Sticky gums are a sign that your pony is dehydrated, and that you need to call your vet. To avoid dehydration you need to make sure that your pony has access to clean, fresh water at all times.
If your pony is refusing to drink for some reason you can try adding something sweet (like apple flavouring or molasses syrup) to your pony’s water to encourage him to drink. Just be careful not to do this too often, as these additives are sugary and can lead to problems for our pony if given in large quantities or too often.
Top tip: If you struggle to get your pony to drink when at a show, try taking bottles of water from home. Some ponies are very fussy about what water they drink, and can taste very subtle differences in the mineral content of the water in different places, and this stops them drinking.
