Cross Post Check Your Water Levels in Your Troughs

[beccachow]

My neighbor is renting the barn at the end of the lane. SHe has one of my ponies in with her herd to balance things out. Well apparently last night, the trough caught on fire...guess no one had been checking the water levels and had left the heater on in a dry trough. The guy who owns the barn ended up calling the fire dept (I was at work last night and missed all the fun, my husband can sleep through anything, perhaps the sound of his own snoring lulls him into a deep sleep). Luckily the trough is outside. I cannot picture the fear those horses had, first the fire, then the fire dept with all that noise and guys wearing alien suits...

It hit really close to home to think that Spanky and his friends could have been caught and killed had they been inside the barn and an inside bucket or heater caught on fire, or had they been in a smaller pen. Luckily for us, the corral where the trough is opens into a large pasture on either side, so they weren't trapped.

Please make sure in this weather...if you have bucket heaters, trough heaters, etc, check your water levels!!!

[gina kay]

Where I live it doesn't get that cold for long enough periods of time to warrant using a heater. Maybe about 4 times do I need to break the ice in the morning then it warms up once the sun comes up. What I think is misconceiving during the winter that may be the reason of letting the trough run dry is that you think, with the cold weather, they won't be drinking as much. But they still do.

[beccachow]

In fact, I swear I think they drink more!

Someone recommended putting a large floating ball, like a kid's ball, in the trough...apparently as it floats around it discourages ice from forming at all. That might be perfect for your situation, as infrequently as you get ice! PS: If it is that warm where you are, I'll be moving into your guest bedroom. I HATE the cold!

[farmergirl]

Wow, scary to think they could have been trapped if something like this happened in the barn.

On a side note, my horses have never been scared by fire. In fact, when I burn trimmed tree branches in a big pile in the pasture or large arena the horses love to watch the fire burn and will come with 25 feet or so to look at it. Never have had one spook and run away from the fire.

[beccachow]

This is why I am SUPER anti-stall, all about the lean-to, whenever possible. You just don't know . None of the horses around here are stalled at night...I cry thinking of horses caught in fires in barns...or people, of course, but you know what I mean...a person can open the stall door and get out, a horse, well, MOST horses can't. A few can and DO practice the technique on a regular basis.

[Bearfootfarm]

They DO drink more because they aren't eating fresh green WET grass

[MO_cows]

Yup, BFF you beat me to it. They need more water to digest dry hay. Also it is less humid in the winter, around here anyway, so they lose more moisture just breathing.

Somebody needs their behind kicked into next week. Whose responsibility was it? One of those deals where "everybody" does it, but "everybody" didn't show up that day?

Yes, it was a very good thing the horses weren't stalled. I've never been a fan of stall life either. It's the most labor intensive and expensive way possible to keep a horse, and less healthy for them to boot.

Glad it turned out all right, and suggest a "water trough monitor" be appointed. A horse can get an impaction pretty fast when they don't have adequate water. Not filling the water is dangerous all the way around.

[beccachow]

I am not sure how the ball got dropped, they are usually really good about it. Sadly, it only takes one slip up to lose everything. They know they can call me, since Spanky is mine anyhow, and I will go up there. I was working last night so missed all the fuss. If they had called I would have delegated to my neighbor. Just so glad it all worked out. Guess they didn't think it was that low, but like yo all siad, they are drinking MORE now. Noticed that with the goats, too.