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How much water should a 1200 lbs, 21 year old horse drink2007-11-24 21:16:05

I live in the desert southwest. Temperatures up to 102 degrees at the hottest. In winter the temperature is rarely below 40 degrees. Horse is in 1/2 covered open air pen. Horse has a drinking problem, and puts stress on her kidneys, so water intake is restricted.

Answers:

Since everyone else has answered your question about the amount I will offer some suggestions on helping her ingest more water. Is she drinking out of buckets or a watering tub. It is important to maintain water freshness. In a stall environment I always provided my horse with 2 full buckets which were changed (not topped off) 2 times a day. You might provide a separate bucket with flavored electrolytes which might help in the high heat. Leave a supply of electrolyte-free water as well. Are the buckets/water tub in the shade? If she will eat wet hay you might soak it for a short time drain off the excess water and feed her this hay. It is a good way to get water in her system. If she is on good grass she the moisture content in the grass also helps because her body doesn't need as much excess fluid to digest a food that has a higher moisture content. Think of eatting shredded wheat against salad. Salad actually adds to the moisture content in your body. When feeding grain I always added water (warm to hot depending on the season) to my horses grain. Not too much but enough to let the grain soak it up and become moistened. Some horses might not like it so add small amounts at first as to not put her off her feed and increase accordingly. This is a good way to introduce more water to her system. My horse actually used to dunk his own grain until I started wetting it for him. Lastly introduce a mineral salt block and a plain salt block to your pen if you have not done so already. This gives them the free choice of which salt they prefer. Good Luck.

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"They require a plentiful supply of clean water, a minimum of 10 to 12 gallons per day per horse."