41 Strange

Wait, how do horses drink water? Do they kick it like cats, scoop it like dogs or sip it like a human would do without using hands or cups?

they cup their hooves together and sip handfuls

Pro Horse owner tip: Throw in a cheap pond pump and keep your trough out of the sun if you don't want to use a fishy. The vibration from the pump destroys the larval stage skeetos. Direct sun causes the algae blooms. :D

Won't the goldfish poo be sort of dangerous to animals, however?

Changes the water, give it extra ammonia. There's bacteria that can deal with it but takes a while to colonize.

So, all in all, a biological load that the water could do without

You can't really do it with out at least water aeration. The thing about goldfish is that they are carp and pretty tough creatures. They would be much happier with a little oxygen in the water.

Can the horses deal with the ammonia enriched water, though?

Absolutely. They have limited water sources in the wild and many times those sources are pretty icky but they are very tolerant. The ammonia kick starts the bacteria colony that then eats it.

Thanks a lot for clearing that up, man. The only equestrian experience I have is all the times I have been asked to get off my high horse :)

but do the fish ever get... y’know... slurped up?

Is he eating the goldfish though?