How much should horses drink?

JOJOBA

Fluffy Bunny, apparently
My horse hardly ever drinks.
I dont think it is a problem as he is never dehydrated when I pinch-test him, and water is always there for him - but he never wants it.
He is perfectly healthy and happy. Our horse's stables are fitted with automatic waterers, and at first we thought he wasnt drinking because he was unhappy with them, so we give him two buckets of water as well.
Sometimes I can tell if he's thirsty because he will go and stare at the hosepipe, and if I fill him a bucket and bring it over he will drink from it.
Sometimes he will use the ones in his stable but only if they've JUST been filled, and most of the time he just ignores them. If the buckets have stood more than ten minutes (Im not joking), have a little dust on them, or a piece of straw has dropped in one, he wont touch them.
Ive seen him drink in the field occasionally (obviously I dont watch him all the time!) but he hardly ever drinks in his stable. We know he isnt using the automatic as we keep having to clean it out as it gets a film on top, and twice a day I end up pouring two full buckets away and refilling them.
Sometimes he will drink out of a hosepipe in preference to a bucket :rolleyes: but he usually likes to just swill his mouth out with it, ie. just have the hosepipe run into his mouth and dribble down his chin.
Cant remember how much horses are supposed to drink a day but Im sure it's a lot more than nothing! He has been like this for five years now so Im not worried about it, Im just wondering why.
How is he surviving!? Where is he getting his water from??? :p
Thanks a lot - Jo and Hec
xxx
 
As far as I remember it's an average of around 5 or 6 gallons a day. It does vary a lot though - if he's sweating through hot weather or work, he'd drink more. If he's fed sugar beet, that would reduce his intake - as would keeping him on grass. If he was stabled all the time on hay, he'd drink more.

My sec A has a 6 gallon bucket in her field. I had to refill it every four days or so, if I waited for her to empty it - and that's in the hot summer months. Now it's wet, there's a natural stream in the field, and she has a companion in with her - and the companion is emptying the bucket in a day. Both are healthy.

Even if a film is forming, it doesn't mean he's not drinking - dust from hay and bedding will settle on the water surface very quickly. The only way to see exactly how much he's drinking is to prevent access to teh automatic dribker and see how much he takes from buckets.
 
Thankyou. :)
We know he isnt using the automatic anyway because he seems to be scared of it. :p
The film gets quite thick quite fast and never gets broken - besides, if he wont drink a bucket with a single piece of straw in it, he wont go near an automatic with a film, straw and dirt!
He is fed mix, chop and the odd carrot 2x a day, is out at grass all night and stabled all day. Sometimes has some haylege (no idea how to spell that) but no nets yet.
He's 15hh native type, cobby and round.
He drinks no more in summer than in winter.
XXX
 
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