water intake for Mini

[bevann]

I have a grey 29.5" Mini gelding 20 yrs old who doesn't like to drink water.He has had mutiple colic impactions.None lately due to a new feeding regimine.At night I put 4 gallons water in a bucket add 1 cup senior feed plus 3 TBSP electrolyte powder 1 squirt salt, 3 cups chopped alfalfa hay and 3 cups fesh cut alfalfa stems and leaves.He also gets 2 small handfuls grass&alfalfa hay.His stall is quite wet in the morning and 1 very nice large pile of poop. In morning he gets 32 oz water with 1 cup senior feed plus 3 TBSP electrolyte powder&1 squirt sale.He also gets 20 cc electrolyte paste befor ehe goes out for the day.Small amounts of dry hay about 10:30 in the morning.I have no pasture now due to lack of rain. I am concerned that due to all the water consumption I may be causing kidney issues for him, but he is healthy and just a bit overwight.He aslo gets psyllium AM due to sandy soil here.He has a near rectal melanoma but seems to be in excellent health otherwise.DR Taylor, if you can respond I would appreciate your time and thoughts.I have several older horses that get their feed in water due to not drinking enough.So far so good with almost all except 1 older mare this week who had tacky gums and wouldn't eat.Treated her with banamine, Gas X strips and mineral oil and avoided the vet.

 

[Marty]

Hey Bevann, from my experience, that much alfalfa in all those forms, hay and cubes is causing him to be drinking so much water. Not to mention you are force feeding salt. This combined with summer heat in my humble opinion is causing the kidneys to work overtime. Not sure if its a bad thing: you need Dr. Taylor to respond; but when I fed that much stuff that causes them to crave water, I backed off of it thinking it was just too hard on the kidneys and especially fed the salt free choice. I also fed sandblast for years and did not ever notice excessive drinking due to that.

 

[mydaddysjag]

I agree with Marty, too many things in his diet that make them crave water. I love alfalfa, but not all horses do great with a lot of it. A horse I used to own couldnt be on it, he was drinking 3-4 large buckets full of water daily, and peeing so much his stall was like a swamp. Took him off of the alfalfa and he was back to his normal. Maybe because your guy is a senior his kidneys are having a harder time processing it?

Im not sure about where you are but I was able to find chopped hay at tractor supply that is not all alfalfa. Its lucerne farms "Hi Fiber" chopped hay. It has timothy, alfalfa, and oat hay. 9% protein, 30% fiber and about $12-$13 a bag

 

[Sandy B]

So let me get this straight, because he IS NOT DRINKING much water, you are enticing him to take it in my mixing his feed in it? I know many vets recommend daily loose salt added to their diets to help with drinking but I am not sure feeding electrolytes every day is a good thing. Maybe during stressful periods it would be ok. Like you I have several of our minis on wet (soaked hay) and find that has helped avoid any colic. I do not think your guy needs all that alfalfa but maybe you could find a timothy or other grass or grass/alfalfa pellet to feed. I feed a small pellet made by Elk Grove Milling called Stable Mix to my old 29 year old Quarter Horse, we fill a bucket with the pellets and then add enough water to cover all the pellets plus about an inch or two and it turns it in to much. She eats it much easier and her poop is nice and soft.

You may want to just add a teaspoon of salt to his feed once a day and then have free choice loose minerals or blocks available for him to eat as he needs it or wants it. I would cut out the electrolytes unless absolutely necessary or in times of stress. Then wet his feed down. Keep an eye on his stool and as long as it is of a nice consistency I would think he is getting plenty of water. If he does not get enough water you will notice his stool drying up in to hard balls. Our mini gelding, stud and a mare with foal get their grass hay weighed, then I fill the bucket with water to cover all the hay and let it soak a few minutes, then pour out that majority of water and then feed it. The gelding who had an bad colic has been fine since I started this method. We have been wetting their hay for over a year now. Sometimes during extreme weather changes we will even soak the mares in the fields hay.

 

[Riverrose28]

I have an older mare that needs electrolites occasionally, So my vet told me to give her two water buckets, one with just water, one with the electrolites added. She said if the mare needs the added salt she will drink from the bucket with the electrolites on her own, and she does. Same thing with the minerals, she said to put it in a separate dish, free choice. You could try that and see how it goes. Good luck.

 

[bevann]

Thanks for all the replies.All my horses have salt bricks in the stalls as well as in run in sheds during the day when they are outside.I am around lots so I can monitor water intake during the day.If he doesn't get the stemmy alfalfa and feed as stated his poops are only the size of grapes and very hard.He has another bucket of water in his stall and it is never touched.The melanoma is very near his rectum and may have something to do with size of poops.He is acting fine.I do observe that when he get the electrolytes paste he drinks more water during the day.I have several that do not do much water intake in spite of the heat of summer.Anxious to see what Dr.Taylor says.

 

[Sandy B]

Thanks for all the replies.All my horses have salt bricks in the stalls as well as in run in sheds during the day when they are outside.I am around lots so I can monitor water intake during the day.If he doesn't get the stemmy alfalfa and feed as stated his poops are only the size of grapes and very hard.He has another bucket of water in his stall and it is never touched.The melanoma is very near his rectum and may have something to do with size of poops.He is acting fine.I do observe that when he get the electrolytes paste he drinks more water during the day.I have several that do not do much water intake in spite of the heat of summer.Anxious to see what Dr.Taylor says.

My minis and the old mare that get added water in their feed (ie; soaked pellets or hay) drink way less water than the ones who don't. I am thinking because you add so much water to his feed, you may not need to give him the electrolytes because he is getting plenty of water in his feed. Have you tried to take him off the electrolytes and just keep mixing his food with the water?

I too have salt and mineral blocks for my horses, but recently I have heard from several mini people here that many horses prefer the loose minerals and am thinking of trying that myself.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

No, in your situation, you can't 'feed' too much water.

Not comfortable with all the other stuff, but you should be able to talk to your Vet concerning this particular horses care post colic. They will have better knowledge about your specific case and it should just require a phone call.

I tend to not use loose salt daily, but I know others do. I might encourage daily vegetable oil on the feed. Senior feed can be fed alone without any hay required.

Dr Taylor

 

[bevann]

Thanks for your reply Dr Taylor I will call my vet to ask about the electrolytes and other stuff.He is eating drinking lots and peeing and pooping well.I just don't want to cause other problems.I have 5 horses stalled at night and 4 of them get their feed in water.Have no idea why my horses don't like to drink.4 of my horses are 20 + so it takes some special management.I have a "Horsey Nursing Home" here.