Hawley Bennett on Gin & Juice during eventing competition. | Photo by Emily Daily

Canadian Olympic eventer Hawley Bennett’s horse had just traveled from California to New Jersey for the Jersey Fresh CCI event, and he looked a little off, possibly due to not drinking enough water during his trip.

“With his long trip out from California, my fabulous little horse 5 0’clocksomewhere was looking a little dehydrated,” Hawley said. “In our competition packets, there were some samples of Horse Quencher. Within two minutes of putting it in his water, he proceeded to drink the whole bucket, and he drank a second by 2 p.m. that day… I could not believe it! I have never seen a horse like something so much.”

It seems common sense that horses will drink if they feel thirsty, but that’s incorrect. Because horses lose salt as quickly as they lose water when they sweat, the salt levels never build up to trigger the thirst reflex. So, they drink when they feel like it, but frequently not when they should.

It doesn’t take much to deter a horse from taking a long drink of water. Trailering, competing, different water at a temporary location, a new horse in the barn, illness, temperature extremes and weather changes are all common reasons.  It can easily effect your horse’s performance. Proper hydration is an important, inexpensive way to make sure your horse enjoys optimal health and competition performance. At its worst, dehydration leads to tying up, impaction colic, and other critical issues that are best avoided.

You can try home-made methods of coaxing your horse to drink, such as giving him a bit of salt, applesauce, corn syrup, or electrolytes to stimulate his thirst, or you can go the easy route and try a packet of Horse Quencher in his water.

According to its makers, Horse Quencher is “a proprietary blend of all natural grains and flavorings that, when added to water, make horses eagerly drink.” It’s especially helpful for travel, competitions, cold weather and illnesses,> Pair it up with electrolytes to aid in recovery after exercise.

Because it’s made of all-natural ingredients found in most horse feeds, Horse Quencher is safe for competition.

When Hawley returned home to California, she tried her other horses on Horse Quencher, including Burghley-bound Gin & Juice, 5 O’clocksomewhere’s full sister. It continued to be a big hit, with root beer Horse Quencher coming out as the favorite flavor.

It helped keep Gin & Juice properly hydrated for her recent win at the Rebecca Farm CIC, leading Hawley to conclude, “Horse Quencher has earned a spot on our team – it’s packed in our Burghley bags, and will be joining us on our many upcoming travels to compete around the United States.”

Horse Quencher is available in single-serving packets, a 25-serving tub, and a 144-serving tub, and in four flavors: butterscotch, root beer, apple and peppermint. All flavors have been cleared as safe for competing, including FEI level. For more information about Horse Quencher, visitHorseQuencher.com or call 888-QUENCHS.

For more information about Hawley Bennett, visitHawleyBennettEventing.com.

About Hawley Bennett
A top-level eventing competitor and trainer in Southern California, Hawley Bennett’s career highlights to date include representing her home country of Canada at the 2004 Athens Olympics and bringing home Team Silver at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Her top horses currently are full siblings Gin & Juice (WEG silver medalist), barn name “Ginny,” and brother 5 O’clocksomewhere, barn name “Chunky,” who is being aimed at the 2011 Pan American Games. Hawley hopes to have both horses qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.