Q: During the winter, especially, my horse does not seem to drink much water. I know that a lower water intake can predispose him to impaction. I've heard that adding salt to my horse's ration will encourage him to drink more. Is this true?

A: Adding salt to your horse's ration actually increases the body's need for water, and that water is used to flush salt out through kidneys, but does not help in hydration status of the horse or in keeping the ingesta in the intestines moist. One way to encourage your horse to drink more is to add water to his grain ration. For example, if you feed your horse 3 lbs of grain twice a day, to each feeding add one quart of water. Do this for a period of days, and then double the amount of water added, and so on. When your horse gets used to eating this way, you may even be able to fill a water bucket with water and add the 3 lbs of grain to it and he will drink all of the water. It is important that your horse not get all of his water at one feeding, as he is likely to excrete most of this out. For example if you want to increase his water intake by 2 gallons, add a gallon at each feeding, instead of 2 gallons just in the morning. This practice can be continued throughout the year, or just when your horse's water intake is decreased in the winter. The temperature does matter. In the winter, horses will drink very cold water, but to ensure they are getting the proper amount, the water should not be frozen and it should not have ice in it. Horses in general will drink more water in the winter months than in the summer months.