Help- need water advice!!

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vikalina83

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I have just found the perfect field for my new horse (well, nearly perfect!), it has 5.5 acres, bridleway outside gate etc etc, the ONLY thing it lacks is a water supply... there is no very nearby houses.... does anyone know of any options for this situation? There is a couple of sheds/outbuildings... maybe guttering to collect rain water? Not sure if this is clean enough? Also, I am guessing we would have dry months...

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
 
Rainwater is fine but you will need proper butts so that they don't fill with rubbish. If there are lots of trees around, you might want to put some sort of mesh across the opening so they don't fill with leaf mould and they do need scrubbing out a couple of times a year.
However, you are unlikely to be able to collect enough to meet all your needs so you might need to invest in some big water carriers and cart it from home. I have known yards that coped with no running water so it can work.
Another thing that helps is to use a dustbin for the horses to drink from if you can get them to accept this (some won't put their heads in because they are effectively blind). Water seems to evaporate far slower from a dustbin than an old bath or similar on a hot day. You need to securely fasten the bin to a fence so it doesn't blow away when empty.
Hope this helps!
 
Assuming you have transport, can't you just use containers, especially if for just the one?

Also re the guttering idea, that would work fine as long as you keep the gutter clean. We collect water from a broken gutter and rain butts in the winter, and the horses are fine with it - saves on the water bill too!!

Or if you have access to a friendly farmer and water bowser?
 
Thanks for the quick replies, I only went to see the field for the first time today so will have to work on getting to know the farmers! Good to know rainwater is safe... at least that could be a good option in the winter months.

Unfortunately I only have a little hatchback so not the best vehicle to be carting heavy water containers 15 mins every day... I can see it now, kids in the back with a water tank on their laps! :D

Will defo have to investigate further though, it is soooo perfect other than this little water problem! (and cheap too... maybe this is why!?)
 
I rent a field with no water - I use round 25 litre plastic drums to carry it there.
You could fit two of those type of container in the back of a hatchback... unless it was really tiny like a Smart car or something.
 
hehe, no not a smartcar, that would be fun to carry tack etc around in!! Actually its a focus, so totally doable, there will be a 15-16hh cobby type and a 11-13hh pony too...
 
LittleBlackMule said:
I rent a field with no water - I use round 25 litre plastic drums to carry it there.
You could fit two of those type of container in the back of a hatchback... unless it was really tiny like a Smart car or something.
Click to expand...

I did this had loads of 25 litre cans. Just check ebay out as people sell them etc I have bought a mixture and most are good. I collected rainwater and it does work. In hot weather it will go off quite quickly and it will need a lid on. Also if it freezes up you will need to bring it down. If a farmer has bowser to tow that would be another option(you could pay him to bring it down)

You will need to clean the room of wherever you are collecting from to keep it clean.

Good luck
 
Can you not apply to the council to put a tap in?

Sorry if I'm completely on a tagent here. Just we did this with Electric and gas... soooo surely water too?
 
KierelyMiss said:
Can you not apply to the council to put a tap in?

Sorry if I'm completely on a tagent here. Just we did this with Electric and gas... soooo surely water too?
Click to expand...

Good idea as well not sure of cost? My field is down a track I collect rainwater in a huge 300litre but its in the summer it can go off. Keep sunlight out etc otherwise it will go green.

Winter can be dry and also summer hot and you will be surprised how much they do drink.When the grass is wet they dont seem to drink much it was windy days when their mouths obviously must have got dry they could guzzle! You can buy second hand the loft water tanks etc(I became the container queen and if I could pay £8 for a 25 litre container I was well pleased). You will need to put a tarpauline or water proof sheet in your boot as they will spill etc & perhaps a towel. Ask farmer. I did end up splashing out on Quad and trailer which has been invaluable in all weathers. But that was a lot of money. Farmer would be cheaper. Good luck though.
 
Phone your local water supply company, although there may not be any houses near you, there may be water mains close by. They may be able to put in a connection to a standpipe for you. Obviously there is a cost for this, but they will be able to advise you if it is possible and how much it would cost.
 
Have you got a friendly car garage? We used 25l anti freeze containers which were brilliant - they have handles and a tap on them! Obviously rinse them out well first ;)
 
I think you'll find a lot of people on here have the same situation! I used to do it with my old field, had some containers and just run them back and forth every week or so and to be honest I refreshed them more often than I really needed to. You can get an H20 Go:

http://www.gizoo.co.uk/Products/H2GOBag.htm?spmc=TGSPPCGGP974&gclid=CMv37LGitrICFSfMtAodXlIABg

Does 80 litres and goes in the wheelbarrow, although I don't know about the logistics of getting it into the car as I think it's prob quite heavy! My BF is used to having water containers on his lap in the car :-) I only have a Seat Ibiza, it was just annoying as I'd put them down in the mud and then put them on the back seats, oops!
 
Your small hatchback should be able to carry a couple of 25 litre (5 gallon) plastic containers of water. A gallon of water weighs 10lbs so you'd be carrying around 100lbs which is just like carrying a lightweight 7 stone passenger. If you buy sufficient containers, I've found carboot sales are a good place to go, & you take water with you everytime you go to the field you'll have plenty there.

Regarding the H2Go bags, they are great when used properly in a wheelbarow. Don't use them in your boot! You will never be able to lift the bag out because it'll be too heavy & you can't get a grip on it. Mine came out of my barrow onto the floor once & I had to let most of the water out before I could pick it up. You'll also probably rip it on the boot latch also as it's only a glorified polythene bag.
 
We have the same issue and its water containers for us. Looked into getting water put in as there are houses on 3sides of the field and would only need to run 10 ft of pipe to get inside field but it was over 3k which is a lot for rented land
 
I used to put two large feed bins in my car, put large bin bags inside, fill up and tie the top of the bags to stop the water sloshing all over the car. If you can park right next to the trough you can then use a smaller bucket to empty them out.

Worked a treat

Obviously you had to use a hose to fill them up!
 
£8 for a 25L container!:eek::eek::eek:

Have a word with your local dairy farmer. I bet he has plenty of old hypchlorate (sp?) containers he will sell cheap.

Also, check out those buildings. If they've been used for livestock, maybe there is a water supply nearby. A well maybe? Or a stream (don't forget to check quality if there is), or even a land drain. Rainwater is good. A plastic barrel makes a good water butt.

How high is the water table? I've only got to dig 4 - 5 feet to find water here!:(

Ask your water supply company if the mains runs nearby.
 
HollyB66 said:
Phone your local water supply company, although there may not be any houses near you, there may be water mains close by. They may be able to put in a connection to a standpipe for you. Obviously there is a cost for this, but they will be able to advise you if it is possible and how much it would cost.
Click to expand...

If OP does not own the field it will be expensive.
 
A stable/shed roof can fill an IBC tank surprisingly quickly, a tip though, set up your guttering and run it in to a barrel to start with, a few downpours will bring the most discusting stuff down the gutters, once the water in the barrel looks clear then rig up an IBC tank which are cheaply bought (though pricey to transport)

We have a smallholding and having the IBC this year has been a godsend, on the rare occasions that it's empty I use 25 litre containers obtained for free from a swimming pool I put them in the back of the car and fill from a hose

I have used an H2Go bag in the boot of the car on a blanket, filled in situ then siphoned out the other end, eventually I got jittery about leaks (as it was a company car) but it did work very well and never moving the bag helped minimise leaks
 
hi if you do carry water containers in the car then be prepared for leaks and spills,also if you carry a lot at once you will put stress on the suspension unless the road is completely bump free. i used to have a field with no water and its very hard work on a normal car.(i used to carry 10 x 25Lts three times a day -i had 9 horses !) wrecked my back my hands and 2 cars along the way :rolleyes:
 
Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions, we've got a while to think about it (need to find the horse next!!), I think the IBC tank sounds good rigged up to some guttering, or to be filled by a nice farmer??
I think we can always use water containers to start, as we'll only have one horse and one pony, it won't be too many needed on a daily basis...

Good to know there are so many other people with the same issue... where theres a will, theres a way!!:D
 
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