Five horses electrocuted by 'live' water feeder

[Sixteen Hands]

"Investigations are continuing as to how four ponies and a horse were electrocuted on 13 June at a riding school in Sale, near Manchester.

Investigators from the local authority blame a faulty water feeder for the incident."

Reported in H&H
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/299562.html

and Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-dead-drinking-electrified-water-trough.html

So tragic and my condolences go to the owners.

I must admit I'm slighlt bemused; how do "water feeders" become "live"?

 

[perfect11s]

"Investigations are continuing as to how four ponies and a horse were electrocuted on 13 June at a riding school in Sale, near Manchester.

Investigators from the local authority blame a faulty water feeder for the incident."

Reported in H&H
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/299562.html

and Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-dead-drinking-electrified-water-trough.html

So tragic and my condolences go to the owners.

I must admit I'm slighlt bemused; how do "water feeders" become "live"?

My guess would be that electrical instalations are earthed and the earth is bonded to water pipes if the place is like some farms then the wiring is a mess of bodges and bits added on
and old without RCD trips to protect the circuits a live wire shorting could cause a current to flow through pipes or a steel frame building !!!!

 

[Mike007]

Electricity is trickey stuff,years ago I had to look into a problem at a stable where everything waqs becoming live. they had masses of earth rods.all to no avail.SEEB recconed it was the rather poor stable wiring. It was definately not up to IEE regs.Turned out to be SEVEN breaks in the Neutral ,in SEEB,s supply cable. It cost them a fortune to repair and upgrade the supply.Fortunately nobody got hurt.Such a sad loss for these horse owners.

 

[Double_choc_lab]

How sad - doesn't this show how we are at the mercy of our YO's to correctly maintain. I presume the owner/manager would be responsible in such a case although of course this doesn't negate the tragic loss.

 

[fatpiggy]

How this place maintains its licence from the council is a mystery to me. I drive past their turn-out field every day and in the spring its yellow with buttercups and in the summer its yellow with ragwort - a complete forest of the stuff. I've been on the yard too and frankly was disgusted. School horses and ponies with shoes literally hanging off and saddles which bounced up and down with the rider in rising trot. I could go on and on.