Cold Weather Brings Thirst

While people can decide what to drink and in what form, horses don’t have that. They receive their water intake from two sources; the water they drink and the forage they eat. This means what they are eating directly corresponds to how much they drink and vice versa. How much water your horse is receiving from it’s feed will depend on what your horse is eating, and what time of year. Just as the weeds in our yards change with the season, so does the forage we provide our horses. While pasture typically has the highest moisture content, grass and alfalfa moisture vary with when they were cut.  Unless you are wildly prepared, unlike myself, I’d bet most of us are feeding third cut hay over the winter, usually the driest cut of them all. This means that horses are receiving significantly less water from their feeds over winter and not only need to make up for that, but also their saliva production. In the winter, many of us use our horses less which reduces their daily exercise. When a horse exercises, his body produces an increase in saliva to protect from the stomach acid sloshing around, the additional saliva helps in breaking down food after the fact. Originally horses grazed daily, year-round, for their forage intake, so this makes sense. However, if our horses' saliva production decreases due to limited exercise, that will show up in their additional water intake.

The best ways to ensure a hydrated horse during the cold weather is always clean, fresh, thawed water, warm if you can, and if you are feeding grain or anything you scoop or pour, it is always best to add water to the bucket as well.