How can I get my horse to drink water in the pasture?

My dogs would always eat or drink out of my hands, even when they turned their noses up at everything else. My male dogs last meal was eaten completely off of my hand. He wouldn’t touch the food otherwise. He died the next morning. Sorry, a little morbid, but try the hand thing.

@Adirondackwannabe sorry about your dog, but glad he took his last meal from your hand. My hands aren’t very big and I don’t think they would hold enough water to quench my horse’s thirst!! She has access to about 15 gallons of clean, fresh water in her watering tub, I think she just doesn’t want me to take a break, lol

They had a good run, but thanks for the condolences. It could be your horse is playing you. If they get thirsty they will probably drink on their own.

As long as she knows and has access to her water source she should be fine. Horses will not eat if they are not hydrated and will seek out their water source when they are thirsty. One of our mares here rubs against the valve on her automatic waterer and until we move it up higher on the wall we have to check twice a day to make she she hasn’t rubbed it into the off position. haha
If you are really concerned, and the cold weather is coming with increased risk of colic from dehydration in winter, you can put some apple juice/cider in her water to sweeten it some and encourage more drinking.

You can also make her bran mash in winter for some extra moisture and as a treat on cold nights. A bit of carrot juice and water in a bucket is good too.
If she seems to be urinating enough that is a good sign she is adequately hydrated too.

Well, you know the old saying “you can lead a horse to water…..etc. etc.

:D

In Charles M. Russell’s book, “Trails Plowed Under,” (Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1944 edition) chapter ‘range horses,’ there is a character named Rawhide Rawlins who says, “Hosses love pure cold water. In running water, which they like best, most of them drink with their heads up stream, every hoss tryin’ to get up stream above the rile. I’ve seen bands of hosses at a prairie spring waitin’ their turn to drink where it was cold and clear. As I said before, hosses like good water, but in countries where water ain’t good, they drink anything that’s wet. ...”
Does that help?

This article in addition to @Coloma ‘s great answer covers a lot of ground I would not have thought of.

Have you tried leading her with the water bucket out to the pasture?

@Cruiser Oh, great link, I completely forgot about the heating options for winter.

Fill her stall bucket from the tub that’s out in the pasture.

Nifty idea @kritiper But when hen I was little, I noticed that water tasted completely different and much better if I drank from a certain type of cup my grandmother had. That might also be going on. If the stall bucket makes water taste “the right way”, you’ll have to resolve it before she’ll drink in the pasture.

Thanks for all the great input. We do have heated water in the winter. @Coloma great ideas and @Cruiser I loved the article and I really like the idea of floating apples or carrots in her water tub. I’m wondering if she has just got me trained!!

@snowberry From what I’ve seen of horse troughs, the water in them is warm, mossy and is never fresh while the stall bucket is clean and water is fresh and probably cold.