Horses will most often help themselves to water when they are thirsty, but there are a few times when you may want your horse to drink when it doesn’t feel inclined. Here’s how you can encourage your horse to stay hydrated.

 

At Home

During very hot, or frigid weather your horse may be disinclined to drink because of the water temperature, even though it is thirsty.  During hot weather, a horse may not want to drink tepid water that’s filled with algae or mosquito larvae.

If your horse is fussy about water temperature, try putting its trough or buckets in a shady spot, make sure they’re cleaned out and refill them with fresh water often. Horses may also refuse to drink very cold water, or won’t drink enough water in the winter. This can lead to impaction colic, especially if their main food source is dry hay. Trough heaters, heated buckets or adding hot water to your horse’s drinking water may help. A study done by the University of Michigan in 2000 found that their test subjects preferred water at 20C, year round.

You can also offer something like well soaked beet pulp to get extra moisture into your horse when its cold. Adding a bit of salt to your horse’s feed may make it thirstier and more inclined to drink. You can also try using electrolytes, especially during hot weather. Ensure the water is easy to get. If the approach is slippery or there is only a small waterer in a crowd of horses, some horses may be afraid to approach the water. Also, small ponies and foals may have a problem reaching into troughs.

 

At Events

One of the first things you should do when arriving at an event like a show or organized trail ride is ensure your horse has access to water. Take along a bucket or two, and fill it shortly after you arrive. Tie it up so your horse can reach it, or offer the horse a drink often. Because your horse may be nervous, or the water may smell or taste different than the water at home, your horse may be suspicious of it. Many people bring water from home with them. There are many ways to transport water easily. You could fill a few camping water containers, a food grade barrel or pail with a lid, or a large home water dispenser bottle. This saves you running around looking for the water spigot at the event as well.

Some owners add flavoring to their horse's water on a regular basis, so the horse is used it. Adding a small amount of flavoring to the water at an event may make it more familiar. Powdered drink mixes are easy and cheap to stir a small amount into your horse’s water. Fruit tea could be used, whether from homemade, or purchased tea bags. Molasses or a small amount of syrup could be used. There are also water flavorings especially made for horses. Some owners add a bit of apple juice or cider to their horse's water, and some horses are even partial to beer.

No matter what flavoring you use, be sure to test it out well before the event. You might start out with mixing the flavor so that it’s rather strong, and then gradually cut back on the amount of flavor you need to add. so there’s just a hint of the flavor. Watch too, that you’re not feeding too much sugar in the water that may cause a colic episode. That way you can determine which flavor your horse enjoys, how little you need to use, and which may be distasteful to it. And of course, avoid drink mixes with artificial sweeteners.

Encouraging your horse to get its nose into the water bucket can be done be floating apples or carrot slices on the water. Some people use methods like clicker training to teach their horses to drink on command.

When Your Horse is Sick

Dehydration during sickness is a real danger. When your horse is very sick and won’t drink, you might try any of the above methods. Talk to your veterinarian about offering very wet beet pulp, or other generously wetted feed, like soaked hay cubes or concentrates. Wet your horse’s hay, but be sure to remove any it doesn’t eat so the hay doesn’t mold and spoil. Your horse might slurp up a cup of applesauce or pureed carrots that are well diluted in the bottom of a bucket. Just be sure not to overfeed sugary treats. A horse that is becoming dehydrated will need the attentions of your veterinarian.

Other Reasons Your Horse Won’t Drink

A horse with dental problems like a cracked or newly shed tooth will be reluctant to drink. Some horses are very picky about water temperature, the type of bucket they drink from, or may feel nervous if there are other horses around. Some horses may be inclined to drink if there are other horses drinking. Horses with ulcers may not want to drink a large amount.

Horses often have strongly ingrained habits, and anything that throws off their schedule, or changes their routine may be enough to make them refuse to drink. Try to keep your horse’s schedule and environment consistent and keep your troughs and buckets clean.

If your horse seems afraid of it’s trough or heated bucket, suspect tingle voltage. This is harmless, but alarming stray electrical voltage that may give your horse a slight shock when it touches the water. Call an electrician to help you solve this problem.