Weird water - What are others views?

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cobstar

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Just wondered what others thought. I keep my horses on a yard which has about 30 horses.

There are no toilets on the yard which can be very embarrassing when people visit (farriers, vets etc.) and want to use the non existent facilities.

Secondly, the water comes from a bore hole and is often smelly (usually smells like rotten eggs) and it turns the buckets orange inside within about two weeks.

My main worry really is the water, I am sure it can't be doing the horses any good! Somone said it is simply excess zinc which is making it that colour (not sure how accurate their statement was as not sure if the water has been tested) but it still concerns me.

What do others think and in particular has anyone else come across this problem? I am now considering taking water from home down in a container as it is worrying me that much.
 
Is there any way you can get the water tested? Maybe somewhere you can send a sample to see if its safe. The water where I keep Chex can be a bit orange, but its from a natural spring so is sometimes a bit peaty.
 
i'm on mains water in east anglia and although it smells and tastes fine, it turns the buckets orange too... i thought it was some weird fungal thing i wasn't scrubbing out properly though!
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Wierd - I'm just up the road from Kerilli and I don't get orange buckets - only scale on the field ones? Saying that I scrub out the stable water buckets daily - am I a freak?
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My water comes from a bore hole. It turns my trough orange as does the soil turn my horses orange... It's apparently the iron and maganese in the ground and according to my vet shouldn't cause any problems.
Not sure about the eggy smell though
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It sounds as though there is a lot of peat or iron in the water, I would perhaps get it tested.
Funnily enough I had a comment from the hairdresser yesterday, she said "You have your own water supply don't you?" I can smell the metal in your hair.
I was horrified but she said it's very easy to tell. I can smell chlorine in tap water so I suppose it's the reverse.
The smell of rotten eggs means sulphur, so that's the likely cause..
Our water is high in copper/ iron/ but desperately low in selenium, which is why I put mineral blocks out regularly.
It will stain the bath brigh turquoise in minutes if we don't use the acidity corrector in the tank, and it rots copper water cylinders within a couple of years.
I do wonder what it is doing to our insides, but it tastes wonderful...
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I'm a bit down the road from Kerilli and Miller on North Cambs/Norfolk border. Our mains water is fine at home - apart from having a small amount of sand in but we have no water at the field and it's currently all carried there. Sheep farmer locally has suggested I pump water from the drain at the bottom of the field. Apparently that's what he does with his sheep but the water again is orange and looks horrible. I've drunk some dodgy looking water in my time but even I haven't intentionally drunk any of this.
 
OP - why don't you use rainwater as drinking water for the horses. i stabled over in a yard years ago that only had rainwater, no water supply at all, and very large collection tanks everywhere. just an idea!
i should have said that the containers etc that go orange here are the ones i leave full of water for chickens etc, not my stable water buckets, honestly! (not quite that lazy!)
 
It sounds just like the yard I was on near Bury St Edmunds - the water there came from a bore hole and turned everything orange. We were told not to drink it ourselves as its not treated in anyway but my horse was there for a year and never had anyproblms with it. We are at a new yard now and he drinks from the river.
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Sounds like you have got high iron (orange) and managanese. The water should be absolutely fine for the horses, its not desirable for drinking water as the colour and turbidity can affect the efficency of certain bacteriological filters (uv for example) also peole dont like the staining on their baths, washing etc, however many people have bore holes with no treamewnt and are absilutely fine, I just wouldnt recomend drinlking it if you are pregnant or imunocompromised!

If you are genuinely worried you can take a sample to your Public Health Lab in Norwich, I think they will do bacteriological quality at a fee, as far as metals go there are companies who will do a full analysis. You could also phone your local Environmental Health Department, they will probably not test the water as it is for animals and they are only concerned with human health, however they may be able to steer you in the right direction. I think in Breckland we use severn trent laboratories.

Iron and manganese can be dealt with using filters, however these are costly, probably not something the yard owner would consider, you could also try doing a google search, there is lots of info available (Shakesby & sons my OH's company have quite a good website).

Wowser - we are neighbours, I live 5 miles west of Dereham!
 
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