Rainwater

[Penny Less]

How many of you collect rainwater for the horses drinking use ?
I have suggested it to my liveries but they are not keen, say the water would be dirty ! At least not full of chemicsls !

 

[jens]

i do! My stable gutter runs in to two buts at either end of the block. We have gutter guards to prevent debris getting in there and are looking to buy these *things* that you can attach to your gutter so that they fill the but, and once full they divert the water on to the down pipe as normal. Save us a fortune as we have a meter.

 

[Ashgrove]

I do, I use it for their drinking water and hay soaking water.
It's cleaner than the water in the field troughs.

 

[lucythomas]

old yard used to do it a with 2 big barrels, it rains a lot in NE Scotland may as well make use of it!

 

[louisevictoria]

I have a large water butt that collects the run off from my stable gutter.

Saves a fortune of water bills

I have to agree its an awful lot cleaner than some field troughs I have seen

 

[vicksey]

Great idea, I wouldn't hesitate. We have automatic water feeders but my horse goes straight to the puddles in the field when he goes to the field, think he prefers the natural approch.

 

[Milkmaid]

I do even tho not on a meter so doesn`t save any money.

Been on one yard in the past that had no other water supply other than a bowser/rain butts that were filled by the guttering!

 

[mtj]

Courtesy of the local planners, I've got a full blown water recycling system for the stable block. All the wash water and a washing machine run off the system. All the pets, bar one horse are happy to drink the water.

This horse will drink it in the field trough, but expects mains tap water in his stable

.

 

[alsxx]

I have a dustbin that collects the rain water from the guttering (as well as an old bath round the side!) - mainly use it for washing buckets out with, but will fill up water buckets if they are ever stood in for any reason, but mostly they are out so supplied by the self filling trough.

The intention is more to have a supply there that I can access when the pipe to the trough/tap freezes and I need to top something up.

 

[H's mum]

Yes we've got two bowsers - one in the field with a tap to fill the water trough - and another for the stable block - again with a tap to fill water buckets

It's a pain when it runs out and I have to lug buckets of water from the house though - but it does save a lot of money in water bills!

Kate x

 

[TelH]

We collect rainwater and use it for soaking hay and filling the buckets in the field. The ponies are quite happy to drink it. We use tap water for in the stables but any left over from that in the mornings also goes into the hay soaking barrel.

 

[Blaise]

Thats all we use! There's no water supply to the yard so we either have to lug it all from home or collect rainwater- so guess which idea won!

Have 3 water butts with drainpipes running into them and a huuuge tank so we're usually ok for water, especially with all the rain we've had lately.

We have to bring it from home occasionally (dead of winter when everything's frozen, or in hot dry summers) but the horses seem to drink more when it's rainwater than when it's fresh from home. They really seem to like it for some reason.

 

[rangerover]

I collect it from each end of the stable block and use it to soak hay.

 

[Britestar]

Ask your liveries to pay the water bill, and I think they'll soon change their minds!