Welcome to the first installment of Resourceful Horseman. This will be a regular series or articles aimed at saving a little time and money around horses.
Auto Waterers
If your set up allows then I highly recommend putting automatic water systems on your troughs. For under $20 ( I paid $10 for the plastic one from TSC) you have one less chore to worry about and no accidently leaving the hose running and flooding everything. (I have only done that a handful of times.) Most valves can just be attached with the included hardware to almost any bucket or trough, but it should be something that won’t be accidently yanked on, as to not break a water pipe or the hose running to it. Also, if your horse tends to chew and play with stuff, you might need to build some protection over the valve. Some wire fencing or wood will help from having the valve ripped off the side of the trough. Con: You can’t monitor your horse’s intake of water. If you have a horse prone to not drinking enough you might stick to the ol’ hose and bucket method.