Automatic Horse Waterers, or The Bucket – What Do You Do?
Written by Dave Anderson owner Bar-Bar-A Horse Drinker One of the most important ingredients to your horse’s health is also one of the- cheapest and most prevalent components - Water!
Even so, getting water into your horse’s system often presents some problems. “Water availability can’t be left to chance. Frozen stock tanks, cold water that discourages drinking, fouled water troughs, malfunctioning automatic systems, contaminated natural sources, too-small water buckers or those not filled frequently enough can result in a serious water shortage for your horse.” (Holly Endersby, Western Horseman, March , 04) Because of these problems, many horses do not receive adequate amounts of water or water that is clean and free from toxins. Before selecting the proper watering system that is right for you consider some of the problems that hinder proper water nutrition and then find the system that best offers solutions to the problems.
Standing Water Problems
Water that has no movement and is stationary in a bucket, water tank, or automatic waterer can grow algae and collect debris. This kind of water can become unpalatable and undesirable to your horse. If the water is brackish or algae infested it can hinder your horse from drinking proper amounts. In an article by Dr. Nadia Cymbaluk M.S., D.V.M., she says that taste is not only affected by algae but that poisoning can result from algae. She states, “blue-green algae (Cyanophyceae) produce a musty, grassy or septic order and taste in the surface water. Other blue-green algae (Microcystis, Anabaena) produce toxins during decomposition. Poisoning mostly occurs in late summer after a period of warm, sunny weather and rapid algal growth. Signs are sudden and include muscle tremor, ataxia, convulsions, difficulty breathing, salivation, cyanosis, and recumbency. Animals may become hypersensitive. Bloody diarrhea can occur. If the animal survives, liver damage results in photosensitization.”
Standing water is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes and can be a source of water for rodents. Bees and hornets are also encouraged to multiply with water open to the environment.
Standing water is heated or cooled by outside air temperature. If the water is too cold or too hot intake can be restricted. Imagine your own discomfort in drinking hot water in the summer or icy-cold water in the winter. Horses prefer water temperatures that range between 36 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. A horse will drink more water between those temperatures which will discourage dehydration and the health problems that go with it.
Electricity
Another factor that may keep your horse from drinking proper amounts of water is electricity. Horses are super-sensitive to electricity and even the weakest short in the system can gently shock a horse and keep them from drinking enough water or any at all.
Why is Water So Important?
Lack of water can cause problems to the overall stability of your horse. Quoting Robert Van Saun, D. V. M. , M. S. , PhD. extension veterinarian, at Penn. State, he says: “Water is the most essential nutrient. Water is necessary for all physiological functions. It regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, removes toxins through sweat and urine, promotes skin tone, is essential for digestion and maintains a normal blood supply”. (ibid. ) Water is crucial for digestion. When a horse is not receiving the proper amount of water his system pulls water from the digestive track to try and maintain balance. If this trend continues for days or weeks, the potential for impact-colic complications increase dramatically.
Intake & Outtake Your horse’s body consists of about 70% water. In order to keep this water percentage consistent, intake must equal the amount going out. In other words water consumption should be equal to the amount of liquid excretion. Water consumption can come from drinking liquids and from the feed source. Excretions leave the body in different ways: urine, feces, sweating, breathing, and milk lactating.
How Much Water Does Your Horse Need?
Here is a quick guide to the amount of water your horse will need each day to sustain proper water nutrition. It is divided into the weight of the horse and the minimum to maximum amounts of water needed.
Weight
Minimum
Average
Maximum
900 lbs.
3 gallons
4.5 gallons
6 gallons
1200 lbs.
4 gallons
6 gallons
8 gallons
1500 lbs.
5 gallons
8 gallons
10 gallons
1800 lbs.
6 gallons
9.5 gallons
12 gallons
Activities That Consume More Water
Some activities will require more liquid for your horse. Working your horse in the arena or on a trail can double or even triple the needs for water. If you have a lactating mare the need for liquids will be significant. If the weather is hot, water needs can increase considerably. Studies have indicated that at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, water needs can increase to 4 – 6 times of normal water requirements. In hot weather a horse in extreme training can excrete as much as 7 gallons of liquid per day.
Quick Tests to Determine Your Horse’s Immediate Condition
Here are some quick ways to test your horse’s immediate situation. Skin Pinch Test: Pinch your horse’s skin (on the shoulder, over the eye, or on the neck). Gently twist the skin and clock the time it takes for the skin to return to its normal position. If it takes longer than 2 seconds it could be a sign of dehydration. Dropping Check: With a stick probe the dropping. For proper consistency the dropping should be moist and hold shape. If it is hard and dry this could be a sign of a problem with water intake. Urination: When urinating visually take note to see if your horse is urinating regularly with normal amounts. Feed Consumption: Is your horse eating enough? If your horse is not drinking enough water he will often decrease or stop feed consumption.
Fighting For Water: If your horses are fighting each other for water access it can be a sign that water availability is limited.
Choosing the Right Watering System
When choosing your watering system it is important to note that all systems have their pluses and minuses. Find a system that will address the above points and at the same time give you some freedom from chores that may become drudgery. As important as keeping your watering troughs clean from algae is, the work involved to keep them clean can be overwhelming. Electricity can also be a factor in the cost and safety of your horse.
Here at the Bar-Bar-A we don’t claim that our automatic horse waterers have all the answers but we have most of them. Our goal is to address each of the above problems and offer real solutions. Here are some of the solutions that come with owning a Bar-Bar-A Horse Drinker:
- No standing water- No algae and no weekly cleaning - Self-cleaning- Healthier Horses (horses drink more) - Consistent water temperature 360 days a year- Clean, fresh, water with every drink - No electricity- Fully Automatic - Non-Freezing- West Nile Virus resistant
Happy watering and if you get a chance, visit us on our website. We’d like to get to know you. www.HorseDrinker.com Dave Anderson Owner of the Bar-Bar-A Horse Drinker
💡Key Article Takeaways
Feed Consumption: Is your horse eating enough?
Horses prefer water temperatures that range between 36 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Intake Outtake Your horse’s body consists of about 70% water.
3 gallons 4.5 gallons 6 gallons 1200 lbs.
6 gallons 9.5 gallons 12 gallons Activities That Consume More Water Some activities will require more liquid for your horse.
Questions readers commonly ask:
How do I tell if my horse isn't drinking enough water?
Per Dave Anderson: a few quick at-home checks will tell you whether intake is on track. The skin pinch test on the shoulder, neck, or above the eye should snap back in under two seconds; longer than that suggests dehydration. Probe a fresh dropping with a stick — moist and shape-holding is what you want, hard and dry is a red flag. Note urination frequency and volume; both should look normal.
Two indirect signals matter just as much. If your horse stops eating or eats less, suspect a water problem first — feed intake drops fast when water intake drops. And if horses in a shared paddock are fighting at the trough, supply or access is short. None of these are diagnostic on their own, but together they tell you whether to investigate the water source before you blame anything else.
How much water does my horse actually need each day?
Per Dave Anderson: a 1,200-pound horse needs roughly 4 gallons minimum, 6 gallons average, and up to 8 gallons on a normal day. Lighter horses (around 900 lbs) run 3-6 gallons; larger horses (1,500-1,800 lbs) need 5-12 gallons. About 70% of a horse's body is water, and intake has to match what's going out through urine, manure, sweat, and breathing.
Three situations push those numbers up significantly. Working in the arena or on the trail can double or triple the daily requirement. A lactating mare needs substantially more for milk production. And in heat — Dave cites studies showing that at 100°F, water needs can climb to 4-6 times normal, and a horse in extreme training can excrete up to 7 gallons of fluid in a day. The takeaway: your trough math has to scale with weather and workload, not just bodyweight.
Why is standing water in a tank or bucket a problem?
Per Dave Anderson: standing water is a multi-front problem. It grows algae and collects debris, which makes the water unpalatable enough that horses cut their intake. Citing Dr. Nadia Cymbaluk, blue-green algae (Cyanophyceae) produces musty, septic-smelling toxins; signs of algae poisoning include muscle tremor, ataxia, convulsions, salivation, and bloody diarrhea. Surviving horses can be left with liver damage and photosensitization.
It's also a breeding ground for mosquitoes and a draw for rodents, bees, and hornets. And because standing water tracks the air temperature, it gets too hot in summer and too cold in winter — horses prefer water in the 36-50°F range and will drink less outside that band. One more often-overlooked issue: even a weak electrical short on a heated tank can shock horses enough to keep them off the water entirely. Standing water that looks fine to you may not look fine to your horse.
How do I choose the right automatic watering system?
Per Dave Anderson: every watering system has tradeoffs, and the right one is the one that solves the problems your setup actually has. Use the standing-water issues from Q3 as a checklist — does the system prevent algae and standing-water buildup, hold a consistent drinking temperature, work without electricity, and avoid freezing? A unit that ticks those boxes also gets you out of weekly trough-scrubbing duty.
Per Dave Anderson, owner of Bar-Bar-A Horse Drinker (a current InfoHorse advertiser): the Bar-Bar-A is engineered specifically against these failure modes — no standing water (so no algae and no weekly cleaning), self-cleaning, consistent temperature year-round, no electricity, non-freezing, and West Nile resistant. He's careful to note he doesn't claim to have all the answers, but the system is built to address each of the documented problems above. Whatever brand you evaluate, test it against the same checklist.
What happens if my horse goes a few days short on water?
Per Dave Anderson, citing Robert Van Saun, DVM, MS, PhD (extension veterinarian at Penn State): water is the most essential nutrient. It regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, removes toxins through sweat and urine, supports skin condition, and is required for digestion and a normal blood supply.
The most concrete risk for the under-drinking horse is digestive. When intake falls short, the body pulls water from the digestive tract to keep the rest of the system in balance. If that goes on for days or weeks, the contents of the gut dry out — and the risk of impaction colic climbs sharply. That's why Q1's quick checks matter: a horse who's quietly off feed and quietly off water can be days into a dehydration spiral before it shows as colic. Catching it at the skin-pinch stage is dramatically easier than catching it at the colic stage.
