Watering trough or pales of water?

I've boarded at different facilities where it was done both ways. When I got my own place, I designed it for convenience. I built a run in shelter across the back of the barn and ran water to a spigot at the trough, which is in the shelter along the back wall of the barn. It can be filled directly from the spigot. In winter I run the cord for the heating element through an opening we made in the wall. The shelter also has electric and we run fans all summer which help to keep insects out, and the water is shaded and stays cool and fresh. All of the pastures open into a dry lot surrounding the shelter, so the horses have access to it from whichever pasture is open. They can come in for the fans and to drink periodically between grazing on hot days. I also provide grass hay in the shelter available 24/7. I've seen problems with automatic waterers so I chose not to go with them.

Add...I also keep a salt block and a mineral block next to the trough which encourages them to use them, and to drink plenty of water when they do.

Add....I use no extention cords. My fans are direct wired and my heated trough plugs directly into the inside wall socket, and the wire is in conduit. There is no fire hazard. My electrical system and barn design exceed city and county code requirements.

I have. I'm a big fan of Bar-Bar-A waterers now.

Buckets and Troughs aren't all that bad. I've got some automatic troughs for my cattle that are easy, only a hard thing to clean. Before I installed the Bar-Bar-A waterers I had just plain automatic water bowls, those occasionally just stopped working and I had to use water buckets. Dragging around water buckets isn't hard, the hard part is keep having to refill them. It's a pain to check every 30 minutes in the summer and have buckets that are completely empty and don't have a drop of water in them. &Then have to fill them up only to do it again right after.

The first time drinking out of the trough is the most scary, but if he did it once he will do it again. I would just practice leading him over to it, maybe giving him a treat when you get there for a few days so he will realize it's not that bad. Maybe when he is comfortable standing by it, splash the water around a little bit and try to get him to sniff it. Give him a salt lick to, this will make him more thirsty and he will drink more water. We have always kept salt licks and mineral blocks out for the horses to make sure they are drinking lots of water. Especially now that it's summer!

I wouldn't want to drink out of a pail of water. I have a huge Rubbermaid watering trough that I scrub out once a week. The waters always nice and cool and deep and clean. It's what I would prefer if I was a horse.

I've done both, depending on where I've lived at the time. When we first got our horses we had to carry pails of water out to them. Unfortunately our paddock wasn't anywhere near the hose so let's just say I got pretty strong that summer. At a few places we had either a river or a pond on the place and the horses drank from that. Where I live now there are automatic waterers where I must say, are my favourite. We've never had problems with them and ours are pretty easy to clean out.

My family has always used a trough because it easier to maintain with our multiply horses out in the field. This way you never have to worry about it there is enough water out in the field if you check if every day when you turn them out. It is also much easier to keep heated in the winter because you only have to worry about one water container instead of multiple.

If there is more than one horse it is difficult to keep up with the water consumption with just buckets. I have the automatic water supply in the barn, and an old bathtub in pastures. They all are very handy.

We use a 150gallon tank now.

It sits right by the spigot so it is not an issue to fill but it is a pain to clean all the time.

I am wanting to put in automatics and I waslooking at the Bar Bar A.

Good to know some has them and likes them.

haha I definately use large TROUGHS of water, that I scrub out, and refill once a week. In our stalls, we have automatic waterers, and in the pastures and paddocks, is where we use the troughs.

But when we go to shows, we have to hang buckets in our horses stalls.

It's a pain in the butt, having to fill buckets all them time...but hey it's a bit of manual labor, or having your horse colic! ;)

HI gallop

You say in winter you run a cord for the heater, and in summer for your fans,all of these things are a fire hazard and if found that the cord started a fire your insurance company would not pay you a thing your lost, just a thought.