That was a consideration I looked into, however the time required to take care of a rolling water system vs occasionaly changing a sprinkler head is a risk I am willing to take. In my experience, as long as you show the horses where they are they will avoid them. I used to ride in an arena with one just sitting there and never had a horse step on it once. Additionally, the sprinklers will only be used when the horses are not on the field (when they come into the barn to eat.)