Measurement of Drinking Water Volume in Horses

Abstract

It has been well known that the horse needs to drink 20-30 liters of water per day. The volume of drinking water is affected by feeding, exercises, and other causes. Some previous investigators have conducted experiments on the volume of drinking water in horses. None of these experiments, however, used any race horse or were carried out for a sufficiently long time. In the present investigation the volume of drinking water was measured in connection with temperature and humidity every day in a year. The following results were obtained. 1. The mean volume of drinking water was 21.8 liters per day in a year. The mean temperature was 16.3°C and the mean humidity 66.8% in a year. 2. A maximum volume of drinking water was 26.2 liters per day and seen in August and a minimum volume 14.9 liters per day in February. 3. Drinking water increased in volume with a rise in temperature and humidity, of which temperature was more influential.