Can anyone suggest what to do for a horse who only drinks if you've exercised him intensely? we have heated waterers but my horse has always been a poor drinker year round. I tried adding apple a day to his feed but he didnt change his drinking habits. A horse at the barn just colicked and I'm really concerned he might if he doesn't drink. Am I being overly cautious? He's never colicked before but I have this fear!

Does he have access to a salt brick? Horses need salt and it should also make him thirsty. If you don't have one try putting a little salt in his feed every day. Just regular table salt like you would eat. I had a horse who did this same thing and my vet told me to use salt. He said it doesn't hurt them and does the same thing that electrolytes would do, but for a lot less $$. If this doesn't help, you may want to mention it to your vet.

Along with what Cowgirlmom suggested, my friend has a similar issue with her horse and she adds apple juice to water sometimes to encourage him to drink. She also adds gatoraid at shows and clinics away from home in the summer when he's really finicky about drinking. Does he get enough hay or pasture? I remember someone telling me that spending most of the day chewing encourages them to drink more, but I don't know if that's true. I've also seen people soak their hay or soak hay cubes in water to get the horse to take in more fluids. I think like Cowgirlmom said, I'd ask the vet if salt or a salt block don't do the trick.

Have you tried feeding shredded beet pulp soaked in water? Or soaking hay cubes like KCGarland mentioned? Both add a lot of water into their feed, so the horse is getting liquids without actually drinking. The beet pulp has worked wonders for me.

Amy

I have never heard of a horse that wouldn't drink if he wasn't thirsty? Wow, All our horses usually distroy the waterers trying to get more...

Is it a type of syndrome? that could cause all kinds of problems, but I am perplexed at why He/she wouldn't want to drink.. everytime I go by grass or water my arms get a work out good old Molly, she has a neck like an elephant.

Sorry to hear about your issue. I was kidding about the hose... but hey if he knows he gets the hose if he doesn't drink maybe he will clean up his act!

There are several reasons that can explain why your horse doesn´t like to drink water:

Some horses will not drink water simply because they do not like or are not used to the taste of water. If you have one of these guys, find a flavor such as Gatorade or apple cider vinegar and add it to the water to encourage drinking.
Some horses do not drink well because of internal dampness, which is associated with the spleen and is characterized by heaviness, stickiness and edema. If your horse has a tendency to stock up in his legs, have puffiness under the eyes, swelling or thick coating on his tongue or susceptibility to moist skin eruptions, he may have internal dampness.
Some horses prefer drinking from a trough over a bucket or automatic waterer.
If your horse has sore teeth he will back off on water drinking especially if the water is cold.
If you can't get your horse to drink, cut out his grain and cut back on his hay until you solve the problem. Offer fresh grass, bran mashes and moisture rich treats such as carrots, apples or watermelon.