I have a young horse that likes to play with its water buckets, consequently spilling water everywhere. I’d like to find something that bolts onto the wall and is durable enough to withstand a horse leaning on it. The only thing I’ve found are the $80-100 ones that are insulated:
You can rig up something similar by putting screw eyes on either side of where the bucket hangs, and then tying the bucket down using the screw eyes. Kind of a PITA but worked for a horse we had that would always dump the buckets. We used hay string, but a tight bungee or similar cord with hooks or clips might work.
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I’ve seen people mount milk crates, and then put the water (or feed) buckets in that - also secured to the wall of course. I don’t know if you can still find metal milk crates or similar.
There’s also this style
https://www.bigdweb.com/product/code/1146.do?gclid=CjwKCAjwvJvpBRAtEiwAjLuRPbZAawNe5URfnNpaK4Ix4E3JOnj6LNRMrtLv1ZZOd_JoDHGYPLMJshoCqJUQAvD_BwE
How often do you handle your horse?
Growing up, we didn’t have water buckets in each horse’s stall, or any kind of automatic waterers.
All over 100 horses in our riding centers were led many times a day to communal troughs, one for each section of stalls.
First thing in the morning, mid morning, noon, mid afternoon, after evening feed and the night watchman again in the middle of the night.
They also were taken by the trough every time they were taken out of the stall and before returning to the stall.
Horses would drink, drink a little or not drink then, but would next time.
I heard people say, won’t horses colic if they don’t have water all the time?
In many years, we never had a horse colic.
I think that is where the “you can take a horse to water, but not make it drink” came from, when that was standard stable management.
This could be a horse that, if someone is around to water every few hours, maybe don’t leave a bucket in there when it only plays with it, dumps it and is without water anyway, if nothing else works, like bucket holders or tying the bucket.
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Feral horses certainly don’t have water available 24x7 - they learn to drink their fill a couple times a day. Even many domestic horses live where Winters are cold enough to freeze water buckets/tubs fairly quickly, and the horses learn to drink lots when the ice is broken.
I work from home, but I’m not going to lead my 4 to a water tub 4-6 times a day :no: :lol:
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Check out bucket holders–metal frames that hold 5 -6 gallon buckets and bolt to the wall. I use them along with a “bucket buddy” bucket clip for the handle–works great, and you can easily remove the bucket for cleaning. I’ve had mine along time, so I imagine the price has gone up, but I think I only paid around $15-$20 each.
KISS Solution:
For my enthusiastic haydunker who also tended to tip his bucket, I pounded a fence staple into the stall wall so it caught the bucket’s lip.
Either below on on top the lip it prevents enough movement so the bucket contents cannot get spilled.
He’s been gone 4yrs & the staple is still in place.
ETA: bucket was hung with the Bucket Buddy hanger & he was still able to tip it.
I really like the Fortiflex bucket hangers which capture the handle and the lip. They do a good job of holding everything steady. They won’t protect against an animal that likes to bash them in and break them but they’re inexpensive, really nice to use, allow for easy removal and I think worth a shot. https://www.statelinetack.com/item/fortiflex-wall-bracket/SLT700565/?srccode=GPSLT&gclid=CjwKCAjwvJvpBRAtEiwAjLuRPeU86JC90kAlZAczAqgrG59ln-bQrGrEYEI7KMz6qGri3u1Om2qSuhoCWaQQAvD_BwE
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The 5 gallon bucket holders in my stalls are similar to this one (mine are black and a little different, but they are 17+ years old and may not be made anymore) . Never had an issue with the 5 gallon bucket coming out of the holder, even with a horse that thought they were play things. I always tuck the handle to the back. I use the cylindrical 5 gallon buckets like you find a Home Depot or Lowes, not the flared (larger at top, smaller on bottom) horse buckets.
