Before you get rid of your buckets, consider the pros and cons of automatic horse waterers.
The relentless tedium of lugging hoses and scrubbing troughs can make automatic waterers seem like an attractive addition to horse stables and paddocks. Before you replace those buckets, however, consider the cons as well as the pros of automatic weatering systems.
On the pro side, automatic waterers:
- free you from bucket/trough-filling and -cleaning duties
- prevent playful horses from tipping buckets and soaking stalls
- assure horses constant access to water, assuming the system is functioning properly
On the downside, automatic waterers:
- get clogged with dirt, hay and manure if not regularly cleaned
- make it impossible to monitor a horse's water intake unless you install a monitored system
- can freeze, depriving your horse of water without your being aware of it
- may malfunction and allow water to flood stalls or paddocks
In short, the time and hose-lugging labor automatic waterers save need to be reinvested in vigilant attention to the automatic devices to make sure they are working properly. Each day, test the refilling mechanism and cleanliness of automatic waterers and, if the waterers' reliability is questionable, hang buckets of water as a backup supply.
This article first appeared in the June 2000 issue of EQUUS magazine.
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