Horse Water Tank Tips

Well it is 30 degrees this morning and looks like it going to get colder.   I topped off the horse water tanks yesterday as it is suppose to get cold and maybe snow this weekend.  Two weeks ago I got caught flat footed in cold weather with frozen hoses, luckily I had filled the horse water tanks before it froze up for a week.  the ideal setup would be to have all the water lines buried with frost free faucets, but that is not always possible.  Digging underground water lines can be almost impossible if you are going to areas where there are buried electrical lines other water lines and digging up a roadbed has never been a good idea.  The answer of course is more water hoses, not a good answer but it gets the job done most the year except when the weather turns cold.

With the water tanks full I usually have enough water to keep the horses going for a week,  I have various fields with anywhere from 4 to 8 horses in the field.  So some have bigger water tanks and others, when the temperature drops ice really builds up fast so chopping through the eyes is a mandatory duty every single day.  Over the course of a week they get to be more ice in the tank than water and eventually they will become useless.  I have asked her water tanks that I keep empty, when needed I can fill them with fresh water without the ice cubes.  I have alleyways or lanes if you will, that I can open up and let the horses come up to the barn for water too.

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