Portable gas horse showers & liveries

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william95

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I have been asked by some of my liveries about a portable gas bottle hot horse shower. However I have concerns about the safety of just having this freely available on the yard for liveries to use when they want as they are not very reliable about turning off the pressure gun on the water hose pipe let alone a gas tap! I also don't want to have it locked away so that they have to ask me or my groom every time they want to use it as this will be very restrictive for all. Also, what is the insurance situation about gas bottles around a stable yard? Finally do people charge their liveries to use one of these as obviously the gas bottles will need replacing from time to time. All help and ideas much appreciated!
 
£2.50 is a ridiculous price. I have one and its brilliant but my horse is at home so no sharing! If they leave the gas on its fine as it won't leak (I do always turn mine off) but I believe the battery will run out if they don't switch off the main unit. I do disconnect from the water when not in use as my connection to the water pops off if I just use the trigger on the spray. I think the biggest risk is breaking the pressure gun by dropping/letting horse tread on it. I think I would allow them to buy it themselves and fight out how they share it.....
 
I agree! A ridiculous price!! Though the horse walker is £3 to use!!!
To leave it out for the liveries to use at will, I'd put some clear instructions for safe use next to the shower. You could charge a number of ways;
Per use, factor into livery costs, or get the liveries to. HY their own gas??
 
Personally I wouldn't bother

They aren't that expensive for an individual to get themselves.

There's a group at my yard that pooled together to get one but it's caused no end of agro. Between running out of gas, not connecting the gas properly (dangerous!) and letting horses stand on the hose and splitting it. That's why I don't let people use mine!
 
We have one on our yard, wall mounted. Works on tokens and a timer (£3 for 20 minutes). I have a large coloured mud-magnet who costs me at least £6 a time to get clean!!! There don't appear to be any issues with its use , however. YO takes it in and stores it over winter. You can buy a separate gantry so that the hose is carried above the horse, so that it doesn't get trodden on.
 
Someone on my last yard had one which caused a bit of awkwardness as the curly hose was trailed across the yard when in use. The gas bottle was a concern as it was just stored with her other stuff behind the stables. The hot water unit was hung on a bridle hook out side her stable even though it clearly said on the instructions that the back of the unit can get hot
The YO made a bit of a fuss about the gas bottle but then didn't seem bothered. I guess if all that had been set up in a safe area then we would all have felt less a anxious about the fire risk. You wouldn't get away with bringing somthing like that into a workplace without some stringent health and safety procedures and staff training on its use. I'm sure they are safe but only if everybody that uses it follows the rules.
 
They do need to be kept indoors during the winter so the water inside the unit doesn't freeze. I would want to ensure that it is turned off properly after use so I would charge the £2.50-£3 per use to cover my time to get it out and put away afterwards.
I've been on yards where the hose is locked away to prevent water wastage and many yards charge for use of wash boxes etc so it's not unusual to charge for an extra facility like this.
 
I wouldn't go there. they are an expensive item that is easy to be abused & it only takes one person to damage it permanently. Very often clients do not respect some of the 'extras' that are provided at a yard.

Nativelover said:
I agree! A ridiculous price!! Though the horse walker is £3 to use!!!
To leave it out for the liveries to use at will, I'd put some clear instructions for safe use next to the shower. You could charge a number of ways;
Per use, factor into livery costs, or get the liveries to. HY their own gas??
Click to expand...

Regarding £3!!! to use a horse walker. How much do you think you should pay to use one? They cost a minimum of £4000+ to buy plus extra for building the base & erecting it. Sometimes buying & erecting a roof & for buying & installing fencing around it & buying & installing rubber flooring? So many liveries want a champagne lifestyle for their horses but only want to pay beer money for it!! :(
 
I don't understand why you would want one unless there is no electric.
Why not just have an electric shower in a wash box with a long hose.
 
william95 said:
I have been asked by some of my liveries about a portable gas bottle hot horse shower. However I have concerns about the safety of just having this freely available on the yard for liveries to use when they want as they are not very reliable about turning off the pressure gun on the water hose pipe let alone a gas tap! I also don't want to have it locked away so that they have to ask me or my groom every time they want to use it as this will be very restrictive for all. Also, what is the insurance situation about gas bottles around a stable yard? Finally do people charge their liveries to use one of these as obviously the gas bottles will need replacing from time to time. All help and ideas much appreciated!
Click to expand...

They decided to do this at the last yard. I think the gas bottles should be stored in a place located away from the stables. I think the local authority should know about it too, plus the fire brigade. In the event of a fire these bottles would be flying off everywhere and a terrible risk to fire fighters. If they were all located in a particular area at least it wouldn't be so dangerous but can you imagine trying to tackle a fire and rescue horses with those popping around your head. If you were hit with one of those that would be the end.

I personally think the whole idea is silly. I just use a bucket of hot water instead from the tap, much cheaper. Or boil a kettle the old fashioned way! We have to pay £3 to use the hot water hose at our yard, I've used it twice in 16 months.
 
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But people use gas bottles for lots of things and you don't let the local authority know!? We have a caravan at the back of the stables with gas bottles..., people have them in lorries etc etc.
 
They are much better for horse use than electric showers because you can drain them easily so there's no risk of damage to them in very cold weather .
The bottles are no more dangerous than those I use for my house , my caravan and those I drive round with under my truck .
I simply could not live now with out the gas powered shower they are great.
 
Liveries will always be liveries - most will be compliant and careful and there will be a small percentage that aren't. You will just have to accept that and build in end of day checks to the gas/hose and schedule and cost it accordingly.

Hot water hose is a lovely facility to be able to offer. I'd probably allocate a wash down area if possible and rig something up so you aren't continually getting the kit out, so liveries can help themselves.

I'd say work it on a pay per use basis.
£3 a go doesn't sound unreasonable to me when you factor in purchase & maintenance of kit, gas and faffing around keeping liveries in line. I'd happily pay that.
 
I have an eletric shower. Ponies love it. Yes, it is not high pressure, so will take a long time to wash a big horse, but it hasn't got a pressure pump its just the shower. With the pressure pump it would be fine. All in all i think it cost me about £80 to install inc the shower, which was the cheapest one from b&q i could get.
 
Just to say we have five horses and wash a lot .
I put a 19 kilo bottle on mine in February and replaced it last week that cost thirty pounds .
My unit is a showerking and around £300 it's my second gas shower the first was smaller and died of a mixture of over work and the bird poo dropping in it .
I now keep mine covered when not in use .
If you get one I would put simple clear step by step instructions on a laminated sign by the unit .
I think the hot horse shower company used to do a vending type version .
 
A friend debated this for her horse and ended up getting an outside tap that links to the hot water, you just attach a hose like you would on a cold tap, I think there is some sort of thermostat on it

If you have hot water but don't want to fit a tap I have one of these and its the best horsey purchase I have made, not as powerful as a power hose but does a very good job, I bathe my ponies once or even twice a week using this, it also does the feed buckets, water butts, car etc etc . The only drawback is that you have to fill it with water that is already hot

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aqua2go-GD8...UTF8&qid=1445255472&sr=8-1&keywords=aqua+2+go
 
ester said:
But people use gas bottles for lots of things and you don't let the local authority know!? We have a caravan at the back of the stables with gas bottles..., people have them in lorries etc etc.
Click to expand...

I think when you are a large establishment (45 horses/ponies) you have to supply the LA with certain information and canisters of butane/propane is one of them. I used to create a newsletter for the yard where I was and i drew up a fire plan for the yard and also created a map of the building and stables and where the gas canister was (we only had one at the time) for the fire brigade in the event there was ever a fire but nobody took me seriously. I suggested a fire drill with 'acting out' with the horses, evacuating them from the stables in the barn one evening when everyone was around but again the idea was ridiculed.

One day the muckheap caught fire and the fire bridgade were called out as the fence caught fire too. The fire brigade hadn't enough water on board their engine so tried to find the water mains fire hydrant thing on the lane outside the yard. They couldn't find it. They had to draw water from the pond which was a faf for them and it was very fortunate that we had a pond!

I said to the YO that the fire brigade should locate the fire hydrant in case there is ever another fire and would she chase it up but nothing was ever done about it, which is frightening really should the same thing occur again. People get complacent with fire. Sadly its usually too late by the time people react. If you had a fire plan in place straight away then you cut the danger by half. If people know how to react in a fire, they have gone through a drill and practiced it then the outcome would be far better than horses and people running around all over the place and the fire brigade risking their lives taking on something that they know nothing about.

Here is a quick link about safe storage http://www.calor.co.uk/gas-bottles/gas-cylinder-safety/storing-gas-bottles
 
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My other half has kindly agreed to getting me a hot horse shower so I'm looking for the best option to go for, I will be using it for 4 horses, has been great to read this thread, a livery yard I know charges £5 each time you use the hot horse shower there!
 
tessah said:
I don't understand why you would want one unless there is no electric.
Why not just have an electric shower in a wash box with a long hose.
Click to expand...

I was wondering this too - we have an electric shower in the wash box its brilliant - is powerful enough that it doesn't take hours to bath a horse and is fixed up on the wall well out of reach of the horses. Its attached to a meter that you put £1/ £2 coins in. if your just rinsing off after riding/ washing legs/ parts of a horse you dont need to put any money in, if you are doing a full wash and scrub you put a £1 which lasts ages (longer than it takes to do a wash) so all the extras cover the little bits of washing. sometimes the meter runs out when your just doing a quick wash/ rinse but we'll just put another £1 in to keep it topped up. Not had a problem with it freezing either
 
I use wash box fairly loosely, hose in a lean to! But there is no reason the unit can't be encased in something, but the units are probably pretty waterproof as they are usually installed in peoples showers
 
It's not the unit it is where the electricity connection is/having a permanent space to put it rather than just by someone's tie point outside their stable. All of our sockets are in the tack rooms where you wouldn't want things getting wet/the only space to use is the space outside your stable so I can see the advantage of having something portable that you can put up and take down again.
 
ester said:
It's not the unit it is where the electricity connection is/having a permanent space to put it rather than just by someone's tie point outside their stable. All of our sockets are in the tack rooms where you wouldn't want things getting wet/the only space to use is the space outside your stable so I can see the advantage of having something portable that you can put up and take down again.
Click to expand...

I've been given lots of food for thought here. Thanks. My yard has 40 horses on it and we have an outside dedicated wash point area with an overhead gantree to prevent the hose getting trodden on. However, this point, although close to the stables, is too far away from power points and its location makes it difficult to extend the electric, hence why the request for a portable gas shower. It is not practical to build a lean to where the wash point is as it is quite exposed and the room is also used for tractors etc turning to put hay in the hay barn opposite- hence my concern about people leaving the gas on. I'm undecided now- pros and cons either way!
 
WelshD said:
A friend debated this for her horse and ended up getting an outside tap that links to the hot water, you just attach a hose like you would on a cold tap, I think there is some sort of thermostat on it

If you have hot water but don't want to fit a tap I have one of these and its the best horsey purchase I have made, not as powerful as a power hose but does a very good job, I bathe my ponies once or even twice a week using this, it also does the feed buckets, water butts, car etc etc . The only drawback is that you have to fill it with water that is already hot

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aqua2go-GD8...UTF8&qid=1445255472&sr=8-1&keywords=aqua+2+go
Click to expand...

We've got one of those!! We got the one with the battery so can be charged & portable or plugged in to car battery.

They are brilliant for taking to events so you can wash the horse off after (if you don't have a lorry with a hose). Or for general bathing, the pressure really does help blast the dirt out lol.

I would enjoy a hot shower though, but hot water in a bucket works well enough for scrubbing. Then use the sprayer with hot/warm water for rinsing.
 
william95 said:
I've been given lots of food for thought here. Thanks. My yard has 40 horses on it and we have an outside dedicated wash point area with an overhead gantree to prevent the hose getting trodden on. However, this point, although close to the stables, is too far away from power points and its location makes it difficult to extend the electric, hence why the request for a portable gas shower. It is not practical to build a lean to where the wash point is as it is quite exposed and the room is also used for tractors etc turning to put hay in the hay barn opposite- hence my concern about people leaving the gas on. I'm undecided now- pros and cons either way!
Click to expand...

They are pretty safe things .
Yes I do turn the gas off at the bottle but if you don't no matter they are designed to be left turned on at campsites and the like ( they are really common in the US )
For your sort of yard use you would need to a biggish one and have it firmly fixed to something .
If it's out side it will need covering when not in use .
Remember you don't need to buy a 'horse ' one I bought mine online and put on a hose .
It will need some form of shelter from the wind if it's out side to it will blow out .
Of course it's part of your job as YMer to make sure it's looked after properly and the gas is off at night etc etc .
 
Fire risk re: gas and electric. Overloaded electrical circuits are more of a fire risk than safely used gas bottles. There have been a number of stable fires recently due to electric faults. An electric shower has to be properly installed and you may need to upgrade your wiring so can get very expensive. Also vulnerable to freezing as can't be uninstalled in the winter and stored overnight.
With reference to gas bottles firing around - you have to heat them to about 1,000 degrees before they fire in the air (which they do in that circumstance). With 1,000 degrees fire raging, they would be the least of your worries
#marriedtoafireman
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
I wouldn't go there. they are an expensive item that is easy to be abused & it only takes one person to damage it permanently. Very often clients do not respect some of the 'extras' that are provided at a yard.



Regarding £3!!! to use a horse walker. How much do you think you should pay to use one? They cost a minimum of £4000+ to buy plus extra for building the base & erecting it. Sometimes buying & erecting a roof & for buying & installing fencing around it & buying & installing rubber flooring? So many liveries want a champagne lifestyle for their horses but only want to pay beer money for it!! :(
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more!
 
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