horse and Hydration Facts
- Although most of us realise that giving a horse fresh water is a daily essential, how many of us have really considered the importance of keeping an eye on hydration levels?
- A horse's body weight is 60-70% water and an average-sized horse needs 10 gallons of water a day. Rapid loss of water from the horse's system, as little as 20%, can cause instant death. Monitoring hydration must therefore be a part of your daily care routine.
- With the stress of travelling and competition, quite often horses won't drink – they are too excited or don't like the strange water. Whatever the cause, dehydration is not something you want to take lightly.
- Dehydration can cause fatigue, muscle damage, laminitis, tying up, colic, even coma and death, or can simply cause a competitive horse to perform less brilliantly.
- Dehydration is the most common cause of under-performance, whether it's a competitive horse that isn't quite achieving the results expected or a pleasure rider having to work really hard to get their horse to move forward on a hack. How do you feel competing with a hangover? This is how a 1% loss of body water feels to your horse.
- Horses don't drink when they should be very thirsty. One of Nature's dirty tricks is that a horse can't rely on feeling thirsty as a reminder to replace lost fluid. This is because dehydration suppresses the normal functioning of the horse's "thirst centre". When we humans sweat, we sweat mainly water and the salt build-up in our bodies' kicks in our thirst response. When a horse sweats, he sweats equal amounts of salt and water, so because there is no build-up of salt in his body, his thirst sensors fail to recognise this loss of water.
- If you know your horse has been working and sweating hard and yet is not drinking, do not assume he doesn't need water. Don't make the mistake of thinking, "he knows best what he needs" -- use your head to make the right decisions on his behalf.
- Horses are more susceptible to dehydration than other animals because of their body shape and their much greater percentage of heat-generating muscle.
- If electrolytes are given in the feed or by syringe, it is essential that your horse drinks plenty of water - taken with insufficient water, electrolytes can actually cause dehydration.
- Winter is the time of year most problems from not drinking enough water occur, such as impaction colic. Horses tend to drink less in cold weather since cold water makes them feel colder.
- As horses age, their bodies contain less water, making them more susceptible to dehydration and impaction colic.
- Brand new HORSE QUENCHER will get your horse drinking immediately. HORSE QUENCHER is a blend of all-natural ingredients with one goal in mind: to get your horse to drink water when you need him to.