Horse die from electric shock

[Bacon]

Just watching the racing at my dads house when he said 2 horse's have be killed via electric shocks from the paddock at Newbury race course.

Thing is surely if it was a shock the RCD would have tripped out before any think gets a shock,And what amout of current would kill a horse.

They also said some people said they were getting shocks from the same area of grass within the paddock area.

Horses die from 'electric shocks' at Newbury - Yahoo! Eurosport

 

[S60TEM]

if its an old installation & 3 phase its possible there wasn't any RCD's fitted to any circuits! Also when you think about it, horses walk around in their bare feet and people often have shoes on when walking on wet grass!! Did they not stand on a supply cable or something that hadn't been buried deep enough or something like that?

 

[Andy™]

probably no RCD

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Four legged animals more susceptible than two legged persons. See agricultural requirements in BS7671.

Also info regarding touch voltages and effects of voltages in the ground around earth rods...

Many risks, This is still under investigation at this time & they are just speculating electrical problems, though it is a very likely cause.

:C

 

[septiclecky]

BBQ horse steaks going cheap on the food stand after the races.

As specs said 4 legged animals more susceptible due to a possible potential difference between fore and hind legs.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Do you get horseradish sauce with that?

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 18:32 ---------- Previous post was made at 18:30 ----------

As specs said 4 legged animals more susceptible due to a possible potential difference between fore and hind legs.

You mean they got 6 legs????

4 and the hind legs that 4+2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:slap :coat :coat

 

[M107]

The course is just up the road from me. My neighbour was there & said the one of the horses made a god awful noise as it keeled over.

The latest local rumour is that it may be a lost cable laid during the war from when the yanks were barracked at the course. Nothing was on any site plans about cables in that location.

 

[wozz]

heard it on the radio today, terrible to hear, my first fault was a HV fault of some description?????

 

[a1]

Bloody hell.

What's the odds of that happening? :coat

I shouldn't joke - especially when they're as terrible as that.

 

[Manator]

It is a very tragic event, I know people will joke about it, we as humans always do, but some very distraught people are being consoled tonight over a dramatic loss. My fisrt thought was potential differences around a TT grid system, with a high fault to earth with multiple spikes used from different locations, the fault path going through two or three differing stations before any system protection could take place. I would doubt any HV cable or such causing this as the short to earth would be instantanious, causing a minor explosion than a leaked potential over a patch of ground. I can only speculate of course.

 

[batty]

I am not a great horse lover but really would not want this to happen to any animal. It must have been a great shock to the people there. It just goes to show how dangerous electric is when things go wrong.

 

[Apache]

Interesting to note that even in my rather tipsy state horses have METAL SHOES nailed to their feet! If electricity [even tiny amperages] is going to kill any animal it will be those with metal shoes!

I have no idea how many amps it would take. I imagine very few.

I knew of a farmer who had 2 cows die when an electric milk pump in the milking parlour failed and 2 cows dropped dead in the parlour before the RCD tripped. They were fun to drag out before the farmer could get the pump mended and milk.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Interesting to note that even in my rather tipsy state horses have METAL SHOES nailed to their feet! If electricity [even tiny amperages] is going to kill any animal it will be those with metal shoes!

Heard some mention of the type of shoes used by the horses on the radio earlier...

apparently there IS as an underground cable near by...

And two other horses who didn't get fatal shocks but had some funny happenings had different construction of shoes!?

 

[Andy™]

of they may have been standing a different direction (less voltage accross legs)?

 

[ianmacd]

Hmm. Isn't Aluminium a better conductor than steel so the last comments there about the shoes may be a red herring.

 

[Andy™]

i thought they meant that as in the horse's have metallic shoes. people dont

 

[ianmacd]

"The two (horses) who died had steel shoes on and the two who were ok had aluminium plates on, so there's a distinct possibility that the conductivity of the electricity has affected the horses and not humans," he added.

Not sure why he mentions humans when his evidence is all about horses and how many humans wear aluminium plates or steel shoes anyway.

 

[Sidewinder]

"The two (horses) who died had steel shoes on and the two who were ok had aluminium plates on, so there's a distinct possibility that the conductivity of the electricity has affected the horses and not humans," he added.Not sure why he mentions humans when his evidence is all about horses and how many humans wear aluminium plates or steel shoes anyway.

Ian from this quote you present above, then it is obvious that the original writer is a journalist!

Electricity does not have conductivity!

Perhaps the writer of the article needs to stick to writing stories!

 

[ianmacd]

He can't quote and paraphrase at the same time. Its clearly a quote so it must have come from the mouth or writing of Stephen Higgins.

 

[Sidewinder]

I have not read the article in question, nor any other on the story.

The only info I have is what has been posted on here and a comment my wife made earlier while looking at the story on the internet herself.

It seems then that either or both, the journo &/or Stephen Higgins need to stick to what they do and away from engineering!