So with this sweep of cold weather how is everyone monitoring water intake? Thoughts on electrolytes and/ or Thirst Quencher?
My horse doesn’t like electrolytes but will drink a lot of warm molasses and salt flavored water. Also very wet warm alfalfa cube mashes. You need to find out what the particular horse likes.
1 Like
Also try gatorade and dry chia seeds and alfalfa tea. Separately. Not all together. Soak alfalfa in water to make tea.
Also try beet shreds soaked in water.
One of my friends puts a layer of molasses on the bottom of a water bucket and then fills it with water and her mare drinks the whole 4 gallons.
You can also add apple juice or anything your horse like to water. Sugar, or whatever the horse likes…
You can soak alfalfa cubes or timothy cubes or any hays in water. Remember alfalfa hay has a slight laxative effect so that is good.
I always soak my mares feed - year round - so it’s basically soup and she slurps it right down. She also loves hot water with nothing added. She’ll literally drink a couple gallons right after I bring it to her - it’ll still be steaming but she still drinks it. Thankfully she and my old gelding never had an issue drinking in winter but soaking is key, as is offering warm water if possibe and making sure there is no ice/use a heated tub.
1 Like
My horses are going through a 100 gallon tank in 3 days,since the extreme cold hit. So i know they are drinking good by how often i need to fill tank.
2 Likes
I’m a big fan of horse quencher!
soaked alfalfa minicubes with every meal.
Exactly. The paddocks that have auto waters it is easy enough to see how things have changed also.
I have rarely if ever give electrolytes without very good reason. They get what they need from their feed, hay, grass etc. Considering I have had 40-50 under my management at times over the years. With NO issues I see no reason to change things. My vets feel the same. I have never had to use Thirst Quencher either. All of our horses (TBs) of all ages, gender, usage have always drank within or exceeded normal perimeters, expectations.
1 Like
Agree with gumtree.
I also dont understand making making a lot of changes to a horse’s diet because of weather/travel/etc. all the data indicates frequent diet changes do more harm than good. I make sure they have water, shelter, hay and leave well enough alone.
1 Like
I had a BO once decide that since it was very cold (single digits), that the horses wouldn’t drink enough so she gave them all soaked alfalfa cubes, which none of them normally ate. Ugh. They had heated troughs, everyone was drinking fine, my horse, did of course get diarrhea from the sudden change.
1 Like
One fluke impaction colic will get you thinking that a dose of electrolytes may be cheaper insurance than just trusting horses to drink enough.
With that said, I don’t overdo it… but I do think top dressing a little extra salt can’t hurt and might help. It’s well documented that working horses DO NOT receive enough salt from hay and feed alone. Cold temperatures can reduce their natural drive to self-regulate even if they have free access.
2 Likes
I also don’t make dietary changes. We feed beet pulp year round but when we get a cold snap I will make it extra “wet”. Regular feed in the bottom of the bucket, a sloshy scoop of beet pulp on top. By the time I am dumping feed it has made a sort of mash out of their regular serving of feed. It’s not a lot of hydration, but it helps.
We also monitor our water tanks with deicers and know when a tank isn’t being refilled as often as it should. In weather like we are having here in NC, we prefer to bundle them up and keep them out 24/7. We feel they are better off with access to water and to be out walking around (as opposed to stalled with frozen water buckets).
That said, we do not have to deal with the temps many of you do further north. I read about you all in Ontario, Montana and New England marvel at your workarounds in cold weather and dedication. Heck some of you even RIDE in this crap! 
2 Likes
My horse is drinking more than he usually does inside- normally he’s a camel during the day and prefers to drink out of the trough in turnout overnight, now he’s going through a bucket and change inside. Heated bucket, but also a heated outdoor trough; suspect he’s spending his nights in the shed and doesn’t feel like walking out to the trough. Since he’s a mediocre drinker, he does get his grain soaked. This time of year that doubles as “here’s a nice porridge to warm your belly because it’s too damn cold to live.”
I don’t give electrolytes or additional salt unless I have a reason for concern, and if you’re going to do it, make sure that the horse has fresh water in front of him constantly- if I knew my buckets were going to freeze solid in the night I would not try to make my horse thirsty.
1 Like
I was inquiring mostly because of the drastic weather change. Here in NC just a little over a week ago we had 60+ degree days and now a week in the low teens. My horse has plenty of access to fresh water and is on individual turnout with buckets for water. I can easily monitor his water intake. On these cold days his water intake has dropped a good bit so was wondering at what point you get concerned enough to add electrolytes for a short period of time to help. He’s averaging 5-6 gallons a day right now but his norm is closer to 10+/ day.
You could add some loose salt to his feed. Or get an electrolyte add that to one bucket. Leave one bucket with plain water.
I’d be a little concerned also. Thank goodness my horse’s increased water intake. Even adding molasses to the water just enough, to make it taste like molasses.
1 Like
I add electrolyte pellets for drastic temperature swings (15+ degrees) and for days when it’s in the single digits.
Mine is using a water trough, and his pasture mate is away getting broke to drive so I am not a good judge of how much he is drinking right now (since I am used to two using the trough).
I did leave both the big unheated trough as well as the heated trough in the paddock (whenever it gets this cold I am always suspicious of our pipes here in the deep south so I want a LOT of water on hand at all times) and what I have noticed is the damn fool prefers the unheated water source, proving once again, that horses ARE assholes (I knew that, back when I stalled them, each of mine had an unheated and a heated bucket, guess which one they preferred?)
But I do add soaked beet pulp to their diet in the winter in general (extra source of fiber and some calories) and right now it’s extra soupy.
My pony is the only one on her (heated) water trough, so it’s pretty easy to monitor her intake. That said, if I’m concerned about the amount of water she’s drinking, I can usually get her to drink a couple of extra gallons if I offer her a small bucket of hot water - 2 gallon bucket, filled from the tap in the house and walked out to the barn, so it doesn’t get a chance to cool off much. Float a cookie in it, and she’ll drink the bucket down to get to the cookie. She also gets a warm bedtime snack of soaked timothy pellets when it’s cold - it’s not as soupy as I’d like it to be, but she prefers them fluffy.
Buckets are freezing, outside tubs are freezing. I learned that Goober LOVES water with sweet tea in it, so he is getting that. And I will try it for the other horses to see if it helps them drink. I have also decided to give 4 smaller meals instead of 2 larger ones so I can drown the little bit of grain with 2 gallons of sweet tea water 4x/day We even have frozen pipes in the barn and are using a nearby hydrant to fill buckets and tubs several times a day.
So far, so good. Fingers crossed. It seems we have another week of this and are also expecting 4" of snow this week (in NC)
I top buckets off with hot water if I’m in the barn long enough for it to heat up using a bucket heater.
