Preventing Dehydration in Winter

[wendi]

Hi All

I'm just wondering what the best way to go about preventing dehydration is during our winter months?

I've done a bit of a search online, and theres lots of info on the dangers of dehydration, but not alot on actual prevention.

Today I pinched the skin on my TBs neck, and it stayed up for a few seconds, which has got me worried about potention probs like colic etc. I read somewhere else tonight that the best place to do the "pinch test" is on the shoulder, so I'll check that tomorrow and see if its improved.

What can I do? He is out 24/7 and there is alot of moisture on the grass at the moment, frosts, dew etc. and he has carrots and apples every day, which I'm hoping is helping provide some moisture for him, but is there anything else I can do? I don't add salt to his hard feed, but he has access to salt in the paddock, so would it help to add some salt to his dinner?

Any info much appreciated. Thanx muchly :)

[Bebe]

Can you add water to his hard feed? I make my mares feeds so that they're pretty sloppy, she actually seems to prefer them this way and it helps to get extra water down her.

If you can feed Sugar Beet, this can be soaked so its quite runny and most horses really love the taste. If you use molassed sugar beet you can soak a bit, and then use the water to damp the feed or tip the water into his water bucket if he likes the taste, this will often get them to drink a bit more.

If he already has access to salt in the field, I'd be wary of adding any more to his feed as you could dehydrate him further.

[wendi]

Thanx for the reply Bebe

At the moment he does have sugar beet, but not alot, as his total hard feed isn't that big anyway. I'll definately add in more water to the mix, and I'll leave out the extra salt.

Any other ideas greatfully received

Thanx :)

[Showjumper]

Doesn't he have access to water?

[galadriel]

When the weather is wonky, and horses are using/losing water in the warmth of the day, but not drinking enough in the chill of the night to make up for it--man, I hate that.

I usually add hot water to their feed to get them to drink (if I can), especially in the morning. I fill water tubs with warm water to make it more appealing. I do actually feed salt if they're not drinking enough, to make them thirsty; I've had good results with it.

If you have electricity you can use a heated water bucket, or use a hand-held bucket heater (the kind that heats the water but you take it right out again; it's not safe to just leave it).

My horses like powdered Gatorade and I can sometimes tempt them to drink more by adding it to their water (never to the *only* supply of water, just an additional bucket with "flavored" water). They think it's a treat.

[wendi]

Hi Showjumper

Yes he does have access to fresh water, but since we've started having frosts, the water is so cold, it isn't very appealing and he doesn't seem to be drinking enough, even when the water warms up with the sun.

Galadriel, I'll try taking out some warm water and see if thats more appealing to him, and I'll also make the hardfeed with warm water aswell.

Would any powdered drink work do you think?

Have you any idea how dehydrated they would let themselves become, before thinking "even if the waters cold, I'll drink it"!!

Many thanx :)

[galadriel]

Originally posted by wendi
Have you any idea how dehydrated they would let themselves become, before thinking "even if the waters cold, I'll drink it"!!

W had two extremely minor colics last fall due to not drinking enough water. Extremely minor, yes, but still enough to be scary. Horses can be such wimps about cold water! It would get up to about 75-80 during the day, then get down into the 40's at night, and the horses would just not drink enough water overnight to make up for what they had lost in the day.

I bet any flavored drink powder would work, being sweet and water soluble. I just use Gatorade because it's handy for so many things :) It also works for flavoring strange water so the horses will drink it (ie, when you're at a show and the water tastes different from the water at home). I think I heard someone say that she uses Kool-Aid the same way.

Another good way to get a lot of water into a horse is hot sopping wet bran mash :) Bran holds a LOT of water.

[Mehitabel]

i was going to suggest a bran mash as well - i use bran, whatever mix/cubes the horse normally has, chaff and plenty of brown sugar. add warm water slowly and stir unti lno more water is being absorbed and it's quite sloppy.
if oyu feed bran on a regular basis though, be sure to add a calcium supplement as bran interferes with the horse's ability to take up calcium, so you need to feed extra to compensate.

[wendi]

Thanx Es and Galadriel

I feed a small amount of bran in his hard feed, along with lucerne and sugar beet to help replace the calcium, and did consider sloppy bran mashes but I'm concerned about feeding that over a long period of time.

I think I've read that even adding extra calcium doesn't help compensate for the loss which makes me wary of too much bran, but I'm wondering whats worse over all - dehydration or calcium deficiency. Whats the lesser of the two evils?

I tried him with some powdered drink today which did not impress him in the slightest :(

If I put this this much thought into my own diet I'd be one healthy creature!!

Thanx again guys :)

[galadriel]

Originally posted by wendi
If I put this this much thought into my own diet I'd be one healthy creature!!

Oh, don't I know it! I agonize over what my horses eat.

Just fyi, I got the horses started with the powdered drink stuff feeding them the powder, and also the real drink--my Kat will steal gatorade bottles out of my hands. They'll both eat the powder dry out of my hand like a treat. So when I add the powder to their water, it's something they already know they like.

I have never heard that about long-term calcium problems associated w/bran; all I'd ever read was that you just had to be sure you were adding calcium to make it balance out. In fact, I've read of a recommendation *to* feed bran when you feed alfalfa (lucerne) to balance out the calcium.

[wendi]

Hi Galadriel

I'll try him with just the powder first, to see if he gets a taste for it.

He's quite a fussy boy unfortunately, in that he would choose grass over anything else!! He only eats his hardfeed on average every 2nd day I would say, which is sooo annoying as its not even that big a feed!! I've tried different feeds and mixes and the feed I give him now he eats the best of anything I've tried, but he just doesn't gobble it like other horses.

I'll just keep trying with the powdered drink/sloppy feeds I suppose, and look forward to spring!!

Thanx again :)

[Sarah B]

Talking about dehydration etc, I've been advised to give my TB electrolytes as he seems to sweat a lot, but have had differing advice as to when he should be given it. Some say before travel / exercise when I think he is likely to sweat, and others say afterwards when I know that he has been sweating a lot - Any advice?

:rolleyes:

[galadriel]

I usually feed extra electrolytes before I know they're going to be working hard, but since what you're doing is replacing what was lost, as long as you feed them SOME time you should be fine :)

There are also electrolytes that come in paste form for administering after a particularly hard workout.