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Horse Barn

arfields
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Nov 1, 2005, 7:50 AM

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Horse Barn	Can't Post

Posted on CountryByNet also

I am buying 10.43 acres to keep my small breeding business or horses. I currently have three mares in foal (due Feb, march, june). There is an existing building on the property that is 30x50 wood support metal cover. I want to put 2 broodmare stalls (10x18) and 4 normal stalls (10x12). The bad thing is the stalls can only be 10 wide at most since the barn is 30 wide total and I do not want to make the hall way any smaller. The good thing is my horses are not going to spend much time inside the barn. I want to install heaters of some kind to keep the stalls warm when the mares foal.

I am also looking into getting a smaller building to house the tractor, hay and shavings. I have looked at several options but most are too cheaply made or cost an arm and a leg.

We have 3 pastures and a smaller turn out that we want to have automatic waters installed. I have one person I know that has had several problems with Nelson waterers and I have read that alot of people think they are the best out there. I have three I am looking at

http://www.miraco.com/horsewater.htm
http://www.nelsonmfg.com/a700H_001.htm
http://www.ritchiefount.com/watermatic.html

I have been reading anything I can find on this and have even bought a few books. Any ideas or thoughts shared will be more then welcome.

Angela

Mark4510
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Nov 2, 2005, 3:09 PM

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Re: [arfields] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Angela,
Everyone I know who uses auto waterers uses Nelsons and they like them. From my perspective I would prefer to use water buckets so I know how much water my horses are using.

Mark

arfields
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Nov 2, 2005, 3:35 PM

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Re: [arfields] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

Nelson waters have an optional meter you can use to check how much water fills the tank, but just a note for everyone that says they use water bucket to know how much the horse is drinking.... how do you know how much your horse drinks and how much ends up on the floor when they play, dunk hay, bump the bucket etc? My personal ideas on this is you do not know and you cannot rely on how much you put in the bucket to determine your horse is drinking so I use other methods like observing my horses to make sure they are drinking. Lucky for me in this case I only have 6 horses right now, on a large farm this would not be possible.

arfields
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Nov 2, 2005, 3:36 PM

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Re: [arfields] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

More info

I think (not 100% sure) the person I know that had issues with her waterers did not use a licensed electrician and plumber to install the waterers and the issue could have been the installation and not the waterer product its self.

Mark4510
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Nov 4, 2005, 11:35 AM

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Re: [arfields] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

That is certainly a very valid point. Don�t get me wrong�.I think Nelson waterers are the best for an automated system and if they have a monitor so much the better.

Unless a horse is going to be at our place for only a short period of time we get to know their feeding/drinking patterns which helps us monitor their health. If a horse plays with its water we will generally see the bucket moved around and the bedding saturated. If they are dunking feed, we will see remnants at the bottom of the water bucket so those don�t tend to be an issue.

I also think horses drink easier and more when they have a large clean container of water.

The other reason that we use the large plastic bucket is that it�s not a fairly large, somewhat immovable object that a horse can get hung up on. I would much rather replace bedding more frequently for those that play with their water than replace a waterer that was knocked over, had a hoof hung up in it or has pulled the plumbing off the wall.

For us I don�t think they are bad but I don�t think they are the best for a smaller facility especially for performance horses.

arfields
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Nov 4, 2005, 11:48 AM

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Re: [arfields] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

I think you are taking about in a barn, the waterers I am putting in are in my pasture. I have had horses at home where we used a stock tank with a heater. I hated it at the time. I am going to put monitors on the waterers so that I can see how many water is being used. Also all of my horses currently have automatic waterers in their pastures at the stables I ride with now. I think having them move into a situation they are use to will be better. I like that the nelson waterers have an easy to clean surface and are not bright red and blue making my pasture look like a circus. In the barn I have not decided if I am going to put the nelson stall waterers in with the measure or just use insulated buckets. It gets pretty cold here and I am not going to have much heat in the barn except in the broodmare stalls.

Mark4510
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Nov 4, 2005, 3:57 PM

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Re: [arfields] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

Ah.....I missed that this was for primarily outdoor use. That being the case, I would sure agree that Nelson would be the way to go.

Mark

rdm
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Nov 7, 2005, 12:39 PM

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rdm
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Nov 7, 2005, 1:20 PM

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Re: [rdm] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

It doesn't look like my response showed up. I have done research on waterers myself. My neighbors have had them for over 20 years. Although they have the stainless steel units I prefered the plastic that Clinton Anderson promotes. Of course I didn't care for their yellow and red and found that they do have green available as well. They are very easy to clean! The biggest thing that I liked is the fact that they have been around a lot longer than anybody else and they have a 10 year warranty.

rdm
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Nov 7, 2005, 1:23 PM

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Re: [rdm] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

Ok forgive me, I forgot to mention that I prefer Ritchie. Sorry new at this.

Mark4510
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Nov 7, 2005, 2:30 PM

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Re: [rdm] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

What do you like about the Ritchie over the Nelson?

rdm
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Nov 7, 2005, 2:50 PM

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Re: [Mark4510] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

I like the fact that I do not have to remove anything to clean the unit. Just pop out the drain plug, pop it into the chamber hole, let the water wash out and wipe off the sides, replace the drain plug and boom your done. I have also heard of problems with Nelsons valve getting stuck open. They have some type of balance beem system, I think thats what its called that can get hay and other stuff under it causing it to stay open or bend. Ritchie has a plastic float but it is easy to move if I want to adjust the water level and I dont need any tools to be able to get to the float area. Im sure everyone will have different issues and preferences with the different valves. Overall, the Ritchie and Nelson are two completely different designs. Its almost like comparing apples to oranges. I think it comes down to personal preference and what you can ultimatly trust. Like I said in the previous post, Ritchie has been around a lot longer and they have a better warranty. I guess if I were to spend the money that these units require, I would rather have the longer warranty just in case something did go wrong.

rdm
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Nov 7, 2005, 2:56 PM

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Re: [rdm] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

I think something was mentioned earlier about a water monitor. Ritchie does have a water meter as well.

Mark4510
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Nov 7, 2005, 3:24 PM

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Re: [rdm] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

Interesting. And no problems with plastic cracking or being mauled by the horses? I dont have any experience but it seems like that could be an issue. But, like I said, I dont have any real long term first hand experience with the Ritchies.

Thanks for the reply.
Mark

rdm
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Nov 7, 2005, 3:33 PM

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Re: [Mark4510] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

No the plastic is very thick and hard but has curved edges so it wont hurt the horses or other animals. One thing that I found when researching is that in the bigger models that are used for the cattle do not require a neck rail over it. This is to prevent the cattle from standing in it. Apparently cattle can stand in a Ritchie without damaging it. And if they did it is covered by the warranty because it would be a defect.

CJuneau
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Nov 15, 2005, 5:39 PM

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Re: [rdm] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

Does anyone know/have experience with keeping these auto waterer pipes from freezing? Do you heat tape everything? I live in PA and everything here freezes in the winter, so I am wondering if this type of system would cause problems for me(although I LOVE the idea of auto waterers!). Any advice would be appreciated!

rdm
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Nov 16, 2005, 9:39 AM

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Re: [CJuneau] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

The watering unit that I have has two heaters. One that sits in the chamber area and another that wraps around the water pipe. I took a look at the instructions so I could tell you right. It says that the line must be centered in a riser tube (I purchased the thermal tubes Ritchie makes. They are insulated). It says to not add any insulation as it provides a path for frost. If the instructions are followed you shouldn't have any problems with freezing water lines.

CJuneau
Bronze Member

Nov 16, 2005, 11:51 AM

Post #18 of 21 (2008 views)
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Re: [rdm] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks for the info! I will start looking into the brands everyone has mentioned to see if this can work for me. Smile

Cowboydoc
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Dec 24, 2005, 12:11 PM

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Re: [Mark4510] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

We have used these for a number of years now and had zero problems with them. We have several hundred head drinking out of 3 of them 365 days/year. http://www.browerequip.com/...perform/perform.html

Gates
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Jan 23, 2006, 10:45 AM

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Re: [CJuneau] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

CJuneau,

I have 22 Nelson waterers on my farm. I spent a lot of time investigating different types, the Nelson was my choice. I have had them for 3 years with out a single problem. As for freezing there are different ways to approach the issue. As RDM stated my Nelsons have heaters built in under the bowls. The field waterers are installed over a 12" tube. The tube is buried in the ground 6'. This allows the ground Temp. ~ 56 degrees to rise up into the waterer. I have had no problems at all. The biggest problem people have with waterers is they do not install a sediment filter in the supply line. The sediment gets into the valve and causes it to mal-function.

Ron

(This post was edited by Gates on Jan 23, 2006, 12:42 PM)

CJuneau
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Jan 23, 2006, 6:06 PM

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Re: [Gates] Horse Barn [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks for the advice! I have heard great things about the Nelson waterers. I have emailed the company and hope to hear from a sales rep soon! Smile

My biggest fear is the freezing, so hopefully we can do what is necessary to prevent the pipes from freezing. Great point about the sediment filters! Thanks! Christina

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