>This morning all the guys got a bucket of hot water with a bit of grain
>in it. It was cold (0F at my house) and the water trough was frozen.
>I wanted to make sure everybody had a few gallons of warm water in them
>before they got to their hay. (And I pulled water from the house to get
>to the water trough.)
I am a BIG believer in tank heaters. Here in Colorado they are not
essential because it is not below freezing that often, but when we
lived in North Dakota only rather negligent horse owners would try
to get by without tank heaters. I like to use one even in Colorado
because I think having warmer water to drink helps the horses maintain
weight - it takes a lot of of calories to heat up water, so if I can
save my horses having to spend those calories I'll do it, but I am not
fond of having to mess with hoses or buckets when its cold outside.
I think most feed stores carry the electric ones and they only cost
around $40. (Of course if you dont have electricity near your water
tank you have to choose between a $300 propane heater or bringing
warm water to the tank)
Teresa