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You can bring a horse to water, but…

Winter weather tips for encouraging horses to drink

Equidae Insurance is excited to welcome other experts within the industry as guest writers, featuring their perspectives and know-how in our monthly blogs. Our first guest comes from ForeFront Equine – an equine and canine nutritional supplement company. While we know hydrating our equine partners is important in the summer months, it is just as important in the winter. This time of year brings challenges such as ice forming in buckets as well as horses that may not be interested in drinking. We asked ForeFront Equine to give us some winter weather tips when it comes to encouraging horses to drink…

Located in Vermont, we have already felt many of the full effects of winter. If you haven’t had to battle ice in buckets, we might be a little jealous.  However, if you are in a region of the country that regularly experiences sub-freezing temperatures in winter…the big freeze is unfortunately inevitable.

Encouraging horses to continue to drink water is essential to their health, and frigid winter weather underscores the importance of maintaining water access.  Formation of ice is preventable, thus ensuring your horse a continual supply of water.  Below are a few tips for keeping your water from freezing.  Remember, no matter which method you choose, it’s critical to continually monitor your horse’s water consumption.

1. Add hot water to your horse’s water bucket. If you have access to hot water, mixing it with cold water already in the bucket will create an appealing lukewarm water for your horse.  They will prefer this over ice-cold water, encouraging them to stay hydrated.
2. Use heated buckets.  If you have access to electricity, this is certainly a great option to keep your water from freezing.  Of course, keep cords out of your horse’s reach.
3. Use insulated buckets. Insulated buckets will slow down the rate at which the water will freeze.  You can either purchase water buckets that have been insulated or make your own. If you make your own, be sure to select materials that are safe for your horse and keep the insulation inaccessible to your horse.
4. Solar heat your water trough. If you have an outdoor water trough, take advantage of the sun to keep water from freezing.  Clean energy that can be accessed anywhere!  What could be better?
5. Add toys to your trough. Add a horse ball to your water to keep the water moving.  If there is a breeze, the ball will move, keeping the surface from freezing.  If a thin layer of ice forms, your horse will break that layer as he pushes the ball.

While all these tips are great to prevent or slow down the formation of ice in your horse’s water, it is important to stay vigilant when it comes to monitoring your horse’s water consumption.  There is no substitute for your own observations.

Finally, the daily need for electrolytes doesn’t go away in the winter.  When horses become dehydrated, a depletion of their natural electrolyte balance can cause muscle stiffness, tiredness and colic symptoms that can be potentially life threatening. Administering electrolytes prevents dehydration and encourages your precious equine partner to keep drinking in the winter months.

Keep your horses happy, healthy, hydrated and warm… Spring is on the horizon!

FOREFRONT EQUINE, a family-owned and operated business, produces an extraordinary dietary supplement line to meet the needs of equine and canine family members. With more than 150 years of equine experience and 75 years of animal nutrition experience, ForeFront sources, formulates and manufactures a selection of the highest quality animal supplements available. Conveniently dispensed, the supplements from ForeFront are formulated from ingredients found in no other competitive equine or canine supplements on the market today.

The views, information, or opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of ForeFront Equine and do not necessarily represent those of Equidae Insurance. For more information about ForeFront Equine, please go to: https://www.forefrontequine.com/about-us/

For more information about equine or farm insurance, or if you have a topic you’d like to see covered in our blog, contact us direct at: Equidae Insurance, Inc. 608 Virginia Street East, Suite 302 Charleston, WV 25301 p. (304) 346-1198 f. (304) 345-3535

Stacey Halloran, Agent
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