Dirty water from soaked hay

[wendyplowright]

I soak all my horses hay but the water then runs into a field ditch. Has any one any ideas on how to treat this as a black yeasty sludge is developing ? Someone suggested a reed bed filter and another a sack filled with straw. Has anyone used lime ?

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Or clean out ditch to let water flow rather than stagnate

 

[LaurenBeanblossom]

Agreed with what they said ^^^ Get a clean water flow goin'!

 

[Midlifecrisis]

I thought the soaked hay water was supposed to be an effluent which was not supposed to go into natural water courses - its supposed to go to water treatment plants via man made drainage??

 

[Carlosmum]

I thought the soaked hay water was supposed to be an effluent which was not supposed to go into natural water courses - its supposed to go to water treatment plants via man made drainage??

^^^ This... Soaked Hay water should not go into a running ditch which is connected to a water course, you have the potential problem of the Environmant Agency coming after you. As you would if you let slurry, fertiliser or sewage into a water course. Far better to pour it into the ground well away from the water course so it filters through before it reaches the ditch or tip it into the public sewer system.

 

[JillA]

I thought the soaked hay water was supposed to be an effluent which was not supposed to go into natural water courses - its supposed to go to water treatment plants via man made drainage??

Probably - although very many places where horses are kept don't have main drainage. I don't - I have land drains into a ditch and a chemical loo at the yard. I second cleaning out the ditch, or setting up some kind of filtration system.

 

[wendyplowright]

They are all land drains that have been cleaned out recently. There is no water flow unless it rains heavily. I was wondering if any out there uses a filtration system or should I steam hay instead ?

 

[tallyho!]

I thought the soaked hay water was supposed to be an effluent which was not supposed to go into natural water courses - its supposed to go to water treatment plants via man made drainage??

Absolutely. You should never put soaked hay water in a ditch. You should never soak hay for more than 30 mins now either as a study showed sugar leaches out in less than that time and harmful moulds start growing especially in warm weather.

 

[Crackerz]

Absolutely. You should never put soaked hay water in a ditch. You should never soak hay for more than 30 mins now either as a study showed sugar leaches out in less than that time and harmful moulds start growing especially in warm weather.

Exactly this. The Lami Clinic actually only advises 20mins of soaking