With around 100 horses and ponies in its care, the
demand for water at The Horse Trust's Home of Rest for Horses at Speen
is enormous.
As well as drinking up to 12 gallons a day each, water is required to clean out stables, wash out the stable yard and to give each animal a regular therapeutic "bath".
Rather than abstracting this from the water mains, The Horse Trust has been granted permission to drill its own borehole 122 metres deep into the Chilterns limestone.
"The water is tested for purity and has passed the test with flying colours," says chief executive and resident veterinary surgeon Paul Jepson. "Coming from a limestone base, the water is classed as hard although very similar in hardness to the mains Thames Water supply. The quality is exceptionally good - on a par with the finest bottled spring water. The purity tests cover every conceivable contaminant including metals, agricultural residues and micro organisms. The water is also free of chlorine and fluoride which are added to mains water.
"In fact, it's one of the finest waters in the world," he added.
As well as drinking up to 12 gallons a day each, water is required to clean out stables, wash out the stable yard and to give each animal a regular therapeutic "bath".
Rather than abstracting this from the water mains, The Horse Trust has been granted permission to drill its own borehole 122 metres deep into the Chilterns limestone.
"The water is tested for purity and has passed the test with flying colours," says chief executive and resident veterinary surgeon Paul Jepson. "Coming from a limestone base, the water is classed as hard although very similar in hardness to the mains Thames Water supply. The quality is exceptionally good - on a par with the finest bottled spring water. The purity tests cover every conceivable contaminant including metals, agricultural residues and micro organisms. The water is also free of chlorine and fluoride which are added to mains water.
"In fact, it's one of the finest waters in the world," he added.
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