Horses drink a lot of water – about 10 gallons a day, though different horses have different needs. Constantly needing to check water throughs and buckets is a lot of work, not to mention filling and cleaning them. Automatic horse waterers make keeping your horse hydrated infinitely easier – but how do you get your horse to drink from them?
Here is what you need to know about how automatic horse waterers work and how you get a horse to drink from said automatic waterer. Let’s get into it.
How Do Automatic Horse Waterers Work?
There are all sorts of different automatic waterers out there, so we will focus on the Bar Bar A Automatic Horse Drinker here. Basically, the automatic horse waterer functions like a frost-free hydrant – but designed to be used by animals. The waterers connect right to your water line, which ensures that your horses always have access to fresh, clean water, all year round.
The water comes up when your horse pushes on the paddle, allowing them to drink as much as they like. When your horse is done, the remaining water drains back into the ground, so that there is no standing water. No more need to worry about ice covering your horse’s water, mosquitoes laying their eggs in it, or algae growing with the Bar Bar A Automatic Horse Drinker!
Why Would You Want An Automatic Waterer?
So, there’s the obvious reason: it’s just easier than lugging water buckets around and worrying about if this horse knocked theirs over and all this. There’s also the fact that they’re healthier for your horses in general. You can rest assured the water is clean, and since the water drains back into the ground when your horse is done, this reduces risk of disease.
How Do You Get A Horse To Drink From An Automatic Waterer?
Horses are naturally very curious creatures. They like to sniff and inspect things and figure out what’s what. Sure, they can be silly sometimes, like by spooking at an empty corner, leaving you wondering what sparked that reaction. However, horses typically can figure automatic waterers out on their own. On average, horses learn how to use automatic waterers in less than an hour, with a particularly astute horse needing less than 15 minutes.
That said, there are things you can do in order to encourage your horse to use the automatic waterer.
Some of the ways you can get your horse to drink from the Bar Bar A automatic waterer include:
- Removing all other water sources. If there are other water sources around, your horse may not be as inclined to use the automatic waterer.
- Lead your horse over to the waterer. You can push down on the paddle and show them the water. From here, you typically get out of the way and let the horse figure it out themselves.
- You may need to show your horse that water comes out when you push on the paddle multiple times. However, you should let your horse inspect the waterer themselves and avoid the urge to push on the paddle for them if they don’t figure it out right away. They’ll get it, it just might take them a few tries.
What About If Your Horse Is Struggling To Drink From The Automatic Waterer?
If your horse is struggling to drink from the waterer, you can put the waterer into training mode. In training mode, the draining feature is temporarily disabled, making it so that there is always water in the automatic waterer’s bowl. Once your horse figures the waterer out, you can turn the training mode off. You can always switch it back on again as needed – just be aware that if there’s always water in the bowl of the waterer, you will need to keep it clean.
What About If Your Horse Used To Drink From The Waterer But Doesn’t Anymore?
If your horse used to drink from the waterer with no problems but now they’re avoiding it, something is wrong. That something could be a health issue with your horse or an issue with the waterer or around the waterer. For example, if hornets have built a nest near your horse’s waterer, they’re not going to want to go near it for fear of being stung.
Check around the waterer for any such issues. Inspect the waterer to ensure that everything is functioning properly, and fix anything that isn’t. Check on your horse, too, and see whether or not you need to call the vet.
Are You Interested In Automatic Horse Waterers?
Bar Bar A provides non-electric automatic horse waterers throughout the United States. Our waterers grant your horse fresh, clean water all year round. Since they’re non-electric, there’s no need to worry about them spiking up your electric bill or shocking your horses when they try to drink.
To learn more about our automatic horse waterers or for any questions that you may have, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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