Am I Obsessive???

[domane]

:o ???

I always wash out my horses' feed buckets after they have eaten - usually with a sponge as well! I always think that I wouldn't want to eat off a dirty plate... :rolleyes: I know, it's embarrassing.... :p

In the winter when they are using their stables, I always change their water daily, rather than topping up as I remember being told that the water will absorb the ammonia in the air from their urine - whether it's true or not, I don't know, but it's a habit I have.

Then I turn them out and Cherry will opt to drink from a big water filled mud-hole in the ground rather than the green murky water trough!!!

I think I'm fussin' over nuthin' :o :o

[sarah--x]

me and my friend ALWAYS wash the feed bucket with scrubbing brushes

[iloveshearer]

The horses i look after are the same! I spend ages filling clean water buckets for them in the field and then they go and drink out of puddles :rolleyes: :p

[nelle]

Erm - I don't think so ;)

I wash Sonny's buckets once a week with a scrubbing brush in winter and wash and refill his water bucket every day.

We just want the best for our Hosses :)

[evilgiraffe]

I refill the boys' water buckets with clean water, but that's mostly because their owner wants me to. If they were my own I wouldn't bother doing it every day - or at least I wouldn't fill the buckets right up, it's not like they drink that much anyway so I think it's a huge waste of water to chuck out so much of it.

Their feed buckets also get washed out - scrubbed if there's stuck-on bits, and just blasted with a thumb over the end of the hosepipe otherwise! I would still do that if they were my own :)

[Libbyo]

U know you are.


Why?


Because you love them. So it dosnt matter.

[Palomino Mare]

not only do i wash and scrub my feed and water bucket daily...i also wash and scrub my poo picker and wheel barrow after each use:o:o

[Joyscarer]

I wash Joy's feed bowl out daily too. She is grass kept and the buckets get done once a week but not on the same days. tbh they don't specifically choose the cleaner one to drink from but I hate it when they start to get a bit green even if the horse couldn't give a stuff!

[Skye08]

no you not.. its good practice do to things the way you do them.. im the same however not with the water (automatic waterers you know!);) but i do clean that out !

[Est]

Palomino Mare - now *that* is obsessive! LOL :D :D

I am not so careful with feedbowls, scrub them out every couple of days. The water buckets I am totally paranoid about, and have been known to empty and refill them several times in one evening if I can see any dust in them :o So the horses come in to clean water at about 6 o'clock, and have it changed perhaps once or twice between then and 9 o'clock when I go.

Ok, I'm a bit obsessive too! :D

[julia gulia]

I'm the same...I always wash out the feed and water buckets each day. I must say that the hosses seem to like the newly washed and filled buckets as they will always drink from it as soon as I bring it into their stall. Maybe they feel sorry for me and like me to feel useful :p

[Bay Mare]

No, you're not being fussy, domane :) Although madam doesn't live in I always clean her feed buckets after use and would always give clean water for the reason that you give.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

i always empty, scrub out and refil water buckets and wash and scrub (if theres hard bits stuck on) her feed bowl but as its one of those black rubber ones it usually looks clean!

[popdog]

Water and feed buckets are scrubbed and rinsed after every feed. Not obsessive at all...my horse loves a clean bucket ;)

[coss]

i try and provide clean fresh water daily but as there is so much lying water in the fields (lovely scottish weather :rolleyes: ) that they just don't drink the clean fresh water. two horses are provided with 7litres between them and they don't get through it, if there is a lot left i will leave it longer than a day as the horses are out - i do get the flies and bees out that float :p
i rinse the feed buckets out after each use which gets rid of the gunk, i have a bucket brush if needed.

[flintybaby]

OMG! I am the worst mum in the world! I dont clean anything everyday!!! :( I feel so bad now!

Im just not a tidy person really (as the yard shows and as my OH likes to tell people!!)

[rtk]

We dont quite go to the lengths of scrubbing buckets every day. But they are washed out with the hose every time they are used.

Water is changed 3 times a day if they are in, if only at night I dont fill the buckets until they come in as otherwise it get bits floating in it.

The younger ones dont seem to care but my oldy wont drink water unless he sees me filling his bucket and putting it in his stable.

We dont get green in the buckets, must be too cold here.

[domane]

not only do i wash and scrub my feed and water bucket daily...i also wash and scrub my poo picker and wheel barrow after each use:o:o
Don't scrub the wheelbarrow as I think the rust is the only thing holding it together (borrowed off YO) :p but I DO regularly wash my shovel, fork & broomhead too..... :p

[coss]

not only do i wash and scrub my feed and water bucket daily...i also wash and scrub my poo picker and wheel barrow after each use:o:o

i don't clean the barrow as the birds constantly pooh on it :mad: i leave the poo picker outside leaning slightly so that if it rains it collects water and gets a good soaking - that makes it clean enough for me :o

[puzzles]

hmmm, well i'd only really change the water if it was actually dirty - considering all the water shortages and droughts especially, and since there's not much evidence to suiggest that water absorbs ammonia (i shouldn't think it does as there's surely be a chemical reaction?).

food for thought though.

:-)

xx

[Trewsers]

I always rinse our pair's feed bowls out right away - in the kitchen sink with hot water first then cold rinse. Sad isn't it......(OH sighs and just lets me get on with it!!!!!) When I was on the yard I used to scrub them (cos we only had a cold tap near our stable and cold water didn't shift the dirt like hot). You're not obssessive - not really.......!!! I always change their water daily too - each night they get a clean full trug and during the day also in the field. I know horses like humans need some bacteria - but I just wouldn't want stale water and a dirty plate either........

[Portia]

I dont think you're obsessive.
I scrub out feed bowls after every use, they get a bit manky otherwise. Her stable water bucket is scrubbed and fresh water daily ( and I cover it with an old bin lid to keep the dust/bird poop out until she comes in. Field water I srcub out once a week (maybe more if the weather's hot and I can see algae) and just top it up during the week.

[Chip]

I always wash out feed buckets immediately after use. I used to wash and refil water buckets daily, but I had to carry water to the field. Then we got our water supply and bought self-fill troughs, but I do scrub them out quite often.

[Rips]

Must be the only crazy person who DOESN'T wash out feed buckets!!

Water bucket gets a rinse out to stop it getting slimy but I've never ever washed a feed bucket??? Usually get licked clean :p

[showjumper-zoe]

I always wash out my horses' feed buckets after they have eaten - usually with a sponge as well! I always think that I wouldn't want to eat off a dirty plate... :rolleyes: I know, it's embarrassing.... :p

In the winter when they are using their stables, I always change their water daily, rather than topping up as I remember being told that the water will absorb the ammonia in the air from their urine - whether it's true or not, I don't know, but it's a habit I have.


If you are obsessive I am, I always wash their buckets with a baby bottle cleaner after they have eaten and I always have to have fresh water I change it more than once if i'm aropuns as the amonia from the wee goes into the air and lands in the water, it is true I read it in a book or a horsey mag once, my mam is the same. Glad I'm not the only one! And I always clean the atomatic water trough in case a bird falls in as they're loads of phesants on the estate.

[halkynuk]

No ,,, I.M.O ,, you're not being obsessive.

Horses can often find something missing in their diets by drinking out of muddy water holes.

If it's safe to do so, try taking your horse for a walk on its headcollar & let it brows the hedgerows & watch what it eats - this can often tell you what it needs which can be supplemented by doing this as often as possible or adding the relevant supplement to its diet.

[c2b]

I am the same always wash up after feeding and clean water every day when stabled.
One of the worst arguments I ever witnessed on a yard was about this very subject...almost came to blows lol :eek:

My favourite peice of equipment is one of those washing up brushes from Asda where you put the washing up liquid in the handle, flick a switch and you have a steady supply fantastic for bowls and buckets.

[Bobbi's_mum]

I think i suffer from OCD with horses, i clean their feed and water bucket everyday, i poo pick as much as i can, (on the weekends i do it up to 5 times a day:o) and my tack NEVER has nay marks on it!!!!

oh well it keeps me busy:D

[colettybetty]

Yep, I wash feed and water buckets daily...barrow,poo picking stuff and yard brush washed through (especially after sweeping out stable),erm...bit washed after each use...rugs frequently washed, bedding in stable ultra clean, even the tiniest flakes removed and field poo picked daily.
I blame my nurse training (nearly 30 years ago, old school :rolleyes:), but in my defence, my argument is, that if I am taking my horses out of their natural habitat and putting them in a field and stable, I am removing their choices about how to live, therefore, I owe it to them to keep their environment clean and fresh.
Only dirt allowed is on the horses themselves, I don't care if they come in muddy, I don't wash them obsessively ,just enough to be comfortable.They always seem to look chuffed with themselves after a good muddy roll.Bless 'em.

[Mehitabel]

i just rinse ours, or if i'm making another in a bucket that's just been finished, to give straight away, i might not bother.
as we have a lot of ponies often eating at the same time, we have a big bath that is half filled with clean water - each bucket gets a slosh in there and then set upside down to drain. water changed after each round of washing up - so after breakfast, as it'll have had 15 buckets rinsed in it, and then whatever school poneis are in and eating are done in it, s it's changed again before the evening round of feed buckets need washing.

[tubby]

Yes I always wash feed buckets after every feed & give fresh water in a clean washed water bucket every time. Always think I'd be disgusted if someone offered me food on a dirty plate & wouldn't ask my horse to eat out of a dirty bucket either.Poos are picked up daily as I don't want my horse riddled with worms.

[Retty]

Max always has fresh water and clean feed buckets :D

[angelfben]

Oooh yes I clean and give a quick scrub of all my buckets after each feed. I'm also OBSESSED with clean water, my water tubs in the fields are emptied and refilled every day if they have ANYTHING in them, else they are just topped up. Water buckets in stables are emptied and refilled twice a day :o Once in the morning for when they come in and again at 'bedtime' despite them only being in the stables with the wate about 2 hours at the time :o

[Joyscarer]

Hm, seems there is a difference between scrubbing out and rinsing round. :)

[ClaireBear_nz]

Must be the only crazy person who DOESN'T wash out feed buckets!!

Water bucket gets a rinse out to stop it getting slimy but I've never ever washed a feed bucket??? Usually get licked clean :p

I don't wash mine out either, my horses lick their bowls spotless! I do wash them if I find anything gross in them, I once found a chicken trying to go broody in one...

[angelfben]

I find plastic buckets are fine with just a rinse round if anything, but I use those rubber feed skips and if you don't give them a quick going over with a brush they go all gungy and horrible :rolleyes: That and the other girls go mad if I leave my feed buckets lying around stinking of Apple Cider Vinegar :p

[Wally]

Always fresh water, but I just chuck our lots feed on the floor for them to eat.

[Bebe]

I rinse feed bowls after use, scrub them if they need it but it's rare that they ever look dirty.

I just top up water buckets, then let it run down towards the weekend and empty and scrub it at that point before refilling. I do this because after years of owning my horse I know her well enough to know that:

1) She much prefers to drink from the disgustingly filthy rain water in the trough at the top of the yard
2) If she can possibly wait she'll not drink in her stable and will wait until she walks past the trough at the top of the yard, or from the trough in the field (which is by the gate so she goes there first when I turn her out)
3) If she's got soaked hay overnight she won't drink at all whilst she's in the stable
4) No matter how thirsty she is she won't drink the lovely fresh water in the nice clean bucket until she deems it suitably dirty.

I use a sieve to take out any stray bits of hay & straw so it at least looks clean. On the rare occasion that she has a hay dunking session I will clean it out properly but for the most part it just gets done at the weekends. I do it at the weekend because this is when I rinse her stable with disinfectant, and I use the leftover water in her bucket (it holds about 6 standard bucket fulls) to swill the stable down.

Wasting water is one of my bugbears, it drives me insane to see perfectly useable water being poured down the yard.

[KateWooten]

I'm with the tiny minority here ... along with Rips and claireBear ... I don't think I've ever scrubbed a feed bucket or a water bucket. I do get their field's water tub empty and rinsed out most days - they have two, so it's no big deal to upend it and rinse it before filling again.

[capalldubh]

OH claims I verge on obsessive (how would he know? Huh!) but I am not nearly as obsessive as the ponies. Any feed bucket left on ground in field for more than 30 seconds after original eater has finished with it is obsessively licked by the other poor starving horses nearby. Goodness, can't let a few bits of chaff and some magnesium powder go to waste (grass obviously gets very boring after the first 5 years of eating it, unless it's the grass in the field next door which is even tastier than the chaff)!

You'd think we fed them horsy cordon bleu, but Jackson's covetable dinner consists of a large handful of diet chaff, with a splosh of marmite plus his supplements.

[KateWooten]

Marmite ?????

[Lindsey_S]

No, You're not obsessive. I think we all do what we think is best for our individual horses/ponies.

I rinse my horses water buckets out daily, sometimes twice, and each weekend they get scrubbed with a capful of bleach and rinsed throughly. (Belive me, my horse thinks its fun to chew grain over his water buckets, so if I didnt bleach them each weekend, the smell gets to be awful!)
His feed bucket gets scrubbed every day too, because his powder supplement tends to make the inside of it gooky.

[capalldubh]

Marmite ?????

Well somebody's got to eat the darn stuff...

And it won't be me. I think it's yuk. OTOH that's why Jackson can stand in the middle of a cloud of midges without so much as a swish of his tail, whereas I return every evening from the field looking like I have measles. Apparently the Vitamin B in the yeast extract repels midge and mosquitos.

[Lucyad]

I dont clean anything much! If my horse doesnt lick his bucket clean, he lets his friends! I do clean out water in the stable dayly though, and scrub the water bucket about once a week. He drinks from a river in his field, so luckly i dont have to clean that! Funnily enough he much preffers to drink from the river, so doesnt drink a lot in the stable - I think that the natural water tastes better than mains water.

[KateWooten]

No ... seriously ? I love marmite, and I never get bitten. It had better be good though - how much are you feeding him ? Marmite costs me well over a $ an oz ($5 for the tiny 4oz jar) .. and I've got four fat hosses to think about ....

[capalldubh]

I love marmite, and I never get bitten.

Mmm, I've noticed the world is starting to split into two camps. The clear skinned Marmite lovers who never get bitten, and the poor spotty itchy Marmite haters.. apparently they brought out a limited edition Guinness flavoured Marmite, if I could get that I might get to like it... or even better, choc flavour :D

In the meantime, 550kg of horse gets about a teaspoon a day. It does seem to work (and he doesn't smell of it, which is good because if he did, I'm sure I wouldn't love him anymore...)

ETA it doesn't have to be Marmite. Brewer's Yeast powder works too, so I hear.

[angelfben]

I tried feeding Alps Marmite once.... he wouldn't look at me for a week afterwards :o