Using snaps to affix holding straps?

[stryder]

Our barn installed electric water buckets this past week. Some of the horses can’t resist playing with the electrical tails. As a very temporary fix, the barn owner screwed leather straps (upcycling old stirrup leathers) over the tails to hold them down on their way to the outlet.

She wants to keep using the buckets through the winter, not just when it’s freezing. We’d like to make the straps easier to release to make bucket dumping/cleaning easier. I’m curious about what others have done. Also wondering if anyone has used metal snaps for this purpose. I found some that can be nailed into wood, then we could put the other half on the leather strip.
But I know that some of you have vast experience, and am grateful for any advice you can send this way.

TIA.

[LCDR]

Could you post a picture? Is an “electrical tail” a power cord running from a wall-hung bucket out to an electrical outlet in the barn aisle?

[Simkie]

I run the cords for my heated tubs through a ring (like this: https://a.co/d/gh332ms) that I’ve tied to paracord. The entire thing hangs from one of the stall bars.

I find the ring/paracord loops super handy all over the farm, I’m always clipping things to them (with a snap clipped to the ring) or threading stuff through them to keep cords where they’re supposed to be. Cheap, easy, very unlikely to cause any harm.

It’s a pita though to deal with the cord year round. The day the heated tubs go up into the loft is always a happy day and sign of spring!

[stryder]

yes! That’s exactly right.
It’s this one: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/farm-innovators-24-qt-heated-flat-back-plastic-bucket

[LCDR]

Well I was going to suggest a protective conduit over the wire, but I see the buckets in your barn already have that.

I have wood board stall walls, and if I were to go the heated bucket route, I’d hang the bucket first to establish how it will hang. Then I’d use a spade drill bit and make a hole right under the bucket and pass the power cord right out into the aisle through the hole. Horses would not even know the “tail” was there.

[stryder]

We were able to do that with some of the stalls, but not all. Because of where the outlets are, and the sliding stall doors, we’re having to work the conduit through a small gap between the door and the frame, near the latch. We’re trying to figure out a fix that would hold the cord down so horses can’t pull or play with it, and still be able to easily disconnect it so the buckets can be dumped and cleaned.

Fortunately, we only have 2-3 horses that can’t leave things alone.

[clanter]

@stryder

we’re having to work the conduit through a small gap

BX cable is armored flexible cable intended for areas where chewing might be a problem

[trubandloki]

We attach the cable to the wall with wire ties or such.

Bucket dumping and cleaning happens by bringing a five gallon bucket into the stall to dump the heated bucket and then the heated bucket is cleaned by wiping it with a clean towel/paper towels.

This has worked for me for many years.

[furlong47]

If the straps are just keeping the cord against the wall and not really supporting any weight, I think snaps might work or even some sort of velcro. However, those things may also make the straps themselves enticing to play with if the horses figure out they can now unaffix the end from the wall.

[stryder]

thanks for this. I learned today that one of the fiddle boys loves velcro.

[FitToBeTied]

I drilled holes through the stall wall where the bucket is hung. That way the electric cord exits the stall right behind the bucket.

[2DogsFarm]

My heated buckets’ cords run behind where the buckets are hung. Then out through the opening in the stall bars intended for feed. From there I stapled (wide heavy-duty staples that straddle the cord) cords up stall wall & over to the outlets that are between stall doors at the top.
They’ve stayed like this for 20yrs - cleaning happens as @trubandloki described.
This year a bucket rim got cracked when someone leaned on it. Initially I put a bolt through the rim to repair, but the rim crack widened due to the weight of the filled bucket.
That bucket now sits on the ground, wedged in a corner. Only been tipped once

I’d worry the snaps either won’t hold the weight, or a horse would find them a new toy.
Friend I drive with used snaps to attach her lines to the bit. I was holding those lines when one got undone, leaving me in the cart with a single line to control the horse
I was able to turn him - like using a pulley rein - in a slow circle and got a Header to hold him ASAP.
She now uses buckles to attach reins.

[Equibrit]

I use the Blue buckets. I route an extension cord from the outdoor socket overhead into the stall, along the top of the stall dividers and down inside a length of pvc pipe attached to wall in a corner. Pipe ends level to the bottom of the bucket. cord from bucket is attached under the bucket where horses cannot see or bother them. Just unplug to dump and refill. The blue buckets have the advantage of a sliding panel on the bottom which stores the excess cord.

[mfglickman]

I have one who can’t leave a cord alone and her outlet is about 4’ from the heated bucket. My husband attached a length of PVC pipe along the wall and I threaded the cord through so most of it is covered by the pipe.

To clean, I scrub the bucket with whatever water is in it, dump it into a 5 gallon bucket on the floor, which I take outside and dump, then fill the heated bucket. Works well for us.

[furlong47]

@mfglickman

My husband attached a length of PVC pipe along the wall and I threaded the cord through so most of it is covered by the pipe.

This gives me an idea, though… what about taking a pool noodle, cutting a slit in it lengthwise, and screwing it to the wall with the slit pointing out. Push the cord sideways through the slit so it now runs through the hole in the noodle. Then it can be removed and replaced at will if the buckets need to come down to clean.

[trubandloki]

@furlong47

This gives me an idea, though… what about taking a pool noodle, cutting a slit in it lengthwise, and screwing it to the wall with the slit pointing out. Push the cord sideways through the slit so it now runs through the hole in the noodle. Then it can be removed and replaced at will if the buckets need to come down to clean.

Pipe insulation comes with the slot already in it. You can get it at any home improvement store.

Example.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frost-King-0-75-in-x-6-ft-Foam-Plumbing-Tubular-Pipe-Insulation/1001277278

[Equibrit]

Horses would enjoy some pipe insulation - yyyyyyyyumm ! It also helps to have your PVC pipe in a corner. They can’t get upper and lower teeth round it.

[stryder]

I think this could work for a couple of the horses, but the busy boys would think a pool noodle/pipe insulation would be great to play with. Those guys will play with anything, anywhere, they can get their mouths on.