KenK mentioned it in Marty's 'Irony' thread: No power for six days, the biggest problem was water for the horses. Horses drink a LOT of water... a friend once said an average horse drinks about 5 gallons per day just hanging around, more when working, and probably more in hot weather.

Also, horses can be rather finicky about their water.

So, your power is out, the electric well pump doesn't work, you can't use a hand pump because the source is 150' deep, you have no natural water source nearby and you have two regular riding horses.

First off, you need closed, portable containers. I have the feeling that one-gallon jugs aren't going to cut it. Some 50-gallon plastic barrels with lids might do (~450 lbs when full). Or one or two of those white plastic cubes contained in a metal frame that I occas. see in pickup trucks (~100 gals?).

Do they make heavy plastic bags like the Water BOBs, but to fit the beds of pickup trucks? (If they don't, they should.)

Then, where do you get the water?

If you're lucky, it's raining; just collect it.

If the power outages are spotty, someone you know will probably donate water. Here, the local feed store has a well, and the owner puts out a sign if she has power: "FREE water, bring your own containers".

If there is a stream/river nearby, is it clean enough? And you would probably need some kind of pump, but what does it run on?

What else?

Sue

couple of suggestions...

install a short electrical lead at the pump so you can run a dedicated generator ...even if you need to borrow one daily...

depending on the well casing diameter and type of pump installed (foot valve, submersible, injection,... have different applications), you might be able to use a gasoline pump (some have 160'+ head values) where an additional drop tube (side by side), or plumb a "T" and couple of ball valves on the current drop tube so a gasoline driven pump can be substituted for the electric one...some one with more practical knowledge of pumps may know, possible even a 5/8" or 7/8" garden hose for a drop tube

before I capped my shallow water well(which has a foot check valve), I could lift and lower my PVC drop tube and pump water...

6mil sheeting laid over the bed of a pick up (serious splash problem)

kiddie pool

If there is a stream near by, may I suggest the Katadyn Expedition?

Jeanette Isabelle

If you go to http://www.tractorsupply.com you'll find large water tanks. The only think I can imagine doing is:

For spotty outages have a large tank maybe the 550 gallon one for about $350, put it on my flatbed trailer (we put 4' sides on it, but it will work), find someone with water, and use that.

Of course we'd need to sanitize it with bleach on occasion. That will take even more water.

For long term outages ... well, I don't really have any ideas on that. Our property has a wetland, but that isn't suitable for drinking. In days of old folks would dig a well and hand pump OR have their place on a waterway (lake, river), but we don't have that option right now.

Since the outage we had I have a generator, though I still have to set up the transfer box to bring the power into the house. Need wife's approval to spend that money and haven't gotten it yet. If worse came to worse I could hardwire the generator to the house's water pump circuit. Not legal, but it could be done.

BTW, I am trying to stay in the habit of starting & running the generator on the 1st day of each month to make sure its running fine and to cycle the fuel. Its some Chinese brand out of Home Depot, but it starts and runs REALLY well. The funny thing is that the generator my buddy bought that has Honda and Honeywell labels on it looks like mine with some minor difference in the controls. Even the engine looks very similar. Interesting. Maybe mine is a knock off.

Now I need to find/build some kind of shelter to allow the generator to run in rain/snow (its a portable 30amp kind). I could always put up some kind of tarp short term I suppose.

Went to a national hotrod show once when I was a kid. There were quite a few pickups cruising around the show with a blue plastic tarp lining the bed, filled with water and people. Be sure to calculate the weight of the water!

At about 62 pounds per cubic foot, a 4x8 truck bed with water 1 foot deep would weigh almost a ton.

Disconnect the breaker to the outside power lines. Plug your portable generator into the dryer outlet. You can run whatever is the capacity of your generator.

If you want to plan for this. Place a four pin, 220 welding socket and box at your breaker. Assemble the required jumper cable and you are ready for an outage.

If you have any questions or comments on this suggestion, don't do it. Have a local electrician install and give you instructions.

I have two horses now but for years had more. First I have a box where I can run the pump with the generator. I also store over 500 gallons in various troughs and closed 55 gallon water containers. In the heat of the summer any open trough has to be cleaned often. So I highly recommend at least a few closed barrels. Unless it's spring time with lots of grass they will drink over 10 gallons per day. Spring grass in my neck of the woods has lots of water in it and they cut way down when on the grass. They actually drink a lot in the winter as they are eating dry hay and feed.

Perhaps purchase a couple of inflatable pools, make contact with a local fire department (before an emergency) that has a tanker to provide emergency water.

You may want to touch base with your County Emergency Management Agency, many of which are tasked to assist those in the agricultural industry with contingency plans for just such emergencies.

Pete

Water to horses: I've only prepared for floods, where pasturage or the animals themselves are at risk, and water sources are deemed to be compromised (floodwater is generally not safe for man nor animal to drink) - the answer to how to water your horses is to move them to safer ground. In the case of local evacuation plans that means to the county fairgrounds, where water is safe and plentiful, and if the flood is big enough, accommodations are made to house a lot of animals and their owners, if they need to be with them, which they generally do. If not the fairgrounds, other local land owners and live stock holders can agree on a safe pasturage site. This works in flood zones in King and Lewis counties.

Local responders and EM generally don't have the resources to take water trucks to fill n inflatable pools every day; better to move your animals to the water until the floodwaters subside and local water sources are restored.

Drought, wild fires and other water interruptions - these could have different answers than for floods, but generally you can still address the safety of your animals by temporary evacuation to a reliable water source.

Well, no one is going to take their horses to the fairgrounds in Lewis County! They built the fairgrounds in the flood plain, and area is generally under five or six feet of water in a flood. Another good example of the kind of thinking exercised around here, along with filling in the lowest parts of the flood plain so when it does flood, the water rises higher into the business and residential areas.

Sue