# Water on trail rides



## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

We let our horses drink from any moving body of water. Not ponds or puddles unless we know they are fresh. Other animals in s stream or creek are not an issue as the water is constantly moving. Obviously we avoid even going into a body of water that looks stagnant or algea ridden. We trail ride a lot and encourage our horses to drink while on the trail VS the water we bring from home.


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

Our horses will drink water from lakes ,puddles or a creek. We ride out from our place so bringing water isn't an option. When we haul out to ride camp, most places have a water source,so no need to bring water. 

Horses will drink out of any source of water while riding. Of course it has to be fresh somewhat clean looking. Most trails have a lakes or puddles, so really no need to bring water for a day ride. 

Have horn bags an saddle bags so we carry water bottles for ourselves. Also have snacks like granola bars, also a few horse treats for the horses.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

If you go anyplace that offers water or spigots,_ bring your own bucket and collapsible hose to get that water...
*Do not allow your horse to drink from a community trough/bucket as that is where sickness can travel from..*_

On trail rides, if the water moves, has a current they are free to drink from it be it a stream, lake, pond..
I try to not let my horses drink from puddles just because you don't know if another face was in it.
Most horses will not drink from a contaminated source unless dying of thirst, they just instinctively know.
When we ride we sometimes walk the horses deep to the chest to cool them and if they put the face down to drink...we let them. There is bacteria is all water, even bottled water but the amount is so minimal they take in ...the horses are pretty protected.
If you are going someplace you know has no water source and you plan to ride for several hours...
Go to Walmart and buy from the camping section potable water holding containers...mine are blue in color and hold 5 gallons of water. We fill at home and take a bucket to pour into for offering a drink.
Remember because you offer not mean they will drink either...
If you have a horse who is picky about water taste, then bring water from home cause when they say no, they mean no. 
🐴 ...


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Riding bareback, I always wore a knapsack and carried a few 16 ounce bottled waters. All of my horses knew how to drink from a sports bottle - Duke was the best😘

When I lived in SoCal‘s Low Desert, I didn’t care if I was only gone for an hour, I carried water because I might end up being in the rock hills longer than an hour.

When I lived in Ohio and PA where there were ample streams, I would only let my horses drink from streams that were moving. I never let them drink water from the big lakes due to all the boating which meant a lot of oil and gas floating to the edges.

I also wouldn’t let anyone drink from any water source that had an excess of scum buildup.

If I was weekend camping, I always carried my own 30 gallon water container in the bed of the truck. In The Old Days, you couldn’t buy portable water containers. I made my own and put a water spigot on it. That way I could fill it on the truck bed and didn’t have to do much more than slide it to the edge of the tailgate, at the destination.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

walkinthewalk said:


> Riding bareback, I always wore a knapsack and carried a few 16 ounce bottled waters. All of my horses knew how to drink from a sports bottle - Duke was the best😘


Ooooohhh! How do you train them to do that? Just trial and error?


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I stuck the water bottle in the corner of the mouth, in the same position as a tube wormer, and would gently squirt a small amount of water into their mouth, until they understood what I was doing.

Duke was so good and so enthusiastic, he got to where he would grab the bottle with his tongue, which meant I had better get to pushing the water thru because he wanted to drink.

Duke loved sour dough bread - fresh sour dough bread, out on the trail. He ate the bread, I ate the crust. I had to eat the crust because Duke wouldn’t —— I miss that fella💔


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Getting them used to flavoring can help with them drinking water from other sources than home. Most of mine like fruit punch gatorade or apple flavored electrolyte so I carried that when traveling.

You can always ask the health dept whether testing is done on the water. Here they have check points that samples are pulled from on a regular basis. If it is not safe they have to issue a ban on access.


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

walkinthewalk said:


> I stuck the water bottle in the corner of the mouth, in the same position as a tube wormer, and would gently squirt a small amount of water into their mouth, until they understood what I was doing.
> 
> Duke was so good and so enthusiastic, he got to where he would grab the bottle with his tongue, which meant I had better get to pushing the water thru because he wanted to drink.
> 
> Duke loved sour dough bread - fresh sour dough bread, out on the trail. He ate the bread, I ate the crust. I had to eat the crust because Duke wouldn’t —— I miss that fella💔


OK you've given me something fun to work on 

Glad you made this post as even when I was walking with Katie I was dying in the summer heat. She would be so thirsty even just 2 hours gone. I have a small collapsible bucket designed more for dogs and am planning on getting a pack saddle. My ideal is to have 3 horses myself one day so my partner and I can ride and pack the third with a picnic and rotate among them ^>^. Probably a decade away but I can dream... I mean you might be able to ride out and pack one of your others to lead yes?    Just saddle up and get pannier bags to hold bottles?


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## charrorider (Sep 23, 2012)

I live in an area of the US where summer temps are in the 90s and the humidity is in the 50s%. I'm also fortunate enough that I have many places to ride that are less than an hour to a click over two hours drive. In the hot, dry summer, I ride the places that have more water. So one has to plan ahead. I also ride Arabians. There's the exception of course, but most of them can go surprisingly long ways without a drink. In fact, most of the time they'll turn the opportunity to drink down, unless they are parched. But if the choice was between letting my horse drink some nasty looking water, or getting dehydrated, he can drink all the nasty water he wants.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I live in Arizona and unfortunately the trails rarely have water. And when they do, it's a stagnant stock pond. I don't know if I have ever ridden where there was flowing water. Well, I take that back, I know of one place.

I've found that the horses rarely drink out on the trails anyway unless it's been a really long, hot day. We do let them drink from the stock ponds if they've been out for maybe 3-4 hours, if we come across one. Any less than that, I don't even worry about it. 

When I used to trailer out with a friend I used to bring a 5 gallon bucket and a jug of water that would fill the bucket up most of the way. And my horse would usually drink some of that after a ride. But basically, I try not to ride them to the point of dehydration.

One time this summer it was a 90 degree day, my mare is black and we did a lot of cantering. She got really hot and sweaty. We stopped at a water tank that was set up for cattle and she wouldn't drink from it at all. So we turned and went back home and by the time we got home she drank at my friends house. I was pretty worried about her, were were out for quite a while, maybe 4-5 hours and she got really hot. But it seems like most of the time they won't drink out there unless they get to that point.

So basically, they can and do go a long time without water. It's not ideal, but I don't worry much about it unless it's been an exceptionally active, hot ride. For a normal ride, under 3-4 hours, they just drink when we get back home.


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