not drinking water at all

Question
hello sir, i work in a thoroughbred racing stable. we have got a 3 year old dark bay filly. after she returns from fast work, we provide water to her. she never drinks. even though we forget to provide water, she reminds us by pushing out the pipe slides (these are used as stall guards at our stables). when provided, again she doesn't drink. we are getting frightened whether she dehydrates. is this one of the sign of colic? if not, then may i know what would be the problem? how to fix this problem in her?

Answer
Hello Rohit,

Thank you for your question.  Horses are the most thirsty after eating a grain meal and after exercising and the fact that this horse seems to look for water suggests that she is indeed thirsty.  But if she is thirsty but not drinking, your concern of dehydration is a valid one.  Horses are fussy drinkers and don't like changes in the water they are drinking.  Some horses are extremely fussy that way and will become dehydrated because of it.  Although this is not a sign of colic, it certainly could lead to colic and other equally severe dehydration-related problems.  

The problem is probably one of taste, the mare may not like the taste of the new water or may simply not want to drink a new taste of water.  Horses like these could benefit from mildly flavoring the water on a regular basis.  They become used to the flavor that you add and don't notice the taste of the water itself...so when you move the horse to a new track or barn there isn't the refusal to drink that you are seeing now.  I would suggest adding flavoured electrolytes to her water bucket to help disguise taste.  Don't add too much at first as she may be as reluctant to drink the flavour as she is to drink the water alone.  Eventually she will drink...but until then you may want to consider lightening her workload to prevent severe dehydration.  Then once she begins drinking you can go back to full work.  Another option is to feed her food soaked in water which could be water soaked hay, wet bran or wet beet pulp.  You could also add salt to her food to encourage her to drink but I would hesitate to make this the first approach because eating too much salt without drinking enough water could create problems.  

Thanks, Corlena