Help Maintain Health and Keep Your Horse Drinking and Hydrated!
As horse owners, we understand the importance of a horse drinking and staying hydrated. That said I am sure many of us have been in the position where our horse just won’t drink as it should! Last year I experienced this to an extreme with my personal horse Peppy, who developed severe impaction colic, that almost took his life.
Last July, we had some drastic weather changes and had just moved. The stress changed his drinking patterns and it is my belief that this is what caused his colic. Although I had him on electrolytes, ForeRunner, and a soaked grain ration. His reduction in drinking still caught up with him. The vet said early detection and care was what saved his life. Although I was thankful for their assistance and glad Peppy pulled through, preventing this from happening again was a must for me.
We all know the saying “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” With Peppy that was the case then and continued to be the case after his episode. I started to really monitor the amount he was drinking and it was often substantially less than my other two horses. For him, the solution came through the Horse Hydrator filter. Many horse owners utilize this product mainly for travel. I decided to use it daily when I filled my horse water tanks. Since the start of using this product, Peppy consistently drinks more and although he still doesn’t out-drink my mare, he now stays within the average of 5-15 gallons per day.
Horse Health Naturally with the 8 Laws of Health
In Equine Naturopathy, there is a focus on promoting and maintaining health through balancing and abiding by the 8 Laws of Health. Water is one of those laws. Proper hydration is crucial to a horse’s overall health and the key to proper digestion as well! Providing fresh, clean (of toxins), water to your horse continually is imperative. This can actually be a challenge as pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides flow through the irrigation water. Even those using tap water can find concern with fluoridation, chlorine, and other added toxins.
I am not sure if Peppy was sensitive to the smell or taste of our water, we use tap water for our horses. But no matter why he prefers the filtered water, if it promotes his overall health and encourages him to drink the appropriate amount of water it is worth the use and investment for me!
Other Tips and Ideas for Encouraging a Horse to Drink and Stay Hydrated
- Keep buckets and troughs clean
- Dump and freshen the water regularly
- Check the water temperature- either extreme, of hot or cold, can discourage the horse from drinking.
- Some encourage adding flavor to the water. We recommend trying to avoid using sweet or sugary additives if possible. Citrus Fresh Essential Oil Blend or Peppermint Essential Oil can be a great natural option to add. Just one or two drops is efficient and safe if you are using a therapeutic grade essential oil. Make sure that you allow or offer an unflavored water source as well. Sometimes the additives will discourage the horse from drinking.
- Soaking hay or grain rations can help with hydration if a horse is not choosing to drink.
You can find related tips and topics on the links below. Along with the posts I shared last year during Peppy’s struggle with colic and how I caught it very early and naturally assisted him through it. We did not choose surgery, fluids, and electrolytes, along with essential oils and bodywork was what we utilized to pull him through.
- Knowing Your Horse’s Normal to Prevent Catastrophe
- Essential Oils and Heat Stroke in Horses
- Equine Naturopathy- Discover Nature’s Health Care
Don’t stop at hydration… Seek the answers to the questions and topics that you worry about most when it comes to your horse’s care; grab your copy of my book Healthy as a Horse and discover the forgotten framework of care that can transform your horse’s health. Click here to reserve your copy now.
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Life is better when you’re horsin’ around!
