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[RC] just to clarify the question... - Jennifer AdamI really appreciate everyone's suggestions on how to encourage horses to drink in the winter. I will start adding water to their grain, as I have not been doing that. But I need to clarify the question: how can I tell if they are drinking enough? I *am* offering lukewarm water - I offer 10 - 15 gallons per horse per day or more. The first day they drank it all plus some. Now they drink about 5-8 gallons each. That does not seem like enough to me and I have not seen them drinking from the pond (incidentally, this is not the muddy stock-type pond you might think of. And being in an agricultural watershed, we voluntarily test every pond, creek, and retention basin on the farm for a long list of chemicals and bacteria. Water quality is not and never has been an issue). My vet said as long as I offered water they would get enough to drink - the whole "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink" thing. But I know from endurance riders that even if you can't *make* them drink, you can *strongly encourage* them to. So how do I know how much *encouragement* they need? If they have normal stools, normal urine output, and eating great, do I assume they are getting enough water even if it seems like they're not drinking enough? I've tried adding every flavoring I could think of - trust me, they don't like anything in their water. They do get free choice salt and mineral in both block and loose form. I have seen them eating snow as they munch their hay - does this mean they need more water, or is this how they're getting enough? And why would horses that don't like cold water eat snow? And does it make any difference that they're mustangs from the mountains??Sorry to bother you with the questions - I've wintered horses before, but in the 12 years I've been here we've never had a solid freeze that lasted this long! Thanks for your replies - Jen Adam _________________________________________________________________ From predictions to trailers, check out the MSN Entertainment Guide to theAcademy Awards® http://movies.msn.com/movies/oscars2007/?icid=ncoscartagline1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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