Appearance of oily substance in very muddy pasture?

Question

Recently a large storm swept through, making my pasture very muddy. I noticed that in one particularly wet spot, a bluish-purple oil had risen to the surface. I've had horses for many years (and plenty of rain!) and haven't come across this before. Just wondering if someone has seen this. My hunch is that it occurs naturally, but I would prefer to know for sure before I let my horses near what could potentially be a nasty runoff problem.

Answer 1

We had this a few years ago and I thought we had struck oil! But it turned out to be septic problems and we had to have the entire septic field replaced. You should probably have it checked out to make sure

Answer 2

I suppose it could be lots of things if your pasture is situated such that it is getting run off from higher ground during ground soaking heavy rains but if your pasture is fairly high ground then I suspect that what you saw was just natural organic oils from the pasture grass run off which collected in the low spot.

Answer 3

I saw this today for the first time in my pastures and haven't figured out what it is......I'll be watching this to find out!

Answer 4

I would have it checked out...better safe than sorry.  You don't know if it is seepage because of the wet ground and substances are coming to the surface or if the storm may have blown something into the area.  I wouldn't take the chance.  

Follow your instincts..we can't tell you what it is so your going to have to take a sample and do the right thing to protect your animals and clear your own doubts.

Answer 5

I've seen this in some of our paddocks from time to time, and I believe a lot of it has to do with chemicals in the horse's urine (urea, etc) or f***s that haven't absorbed into the ground.  I see it most often when the ground is really hard, then we have a big rainfall and it puddles.  I've seen it in areas where I know there is no oil, pesticides, etc....since it was just a dirt paddock or arena.  I don't think its something you have to worry about, but you can always fill it in with some sand/dirt or use shavings to absorb the water if its still there in a day or so.

Answer 6

You should take a sample and have it tested....it's too important to guess.