The hosepipe ban and horses

be positive said:
There was this info from H&H about it
www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/5125/311952.html
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Thanks for this :)

Honey08 said:
Just out of interest, do you pay business water rates when you have a livery yard?
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No, we pay business rates but our water is doestic because we also pay council tax.

tallyho! said:
It's a theory, amongst many theories about mudrash/fever... tbh, it's a bacteria, we all know that but it is thought that washing off the mud, doesn't wash the bacteria and the damp legs causes cracked skin, so the bacteria get into cracked skin etc etc you see where I'm going with this.... so anyway, if may not make a difference, but it did to mine anyway.
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Actually leaving legs muddy means they stay wet much longer close to the skin than they do if it is just water. Mud also insulates the moisture which causes bacteria to multiply more quickly.
 
maxapple said:
Ah so according to the link you can wash horses down - that's good.

Don't know why people are worrying about mud - where we are we've had none all winter! I have dust instead - and my fields are cracking!!
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Where do you live? Dubai!

Obviously those of us worrying about mud fever have mud! When you're worrying about having no grass we won't be!:D
 
Honey08 said:
Yes I know the theory. I think it only works on those that get very mild mudrash. Our two ponies used to get tiny bouts of mudrash now and again, and could be left muddy, but with my really bad one he only has to see mud to get it and leaving him with wet mud on his legs would be a 100% sure way of getting severe mudrash heading towards lymphangitis! The only answer for him is to keep him totally out of wet fields full stop. Personally, I don't see how leaving horses with soaking wet muddy legs is any better for the skin than hosing them off with cold water (I understand hot water opens the pores and lets the mud particles in) and drying them off afterwards with a towel and leaving them standing in a deep straw bed - thus leaving the legs dryer than they would be if I had left them muddy...
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aha! see, mine had it really reeeeeaalllyyyyy bad. He had steroids, was lame, it bled and had to be stabled in the end. I washed and dried his legs religiously previous to this - it was a yard policy. Then when he got better, i just heft him out 24/7 with feathers on and everything. no hosing. no mudfever.

I just think it's wierd.

Sorry, not here to argue about mudfever, but who knows what the answer is?
 
Wagtail said:
There is a £1000 for breaking the law and using a hosepipe. However, we are allowed to use one for watering our horses. But what about other things? I am going to put a notice up to say only use buckets to bath horses, but we use the hose to hose off the horse's legs if they are muddy. We probably should not be doing that either. Should I ban that too? What about cold hosing of legs? I expect it is YO's who will get the fine. What are others doing?
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Legally washing a horse down is allowed as it comes under welfare of the animal and cleaning it and/or it's quarters down.

http://www.hosepipeban.org.uk/2012/03/19/animals-and-the-hosepipe-ban/

Basically its open to interpretation so you can take the mick, or you can just be sensible...

Pan
 
Wagtail said:
There is a £1000 for breaking the law and using a hosepipe. However, we are allowed to use one for watering our horses. But what about other things? I am going to put a notice up to say only use buckets to bath horses, but we use the hose to hose off the horse's legs if they are muddy. We probably should not be doing that either. Should I ban that too? What about cold hosing of legs? I expect it is YO's who will get the fine. What are others doing?
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No hosepipe ban but no hosepipe either... The whole farm is spring fed so there just isn't the water available to use hose pipes...

Horses, stables etc are washed with buckets which isn't exactly convenient but certainly conserves a lot more water and if you've got to lug buckets around you do think about how you use it most effectively... I've been pretty horrified at friends' yards seeing hose pipes pouring water out whilst a horse is at the scrubby stage of a wash or left on whilst taking one horse to the stable and bringing out another one, the hose pipe being used to 'wash' debris down the yard instead of using a brush etc...

I'd love one on the yard but I also know I'd probably get lazy when using it... :)
 
Just like LadyDragon, no hosepipe here as we are on metered water. Lots of lovely rainwater butts though, and buckets to lug the water everywhere. No piped water to the fields either, buckets all the way. No wonder I've lost weight!
 
As already said hosepipes can be used for animal welfare...

I would however question the need for regular washing of any horse or body parts unless due to injury.

It angers me when I see people throwing unused water away - water which could be used for other means and think it is only responsible that we do what we can to preserve the water we have.
 
DaffyAppy said:
Just like LadyDragon, no hosepipe here as we are on metered water. Lots of lovely rainwater butts though, and buckets to lug the water everywhere. No piped water to the fields either, buckets all the way. No wonder I've lost weight!
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we're metered too but I don't see the point in lugging buckets about if I don't have to as I would still fill them up the same amount whether it be with hose pipe or lugged buckets.

we have a blue pipe which runs out to the trough in the field (which doesn't auto refill) so they drink it down, it gets scrubbed out.. it gets filled again.

Unless of course they are drinking the rain water butt water? ;) :D
 
I hate seeing water wasted too. I think everyone should have water meters and think about what they use... But I've been trained to be obsessive about not wasting water - shouting at boyfriends who left the tap running while brushing teeth etc! Well water upbringing!
 
We have a HUGE water tank that catches the water off the stable roof when it rains, and it was refilled yesterday! We use this for damping down feeds etc, and I do use it when we have it full, during the summer....for washing manes and tails in the summer.
 
DragonSlayer said:
We have a HUGE water tank that catches the water off the stable roof when it rains, and it was refilled yesterday! We use this for damping down feeds etc, and I do use it when we have it full, during the summer....for washing manes and tails in the summer.
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One down pipe at the middle of the barns (think two American barn style stables joined together) goes underground but a pipe on one side just empties into the field next to it... We're going to see if it's possible to divert it to a tank of some sort and save drawing from the spring...
 
DragonSlayer said:
We have a HUGE water tank that catches the water off the stable roof when it rains, and it was refilled yesterday! We use this for damping down feeds etc, and I do use it when we have it full, during the summer....for washing manes and tails in the summer.
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yup we do similar damping feeds, washing down etc.
 
Thames Water have said that no one has ever been fined for using a hosepipe and they don't intend to do so - it is more to make people think about the water they are using. I think you would have to be using water 'recklessly' to come under their fire! But, if you are in the South East especially, things may change if we don't get a great deal of rain soon! :eek:
 
Maybe we could start a pipeline company that networks the whole country. Scotland and Wales get way more than their fair share, they could sell it to Essex for example.

who's in?
 
We also have a huge water tank to catch water off the roof of the shelter, with no rain though we have to take water from home. In the event of a ban here would that be a problem?
 
Good to hear so many people taking it seriously, I work in drought management and water resource really is in a bad way. Obviously water your horse and anything to keep it healthy, but think about what you do with it. Emptying buckets onto yards drives me mental!
 
KatPT said:
Good to hear so many people taking it seriously, I work in drought management and water resource really is in a bad way. Obviously water your horse and anything to keep it healthy, but think about what you do with it. Emptying buckets onto yards drives me mental!
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Same here!! I cannot believe the water that gets wasted, people chucking full buckets of water over the yard and refilling again. I used to use any left over water to soak hay when I had to do that - now I just top the bucket up. And people who bath their horses 3 or 4 times a week....not only do they waste gallons of water with the hose running constantly but it doesn't do the horse much good either (have nothing against those with sweet itch having manes an tails washed frequently though) stripping oils from it's coat - what happened to a good old fashioned grooming??
 
Despite the fact that you can use hoses for aspects of horse care our YO has gone a bit OTT and confiscated them all :/ but hey ho - my mare hates the hose so it matters not to me!

I am careful with water though - I always re-use left over water from her stable to soak hay for the next day and don't tip large quantities away. I scrub muddy hooves with a bucket and brush and never wash legs.

I do bath now and again for shows in summer but will use a bucket instead of horse to rise, and after a long hack I wash off with a bucket and sponge anyway so no change of behaviour needed for me really :)
 
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