Water is everything
– how to use less with your horse
Water conservation is an important issue all around the world, yet horse owners tend to be big users – and wasters – of water. We all know horses need plenty of clean fresh water to drink, and we use it for grooming, cleaning, and pasture management, but are there ways you can use less?
Let’s look at your horse’s drinking water first. Stabled horses will use buckets or automatic waterers, and there is no doubt that the automatic waterers use less water – they only offer what the horse needs. The downside is you can’t tell how much your horse is drinking, and a system can be expensive to install, If you pay for water where you live, then see if you can offset some of the installation costs for an automatic system with savings in your water bill.
Even out in the field waterers can save money, but if you can’t run an automatic system out to your paddocks chances are you can still use less water. How often has your paddock trough gone green and murky? How often have you had to tip it out and clean it? Deep troughs hold ore stagnant water – your horse or horses will only drink a fraction of it, and that stagnant water soon becomes stale and algae rich. It’s tempting to fill your trough all the way to the top, and satisfy yourself that your horses have plenty of water. But of you are continually scooping out algae and slime, or tipping out gallons each time you clean, ask yourself if you could fill it halfway, or even less. Letting your trough get down to only a couple of inches of water – even if that means you have to check and top it up more often – will keep it cleaner and save gallons of water.
If your field has natural water, why not see if that can supply your horses? Many owners are cautious of using natural streams, fearful of contamination, and will even fence them off. Instead, call your local environmental department for a test kit, which you can use to sample your water and see if it is suitable for horses. In many areas, natural flowing streams make perfectly good water sources (although ponds almost never do), and as long as the banks are safe and the stream not too deep then you may be able to replace your trough altogether.
In the stable too you can find ways to save water. Opt to sweep instead of hose your aisles and walkways, use a bucket when you sponge your horse down, and use a damp sponge and elbow grease to clean your bits instead of a tap or hose. Hay soaking is a major culprit in water wastage in some stables. The truth is, running a hose over and through the hay net for just a minute or two will remove most of the dust and seeds that affect a sensitive horse – soaking haynets for hours has little further dust removing benefits, and actually draws out much of the valuable nutrients your hay contains. Instead of soaking your hay, think about investing in better quality hay with less dust, or just giving it a rinse!
In the summer months, how often do you hose or bath your horse? Excessive baths can strip your horse’s coat of protective oils and a glossy shine, so think about whether you can limit how often you shampoo your horse. When you do bath, or when you sponge off after a ride, use a bucket so you can limit the amount of water you use. Using a bucket of clean water and a sponge, and a little extra effort, can get results just about as good as shampoo, and you don’t need to rinse. A hose with cold water has excellent therapeutic effects, but if you cold hose your horse’s legs often, why not look into getting a therapeutic whirlpool for your horse? These cool and circulate a container of water, and give all the healing benefits of cold hosing with less water.
So while water is cheap, it is precious. Take a look at your stable management, think about how much water to use – and how much you waste – every day, and see if any of these tips can reduce your ater bill, and you impact on the environment!
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