fence line. The lowest board is snug to the top of it and then there is a post on either side. I really don’t think a horse could tip it over–the board stops it. It’s also insanely heavy (100+ gallons).

[Mozart]

I have a trough tipping young WB brat. The only time he can’t tip it is in the winter, when we have a heavy insulated wooden cover over the tank. It is built to the shape of the trough, with a little cut out in the back for the screw in drain hole heater. It covers about 2/3 of the top of the trough with an opening to drink out of. When the cover is in place he can’t tip the trough. I opened this thread thinking it was about having to raise up the level of the trough due to snow accumulation. I did that this year, we put down a raised bed of crushed limestone under the trough because there was so much snow last year, by late winter the top of the trough was almost level with the ground! :eek:

[gypsymare]

Maybe not the best solution but can you leave the tank just outside of the pasture and fill the buckets from that?

[PonyTales]

I’ve done one of two things. Put the tank outside the pasture & have a frame build so they can put head & neck thru to drink from trough.

Or

build a wood box which the trough fits inside. U can build around the trough. Simple take four 4x4 & put in the ground in the ground at every corner off trough in a rectangular shape . I’m assuming the tough its oblong shaped… Use wood from pallets to build the walls. Build a trap door lid over half of trough (on top) with hidges so you can open to lift up & remove or clean trough. The wood top will protect from horses reaching the heaters. U can leave room wide enuff in the top lid for head & neck to fit thru.
Hard to explain I hope its understandable ?

[jawa]

I had one that would paw in the trough in the summer, empty it, and then drag the trough around.

I solved the problem by putting a log in front of the trough. He was still able to reach his head over and down into the trough, but he couldn’t get his leg over the log and in the trough without some major fancy foot work.

No more splashing for him!

[RedmondDressage]

Hahaha, I have no help for you but I can commiserate with your pain. I have a very nosy, naughty little youngster who delights in upturning my water trough too… That gives him the second most pleasure in life - first on his list is sneaking up and dumping out the wheelbarrow just as I’ve finished filling it up :lol: SO OBNOXIOUS!

[HungarianHippo]

Basic physics-- the higher an object’s center of gravity, the less force it takes to topple it. So rather than go higher, how about go lower? Dig out an area that would let you sink the existing trough about halfway down into the ground.
Or, this one should be untippable: [URL=“http://www.behlencountry.com/index.aspx?ascxid=behlenCatalogProduct&i=541”]http://www.behlencountry.com/index.aspx?ascxid=behlenCatalogProduct&i=541

Finally, can you just sink four wood fenceposts posts to make a cage that will prevent it from tipping even though he’s pawing at it. (or just two posts, if it’s already at a fenceline). Put down a few inches of pea gravel under the trough, and it will be easier to slide it out sideways when you need to dump / clean it. (You’d have to bail it out with a bucket to make it light enough to move, of course).

[LookmaNohands]

Mine are up on cement blocks, some have added boards or earth underneath. All are tied to the fence with twine.

I used to have two big offenders. I turned them out together and I thought it would be a great idea to get an extra trough that was really shallow. I thought, one to drink out of and one to play in. Makes sense, right?

Sigh. One played in the tall one and one played in the shallow one. Two to clean. :mad:

[sporthorseconnect]

I had the same problem with my horse. She loved to try to swim during the summer time. I would scrub and fill the trough only to return a couple of hours later to find it turned over and full of mud. I solved the problem by raising the trough. We concreted four posts in the ground and then laid down some strong boards on top of the posts to act as a platform for the trough to rest on. It is too high for obnoxious horse antics, but low enough for them to drink out of. The trough is very secure, and it was a simple fix that I wish we had done much sooner.

[Texarkana]

No helpful advice, but I can commiserate! I have a short, rubber 40 gallon trough in my pasture so that my little donkey can reach to drink. One of my mares likes to cool her toes in the trough; the other mare likes to have a splash fest with her head whenever she drinks. If they empty it during their shenanigans, the donkey then has a ball dragging the empty tub around the pasture. :rolleyes:

Making a cover sounds like a good idea. I may look into that.

[ElbowRockFarm]

Thank you all! Glad to know we are not alone!

FatCatFarm- Selling him has been discussed! He is a major roller, filthy all the time (grey and white- argh!), a picky eater, and just always into trouble. But, he is gorgeous, very talented, and the sweetest horse!

GypsyMare- Filling the buckets from the trough may be the way to go if nothing else works. At least we would only have to carry them a couple of feet.

To all the covered, framed, into the fence-line suggestions- Great ideas, so we can let his head get in, but keep the feet out.

Going lower with the trough would prevent the tipping, but I think encourage the stomping, splashing, playing. I don’t have time to scrub and change the trough every morning before work! He gets it completely full of mud!

Another thought if anyone has done this…

A neighbor just gave us an upright 120 gallon polyethylene tank that had been used to collect condensation. It stands to about 4-4.5 ft tall and it round like a barrel. I was considering cutting a hole in the top along one side to allow just the head and neck through. Hopefully keep the feet out. Then secure a floating heater to the opposite side to prevent freezing, but out of reach.
Thoughts??

Thank you!!!

[ChocoMare]

We had a swimmer too. Elevating it up on cinder blocks helped but sometimes he just had to try it again. We finally got a very wide, tractor-trailer strength ratchet tie down and went around a tree and the tub. That settled that!

For ease of draining, we installed a short PVC pipe into the bung hole and then a PVC valve. Since it was elevated, we raised the one side a wee bit, so when the valve was opened, it drained nicely

[jawa]

At one farm I visited the owner used large trash cans strapped to posts along the fence line.

They are tall enough on their own to not allow legs to get in, but the opening is wide enough that the horses could get their whole head and drink the water even if the level was low.

This may be an easy, inexpensive, and no build option.

[wendybird]

Best troughs are made of concrete with underground plumbing.
I also liberated a set of concrete washing tubs from a house demolition, and they were perfect! I set one tub on each side of the fence so that it served two paddocks.

Plasticky sorts aren’t worth the bother.

[ElbowRockFarm]

Thank you all for the replies!

ChocoMare we decided to try this method yesterday.
Took the 75 gallon trough, and drilled a second hole on the side near the bottom. Threaded the new heating element through one hole, and a drain plug in the opposite hole. We found a large double-trunked tree in one corner of his paddock and strapped the whole trough about 2-2.5 feet off the ground to the tree. The oval trough fit perfectly along the double trunk. It also sits nestled into the stone wall, so he can’t get all the way around it.

Eventually, we will get some underground plumbing and electric, but not in the cards for a few years.

Time will tell if this will work. My horses always manage to destroy things or hurt themselves in ways I never dreamed possible!

[saultgirl]

My husband built a raised, insulated box to put our smaller (40 gallons?) rubber trough in. It has a lid and also a side door (to slide the trough out when there is still some water in it).

The hole in the lid is just big enough for the horses to put their heads in and drink (about the size of a standard water bucket). I position the heater where it’s not easily accessible from the hole, although a very determined horse could probably still pull it out. The lid also helps keep debris out and heat in.

Here’s a picture that shows the basic frame. We used a foam board insulation material. I don’t have a picture of the finished product.
http://imgur.com/ZRe9eLX

[cbv]

I have two swimmers. I do give them a low trough as their “foot bath”. Then have two muck buckets sitting on an over turned trough. One will not help as they drink it down low then overturn it. But two works.

If that ever changes my next move was to elevate a regular trough outside the fence…

The worry I would have with solid trough they can’t dump is they would injure themselves…when I have watched them in the rubber troughs they often catch their legs on the rim backing out.

That said they can probably injure themselves either way.

[ChocoMare]

[QUOTE=ElbowRockFarm;7919346]
Thank you all for the replies!

ChocoMare we decided to try this method yesterday.
Took the 75 gallon trough, and drilled a second hole on the side near the bottom. Threaded the new heating element through one hole, and a drain plug in the opposite hole. We found a large double-trunked tree in one corner of his paddock and strapped the whole trough about 2-2.5 feet off the ground to the tree. The oval trough fit perfectly along the double trunk. It also sits nestled into the stone wall, so he can’t get all the way around it.

Eventually, we will get some underground plumbing and electric, but not in the cards for a few years.

Time will tell if this will work. My horses always manage to destroy things or hurt themselves in ways I never dreamed possible![/QUOTE]

Fingers crossed!!!