Conference noted::equitation

    
    Excessive drinking can be a sign of illness.  Have yo discussed
    this issue with your vet?
    
    

    Like Lynne said, the first thing is to have him checked by the vet to
    rule out illness of some kind. I doubt that it's anything to do with
    age though. I've got a 18 YO gelding who still drinks on the high side
    of normal...about 10-12 gallons a day; maybe 15 gallons in summer.
    
    If he's healthy and just drinks a lot, you'll have to do something
    about improving the drainage in his stall and his run. 
    
    Many people put a drain for stallions and geldings in the middle of
    the stall because that's where they get things wet. If you have dirt
    floors, this is easy. You can just dig a hole in the center of the
    stall and replace the dirt with gravel and/or sand. I'd make the hole
    larger than you think you need...say 2 feet across and maybe 3 or 3 1/2
    feet deep. Fill the bottom with gravel for drainage and put maybe 8
    inches of sand or fine gravel on top. It would also be a good idea to
    bank the rest of the stall floor so that it slopes toward the center.
    That way liquids will trickle towards the middle and drain out.
    
    You can do the same sort of thing in a concrete floored stalls but 
    you'd have to make a hole in the concrete first. That's not as hard as
    it sounds because the concrete will probably only be 4" thick. An
    electric drill with a masonry bit, a masonry chisel and a 3 pound hand
    sledge hammer will make short work of it. If you're lucky, the concrete
    floor will already have good drainage underneath it in the form of
    gravel. Then you just have to put some sand over the gravel.
    
    If you have mats in the stall, improve the drainage underneath the
    mats, leave a bit of a gap between the mats when you put them back and
    add extra bedding.
    
    Outside, you could make a French drain to help keep his run dry. That's
    basically a trench into which you put some gravel before you refill it.
    We had to make one of those to drain water from a paddock once. But, we
    basically filled it to the surface with gravel. Pea gravel on top so it
    would hurt the horses' feet.
    
    You can dig a small French drain by hand with pick and shovel. Or if
    you have a rototiller for your garden, use the rototiller to break up
    the dirt and then you shovel it out. If this sounds like a lot of work,
    hire a backhoe or maybe rent a Bobcat if you know how to handle one.
    

    His coat is good, so is his weight and he is active. I sure hope he is 
    not ill. He was very abused as a colt, I bought him not really
    expecting him to live. His coat was terrible, his was fed terrible hay,if
    fed at all , and his feet looked like the end of a baseball bat. This
    is last Dec. He now stands between 14 - 15 hands, has a beautiful coat,
    and his feet are finally grown out, (on his 3rd pair of shoes)
    If he was very ill, would he grown this well? what other signs should 
    I look for? How "serious" of an illness are you thinking? Him and I
    have both grown too much to let anything happen to him now.
    
    
    					KA 

    
    Apaches stall has a dirt bottom. I will try your suggestions, as a 
    matter of fact, I printed them out. I think a lot of folks at the 
    stables will get use out of them. 
    
    			Thanks

    Karen,
    
    The reason I seconded Lynne's recommendation to have the vet check
    Apache is that "excessive" urination can be a symptom of several health
    problems. Healthy horses that eat excessive amounts of salt or are feed 
    alfalfa *may* urinate a lot but you said he is on grass hay and you
    removed his salt block. So, I just thought it would be "better to be safe
    than sorry."
    
    The possible health problems that can lead to excessive urination that
    I know of are: urinary tract problems (infections, "stones" aka
    calculi), kidney/liver problems or even diabetes. Stones aren't common
    in horses and diabetes is *very* rare. Actually, until about 10 years
    ago, there were no confirmed cases of diabetes in horses).
    
    A urinary tract problem or kidney/liver problem wouldn't necessarily
    mean that Apache wouldn't gain weight. One of our dogs started
    urinating a *lot* more than usual. It turned out he had a bladder
    infection and bladder stones. He's being treated but he never lost any
    weight even though the treatment to dissolve the stones takes months!
    He had 2-3 more bladder infections in that time too!
    
    Anyway, you might won't to ask your vet about this even though you are
    taking some practical steps to dry up his stall.
    
    Good luck,
    John

    Thanks John, I really appreciate your reply. I was not aware the
    excessive urination could be a symptom for so many problems. I will
    definately get my vet to look at him this weekend. I will let you know
    what she says in case anyone else runs into this problem.
    
    
    		Thanks for your help. Apache is one of my kids.
    
    
    				Karen

    Hopefully, Apache will be a healthy but thirsty horse. Keep us posted.