omg i cant believe ye have all those heated troughs etc. in ireland the last 2 winters have been pretty bad, we're used to very wet but not very cold. we had 6 weeks straight last winter without water. for a while we had a hose pipe running from the bathroom out the window and filling water barrels. we had 33 horses, thats a LOT of water. i used to keep that hose in the hot press in the house, as if i let it out the window for even 10 mins while i brought the water down it was frozen solid, then i had to bring it upstairs and put it in a bath of hot water to thaw. it was a night mare. on christmas day all our taps were frozen as were any within 20 mins drive on lethal roads so on christmas morning we were at the river down the road in our rubber boots filling 25l barrels to bring up to the horses. we used approx 40-50 25l barrels a day, we only had 5, as that was all that we could get anywhere, no one ever expected the cold we got.
this year i am down to 17 horses but now also have the ducks, but i also have no help, i canot lift the barrels when full as have arthritis and dont have the strength so i have to 3/4 fill them and do more trips. The ice in the horses troughs would freexe about 3-5 inches thick over night and after i break it in the morning, by lunch its frozen soild again. some horses figured out they could put their foot in and break it but some got hurt and some destroyed the troughs as they cracked.
i am NOT looking forward to it!! hopefully it wont be as cold this year......
this year i am down to 17 horses but now also have the ducks, but i also have no help, i canot lift the barrels when full as have arthritis and dont have the strength so i have to 3/4 fill them and do more trips. The ice in the horses troughs would freexe about 3-5 inches thick over night and after i break it in the morning, by lunch its frozen soild again. some horses figured out they could put their foot in and break it but some got hurt and some destroyed the troughs as they cracked.
i am NOT looking forward to it!! hopefully it wont be as cold this year......