Winter water provision AND Frozen trough tips!

Winter feeding and watering tips for your horse.

When your horse is fed more hay and less grass (when their grazing is frozen), their daily water intake decreases. Ideally it needs to increase to ensure good support of fibre digestion.

As responsible owners/carers we need to know the ways to ensure water intake continues at normal (ideally elevated) levels to avoid dehydration or impaction colic.

What to do each day

• Break and remove ice on water troughs and in stables ensuring a constant supply
• Insulate pipes where possible to stop them freezing and therefore limiting supply
• Make sure the water trough is accessible, horses may be discouraged from walking over rutted, hard and frozen ground to get to their trough
• Fill plenty of water carriers ahead of freezing temperatures so you are prepared if your horses water supply freezes
• Continue to feed a feed balancer to support healthy digestion as fibre intake will be varied, moving away from grass towards higher levels of hay/haylage
• Add a little salt to feed to encourage the thirst response
• Free access to a salt lick/block should also be provided daily

@bluechipfeed ❄️ It’s a frosty one this morning here in the UK! Don’t forget to check those water troughs and break the ice 🧊 Your horses still need plenty to drink, even in the cold. 🐴 Got any clever tips to keep them defrosted? Share them with us in the comments! #horsesoftiktok #FrostyMorning #HorseCare #WinterTips #horsewinter #equestrian #ponies #poniesoftiktok #winter2025 #horses #deicingtroughtips #CapCut ♬ original sound - bluechipfeed

Find more some helpful and fun tips below to encourage your pony/horse to drink more:

• Add apples to the water trough, it helps keep the water moving and is tempting for them to fish out encouraging an increase in water consumption
• Take a flask/bucket of hot water (to add to the cold) making it a little more tepid and tempting to drink, research shows that horses drink up to 40% more when warm water is offered
• Fill a 2 litre bottle with water (or salt water) and place in the trough, this helps it to stop freezing
• Soaking/steaming hay can increase water intake where possible
• Slowly introduce an additional soaked mash to feed to provide further hydration

Horses can only survive three or four days without water.

It is IMPERATIVE to check frozen water supply daily, if not twice a day.