The objective of this study was to determine the preference of naïve horses for different types of water bowls. Four different bowls were tested: two float valve and two push valve models were tested. Water consumption was measured in two groups of horses (n=8 and n=11) and three individual horses. The push valve water bowls were hardly used. There appeared to be a slight preference for one model of the float valve over the other when the horses came to drink as a group. This difference was significant when individual horses were studied. The preferred float valve bowl had a larger, more open bowl, which could hold a greater volume of water that remained in the bowl due to the float valve. Therefore, there was not a tendency for frequent refilling of the bowl, which could startle the horses, and could have led to less preference for the other types of water bowls.