Importance of Water, Part 2

So welcome back to "The Importance of Water Part 2". If you havn't already read part 1 you can here it here (Importance of Water, Part 1). 
In part 1, I talked about the physiological reasons as to why water is such an important part of our horses diet (of course ours too). In part 2, I wanted to talk to you guys about ways you can get more water into your horse's diet. These suggestions are going to be good for easy keepers and hard keepers. 

1. The very first suggestion I have for you is to soak your horse's hay. If you feed hay either in the morning or at night make it a point to pour water over the hay. As well all know hay is simply dried up grasses. Dry things soak up moisture very well. So what you can do is get a big rubber feed bucket place the hay in the tube and add water. I like to do this before I bring in the horse. This allows enough time for the hay to start soaking up the water. If you are feeding in a pasture, I would get a extra water tube that you can use just for hay and do the same thing (Add the hay, then the water.) Horse are going to generally eat hay regardless so this is a quick and easy way to get more water into your horse's diet. 
2. Add water to the grain when you feed. You don't have to be feeding any bran with the grain just simply add enough water over the grain so that you create a thick soup like texture to it. Again, horses love their grain and will generally just dive right into the grain with water added. 
3. The next thing you can do is actually add bran to the grain. Adding bran to the grain will add fiber to your horse's diet; it also requires you to add water to it so your horse won't choke. You will simply add enough water to the mixture to make a slightly thick soup like consistency. Please note: the bran will soak up the water so make sure if it sits for a while, you add more water to keep the consistency. To thick of a mixture and your horse could choke as well. 
4. The next thing on my list is beet pulp. Beet pulp is much the same bran, which I talked about in #3. It will be added fiber and more calories to your horse's diet. Beet pulp also requires your to add water to it this increasing the water consumption. (again just follow the rule of thumb to make it a slightly thick soup consistency).
5. Tip number 5 is about adding quality electrolytes to your horse's diet. Electrolyte depending on the manufacturer can be added to just water, just feed or both. Sometimes horses (just like us) have their electrolytes get out of balance and we need to fix that. Adding electrolytes into the mix can not only balance out the minerals but can also push your horse back into drinking more or his average amount of water.

Those are just some of the ways I use to get my horses to start drinking more. Of course if your horses is severely dehydrated, or really sick please seek help from your local veterinarian.

Happy Riding!