MEDICAL FRONT

WHAT WILL—AND WON’T—GET HORSES TO DRINK MORE

A new study suggests that when using flavor additives to induce a horse to drink more water, it’s wise to provide a plain water “chaser” at the same time.

In hospital settings the risk of colic makes dehydration a particular concern, so the voluntary water intake (VWI) of equine patients is closely monitored and flavoring is often added to water to encourage drinking. Washington State University researchers set out to identify which flavorings were most effective in enticing horses to increase their water intake.

For the study, 40 hospitalized horses were divided into four groups: In group one, each horse was given a bucket of plain water and a bucket of water to which a cup of sweet feed had been added; in group two, the horses received a bucket of plain water and a bucket of water suffused with two teaspoons of peppermint extract; in group three, the horses were given a bucket of plain water and one of water mixed with an ounce of an apple-flavored electrolyte product; in group four, which served as a control, horses received two buckets of plain water.

While the horses seemed to find some flavors more appealing, water intake for all groups