How to Water a Horse While Traveling

When a horse is being hauled in during cool weather it loses two to five pounds per every hour of travel, most of it is sweated off. While traveling in warm weather your horse loses even more weight each hour. One of the best ways to make sure your horse stays healthy while traveling is to make sure that it gets plenty of water.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

How to Water a Horse While Traveling

1. Wet its hay before feeding it. Not only is this an excellent way to provide your horse with much needed water, it is also one of the best methods to eliminate any dust in your hay that could cause respiratory problems.

2. Give the horse water with which it is familiar. It isn’t unusual for a horse to refuse to drink strange water. The time to convince your horse to drink strange water is after it is safely rehydrated.

3. On long trips, give your horse a break every three or four hours and give it a bucket of water. When you pull over, make sure that the stop lasts long enough to give your horse a chance to relax the muscles that they have locked to counteract the constant swaying of the trailer. The average stop should last 30-60 minutes.

4. When you are hauling a horse during hot weather it is a good idea to mix a small amount of electrolytes into their water. The electrolytes will help replenish the salt they lose during the trip.