Summer has come to an end and we finally get to welcome those cool evenings and crisp chilly mornings. The weather swings may mean changing how you manager your horse. You might prefer to start putting sheets on at night, or body clip to prepare for the show. Maybe increase your horse’s hay consumption as the grass begins to die.
Whatever your routine is to help your horse manager and acclimate to the change in season, keeping them healthy and colic free is paramount. The average 1,100 lbs. horse in a comfortable environment drinks 6-10 gallons of water per day. This may vary depending on work level and temperature. But the water requirements for horses doesn’t change just because the temperature cools.
You may notice as the temperature drops your horse’s water bucket may be more full than usual in the morning, they drank less overnight. This is the first sign it’s time to do something extra to ensure water consumption. As water consumption decreases, and you feed more hay to balance the loss of grass in your field, the risk of impaction colic begins to rise.
It is paramount to encourage water intake during the cool months to prevent impaction colic and ensure proper hydration. Electrolyte supplementation is the most affective strategy to accomplish this. But what if your horse won’t take electrolytes in their feed? Won’t drink the water after it has been spiked with Gatorade?
Funky Unicorn Treat Electrolyte Cubes are an easy and effective way to guarantee electrolyte intake and therefore encourage drinking and hydration during the cool winter months and sudden weather changes. Just a handful in the morning and at night could be all the difference in making sure those water buckets keep needing to be refilled.
Everyone thinks of using electrolyte supplements in the summer to replace those lost during exercise, but as a veterinarian I am equally, if not more concerned for the consumption of electrolytes in the winter- to encourage drinking- to ensure adequate hydration- to prevent impaction colic!
So - make sure you have your hydration plan ready for these temperature swings. Keep your FUT electrolyte cubes handy get to filling those water buckets