Is it wrong to restrict water to colt?

Question

My colt makes an ocean of his box every night. He ruins bedding and soaks the floor. I want him stabled so he gets used to being in a stable - Ive had bad experiences with his brothers that havnt been in stables, so I want him to be used to the whole idea. Is it wrong to only give him half a bucket of water for the night instead of a WHOLE bucket? I theorize it might teach him to be economical with it instead of drink -pee drink - pee all night.

This is the third colt I have bred. Every single one of them has started peeing and drinking at his age to mark his territory. For all of you who think Im cruel to him you should see how he lives - better than I do! I dont mind the cleaning up, I do mind finding him playing or sleeping in his own waste! He usually leaves most of his water anyway, thats why I assume he only NEEDS half a bucket. He is on shavings, not straw. I got the idea from dog nanny, actually, because a dog who covered the carpet in piss over night was instructed to have a few ice cubes to tide him over rather than a water dish. And for that guy who said horses only have the capacity of a 5 yr old? Any one of my 5 horses could outsmart you buddy, they wouldnt even have to put their heads together.
Doesnt anyone else out there have a smart horse thats always finding new ways to punish their loyal human?

Wenchgirl and Tiffany - Thanks! Great to see some knowledgable and practical people! Ive had about 10 years experience with horses and I know a few hours on half a bucket rather than a full one wont hurt him at all - you should see the smug look on his face in the mornings! I just wanted to get a few ideas so thanks for your input.
I have heard of horses being without water for days on some farms just because people cant be bothered to fill up the troughs. Dont worry, we dont play that!

Answer 1

if he is making a mess of his stall just for the sake of making a mess and you are sure that he is not going to need the water, it is not cruel to only give him what he needs and restrict water access. If he is allowed to make a mess of his stall every night then that is going to become a habit and that is not good, stalled horses get some habits that are bad and making a mess would be one of those. If he is allowed to make his stall wet and have to stand in it all night long he could develop thrush. You probably arn't going to teach him to economical with his water though, he will probably just make a mess of what he can and be thirsty for the night, he could catch on though and stop making messes with his water. He may be making these messes because he is bored, you could get him a stall toy, like one of those hanging lick things, or a jolly ball and hang it, just something else to stimulate him. For my horses the barn is always open for them to walk in and out of, but one of my horses had a tendency to make a mess of the water in her water tank, she LOVES to stick both front feet in the tank and splash away, we have gold fish in there and every once in a while one will get killed, but she has a blast at it and its pretty entertaining watching her soak herself, but she also doesnt have to stand in the mess she made all night so its not that big of a deal. I have also tought my horses how to bob for apples in the summer to give them things to do while im gone for the day. That is real fun watching them do that.
I would say you are doing what you need to, to keep him from making a mess and keep you from having more work. I'd get a toy for him, just to see if that helps.

Answer 2

My first suggestion is to invest in automatic waterers. Then you will never have to worry about this problem. But if you can't, then it is acceptable to remove his water bucket or only give him half a bucket. Make sure that he is not without water for more than 8 hours. He will not die and he wont suffer. You can try taking his bucket from him late at night ( like 9) and then putting it back in with him when you wake up.

Answer 3

It isn't good to restrict water for horses, if they need it and don't have enough after they eat their dinner or it's warm you may get a bout of colic and a dirty stall would definitely be better than a coliced horse. I have used muck bucket type buckets for my stalled horses if they didn't have automatic waterers, then they can't dump them over. If he is playing in the water it may because he is bored and I have found that the round horse balls or orange cones work great for toys and they can't hurt themselves on them. Possibly have a vet check him to see if there is a reason he needs alot of water if you think he is over doing it on water. I have a gelding that I sware pees a lake every day in his pen, it's awful but it's just his body chemistry. If you are using straw as bedding, shavings work better to absorb the urine and it would be easier to clean. If you have to use straw, you could place the shavings underneath to absorb the liquid.

Answer 4

You can restrict water....if you want to have a colicking horse. If he drinks a whole bucket every night, he needs at LEAST that much water.

Geldings tend to be messy in stalls, esp if they are still getting used to it. Most horses take 3-4 months to get to be clean in a stall. Some (usually geldings) never learn how to be.

If you have an ocean- put more bedding in. Don't punish your horse because you are too lazy or cheap to clean it.

Answer 5

It may not hurt him. But, think about it. Would you wanna be with only a limited amount of water all night? If you dont wanna clean up after him why do you have him? I would say it is being mean to him. I wouldnt think he would learn: "if I drink all my water now then Im out of water all night, so I better go slow and save some" I have always been told that a horse has the thinking ability of a 5 yr old child, Show me a 5 yr old child that can think like you want him to think.

Answer 6

Of course it's wrong to restrict his water and you know it is. The question is, WHY does he need all this water? Have you had him checked out by a vet? That's the first thing you should do -- there may be a physical problem.

Keeping water from him won't 'teach him to be economical,' it will only make him thirsty, which will make him hate being stalled even more. He's drinking because he needs it. Or perhaps he's bored -- does he have any toys in the stall?

Good luck.

Answer 7

He is only doing what is natural.

If you raise your hand in class or say "pull over" when you have to go to the restroom, that means it is only right that you have to be forcefully restricted yourself, no matter if you are thursty....

Horses don't think "economical". They think realisticly. They are thirsty=drink. Drinking=bladder and bladder=release to intake more as body needs water to flush out kidney's, liver and to help digest the intake of food. If your horse is not getting the correct intake of water, he will become dehydrated and ill. Also, possible colic and choke due to lack of water intake to help saliva to help break down any feed he picks up or given, swolled and enter gut.

You just have to learn to clean daily, change out his bedding (or don't place him in a uncomfortable enviornment, can change it to sand).

Answer 8

You should never restrict water. You could get a cattle drinking cup and mount it to the wall. that way when the colt learns all it has to do is push down on the paddle to get its water when it wants to.

Answer 9

all u have to do is tie the bucket to the wall. if u have no place to tie it then yeah i would only give him a half of a bucket. my horse does the same thing. most of the time i just make sure the bucket is half way full and a lot of the time its not even gone by morning.

Answer 10

well if you don't want the responsibility in cleaning up after YOUR colt why do you have it. people like you should not be allowed to have animals period. maybe you should only be allowed 4 oz of water a night from dinner to bedtime. you disgust me