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Water for horses. cool or warm?

2K views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  xlionesss 
#1 ·
I've been reading books to learn.. One , Horses for Dummies, says horses prefer warm water.. Another book says horses prefer cool water. Which is it?
 
#2 ·
In winter, them seem to drink more if it is warm. They will still drink cold water but not as much. I have to believe that the opposite would be true in summer.
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#5 ·
I give mine cool water in the summer, warm in the winter, mainly to make me feel better. They're just happy that they have a clean water source when they're thirsty.
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#7 ·
When I was little I used to live with my uncle a lot, he had a cattle station in North Queensland. In the summer, it got really hot and the first two foot of water on the surface of the dams on his place would get hot, to get cold water you would have to reach right down to get the colder water underneath. When I was little the horse I rode mustering cattle the most was a huge old thoroughbred. I still remember being an amazed eight year old when we would stop at a dam to water the horses that that horse would walk right out into the dam then plunge his entire head under water to get at the cold water. Not even his ears would be sticking out. But that was in the middle of summer.
 
#8 ·
Cool in the summer to cool their body.. we have a well and it pumps cold water in the summer-- i think warm water in the summer might help them get heat stroke or over heat.

we use a floating or sinking water heater depending on what property theyre on to keep the water from freezing- i do not like having to break ice in the winter, lol. It does keep their bellies warm too- i notice they dont shiver as bad.
 
#11 ·
I think sometimes we forget horses lived (and some still do) in the wild, they were not dependent on us for their food and water. Those horses drank their water out of streams, creeks, rivers and ponds. I don't think they cared what temprature the water was.
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While that may be true, they only had what was available so they drank it. Doesn't mean they didn't care.

My horses always have a tub of water that's full 24/7. In addition, I have always made sure to offer a supplemental bucket of warm water at least once a day on the coldest days of winter, as well as cool water once a day on sweltering days of summer. My horses are usually waiting for me when I bring them their warm/cool bucket. That seems to tell me they actually do care and appreciate the offering.
 
#10 ·
You're right but there's nothing wrong with trying to make things better or easier for them. Since we domesticated them, they rely on us for their care. We should try to make it better than it is in the wild.
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#13 ·
From what I've read, it's recommended to keep water at 50 degrees or warmer in the winter to make it more appealing to horses. Not what I'd call warm, but definitely more so than nearly frozen :)
 
#14 ·
Very true that horses deal with things in the wild and we sometimes may worry too much about them, but I also like to remind myself as well as others that in the wild they don't live nearly as long and have much more health problems. That said, I like to keep mine as comfortable as possible.
 
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