OMG, Pony fell into my septic tank

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Wheels

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A neighbour of mine grazes two ponies and a TB in one of my fields.

My OH came to me about 5pm and said he couldn't see the Welsh pony, the gate was still locked and the other 2 horses there but no Welshie. I thought he must be off having a snooze somewhere but when I got to the gate I heard grunting. I ran into the field and found the poor little thing had crashed through the lid of the tank and was stuck inside
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I called his owner & the fire brigade who came out very quickly but they didn't have any lifting gear. We rang a local farmer who came out and made a makeshift harness and pulled the pony out with a CAT that had a fork lift attachment.

Thankfully we found him quickly and he is OK, a few minor cuts and bruises and possibly damaged eye but apart from that seems OK.

I am totally shocked that the roof gave way - the concrete stones covering the tank are about 3 inches thick, the pony must have stood/stamped/rolled on a weak bit and it just shattered! I am now on the hunt for a safer roof (anyone got any ideas?)
 
poor little fella - i'm glad he's ok, I would be inclined to fence that area off permanantley.
 
Good job you spotted he was missing so quickly, glad he is okay. Our septic tank is in the corner of our field, like yours with huge slabs of concrete on it but I have it fenced off with a permanent railed fence, if I were you I would go for that option.
 
We have temporarily fenced it off - it would be difficult to permanently fence off as it is near the gateway which is the only way out of the field. I may be able to fence the perimeter of it though, will have to have a proper look tonight.

I actually didn't even know exactly where it was as we've only been in the house a few months.
 
kerilli - yes, the vet came out last night to see the pony but his eye was very cloudy and it looked like there was possibly already a small infection there before he fell in the tank - I think the vet will be back to check on him today
 
oh my god!

we had to redesign our entire 'yard' plans to avoid the septic tank. apparently they are not meant to bear ANY weight, certainly not half a tonne of horse... i think you're going to have to fence it off....

glad the poor thing is ok... if a bit smelly eh?
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oh I didn't realise they weren't supposed to bear weight!

the guy who lived in the house before us kept cattle in that field!

I think we'll have to find a way to fence it off - we'll maybe have to move the entrance to the field a bit further up the road
 
How terrible!! Poor little pony! Very lucky you noticed when you did and I hope he makes a full recovery.

We have a septic tank in one of the fields and have it fenced with post and rail - best to fence yours off, if needs be move the gate. We also kill the grass in the fenced off area so that no one is tempted to push their heads over/under the railing to eat.
 
We had an old drainage system in our field which was unused - we had it filled in - when the lid came off it we were astounded by not only it's depth but the amount of chambers that were involved! It was victorian engineering at it's very best! Our field had been used for years by cows - heaven knows how one hadn't fallen through like your poor little pony did!
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Hope he's ok and hasn't suffered too much
Kate x
 
This is not as uncommon as you might think. Every year many animals and people are killed and more injured when concrete septic tank and cesspool lids give way. One of our own vans had a near escape last year when a hidden 6" thick concrete cesspool lid collapsed under one of the wheels. We were lucky - our job there was to find the location of the cesspool!
The problem is that septic tanks give off Hydrogen Sulphide as an acidic gas and this attacks the concrete over time, making it weaker and weaker until one day something heavy stands on it and it collapses.
You could choose to use heavy sleepers in a frame which will not be affected by the gas - but they too will rot over time so must be inspected regularly.
The only safe septic tank is one that has a fence around it to prevent animals gaining access to the lids.
 
WTELtd is right. We have also been called out to septic tanks where the lids have collapsed due to corrosion by Hydrogen Sulphide gas. On one occasion, a cow had fallen in, but we got her out OK - filthy but uninjured.
It is possible to buy GRP (fibreglass) grating to put under the lids. This grating has immense strength and can support over 5 tonnes, with holes only 38mm. square. It will never rot - but it is not cheap. Far cheaper to fence round the tank as WTELtd. suggests.
 
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