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Not Drinking Water

boboren
Member

Sep 21, 2006, 11:30 AM

Post #1 of 5 (1405 views)
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Not Drinking Water	Can't Post

For the last two days, my two horses have not hardly drank any water at all. The temperature has dropped to a cool 65 to 70 degrees during the day but I didn't think that would make a big difference.

About 3-4 days ago, I did put them into a new area that had a good stand of grass. While waiting for that area to "come back", they had access to another area that had some grass and they also were given hay in the morning and at night.

They seem to be doing fine, but I thought two days without hardly any water could be the sign of a problem. Today will be the third day and I will monitor it again.

If anyone has helpful information about my concerns, I would appreciate your response.

Bob Oren
Semper Fi

UncleBuck
Member

Sep 22, 2006, 7:29 PM

Post #2 of 5 (1396 views)
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Re: [boboren] Not Drinking Water [In reply to]	Can't Post

Bob
Forage can make a difference on water consumption, Horses on lush pasture will be meeting some of their water needs through the water in the grass, that in combo with colder temperatures.
Has their water source changed? ex. one pasture has a spring for water source and the other you have to bucket the water from a well or city water source. When my daughter was showing her horse, we would have to carry water from home because the horse refused to drink chlorine treated water.

Buck

boboren
Member

Sep 23, 2006, 12:44 PM

Post #3 of 5 (1392 views)
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Re: [UncleBuck] Not Drinking Water [In reply to]	Can't Post

Buck,

Thanks so much for your response. I wondered a couple days ago if dew on grass would make any difference. Now, with your response, I see where that could be the reason they were not drinking.

Last night, they started to drink and I feel by this morning that they were just about back to normal drinking habits.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to me. It sure made me feel a lot better. I feel sometimes like a granddad with grandkids and maybe I watch them too close or worry too much. But, I just didn't want to go into a weekend and have problems that required a vet who might not be available.

Bob Oren
Semper Fi

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 10, 2006, 1:20 PM

Post #4 of 5 (1259 views)
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Re: [boboren] Not Drinking Water [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey Bob,
Noticing water consumption is a great thing as its an early sign that something may be wrong. Usually it is just simple environmental things like getting wetter feed or going from a hot spell to cooler weather when they are not sweating so much.

Having said that, it is also an early sign of colic. In fact, what you describe is a classic scenario for setting up a colic. Changes in temp, pressure, length of day etc can help trigger colic. Most of the time its a simple gas colic or grumbly tummy but sometimes it goes beyond that. Just sort of watch out for it.

Lately we have simplified our feeding program to using Platinum and Forco. This combination really seems to keep everything moving through.

Regards,
Mark

boboren
Member

Nov 11, 2006, 11:26 AM

Post #5 of 5 (1253 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Not Drinking Water [In reply to]	Can't Post

Mark- Since my original posting, the horses are now drinking water just as much as before. I appreciate your comments and will keep that in mind as I watch their daily habits. I sure don't want any colic problems. Thanks again.

Bob Oren
Semper Fi

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