There are many things to consider when supplying water for horses. If you depend on a stream, pond, or ditch (rather than a controlled system such as buckets, tanks, or automatic waterers), there could be concerns regarding water quality (for your horses and for the environment) and safe footing. Regardless of where you live, water quality and protecting water bank vegetation are issues that might require you to fence your animals away from a stream rather than use it as a water source. On the other hand, controlled water systems have their problems, too, such as broken water lines or cleaning issues.

In this article, we’ll look how you water horses, from natural ponds and streams to technologically advanced automatic systems. Then we’ll offer options on how to make those systems–or another system–work best for you and your horses.

What to Choose?

There are many types of watering systems that work for horses; when choosing or redoing a water system, select the type that best fits your needs. In a cold climate, your top priority will be to make sure the water source will not freeze