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Hurricane Season: Are You Prepared?

Story by Georgia Brown Photos by Jill Haight

Got a plan? As simple as it sounds, if you have one, your response to an emergency—hurricane or wildfire—will mean the difference between confusion and a quick retreat to safety for you and your horses.

First, decide where you will go: will another horse owner or a friend stable your horses in an emergency? Or contact your agricultural agent or emergency management authorities to find local shelters. North Carolina and Florida have online directories of stables for temporary relocation. Second, tell your friends and neighbors your plans.

The Basics

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Water-proof pet rescue identification tags can be placed securely on a leather or breakaway halter.

Update vaccinations in spring to last through hurricane season. Keep originals of Coggins, vet records and registration papers in a watertight plastic zip bag and store with your important papers. Prepare a first-aid kit and keep it in a safe place for emergencies.

Identifying Your Horses
Microchips, tattoos and brands are permanent. But for immediate retrieval of your horses, take photographs of your horse, both sides and face, and one of you and your horse to prove ownership. Use fetlock ID bands and attach to both front legs, etch your phone number into the coat with small animal clippers, or attach luggage tags with your contact information to a halter that will break if caught. Or braid luggage tags into the mane and tail.

Preparing your Property
The choice of whether you should keep your horse in the barn or in a field with strong fencing is an individual one. Use common sense when considering the barn’s stability. Nearby trees or power lines may increase risk. Talk to your neighbors. Will they evacuate or weather the storm at home?
Secure anything that may be tossed around by high winds. Fill water tubs and other large containers (lined with plastic garbage bags) to store 20 gallons of water per horse, per day. Store enough grain and hay for 3-7 days in waterproof tubs and cover with plastic. Hang a halter with a lead on each horse’s stall or paddock.

Temporary Emergency Stabling
If you plan to evacuate with your horses, be sure all horses will load easily! Get moving early. Learn your route and carry extra gas in the truck bed (not the trailer). If you take some horses and leave others in the pasture, leave a list and instructions behind. You will be expected to show Coggins certificates and bring your own feed, hay, bedding and buckets. If you decide to cancel, notify the stable so the space can be reassigned. 		1
Attach fetlock ID bands with your contact information to both front legs of each horse.
Hunkering Down
Do not stay in the barn with your horse during the storm. Doubling up so that buddies stay together may be an option. Turn off circuit breakers to the barn and place fly masks on pastured horses to reduce the incidence of eye injuries.


After the Storm
The after affects of storms present many serious challenges: power outages, blocked roadways, downed trees (often across fencing) and increased populations of biting insects. Be prepared for 3-7 days on your own.

Have a generator and fuel ready and a camera to document damage for insurance purposes. You’ll need fencing materials, nails and hammers, duck tape, flashlight batteries, a chain saw and a skilled person to use it.

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Engraved name plates with ID information can be riveted onto leather or break-away halters.

Take heart. Past hurricanes have proven horses show remarkable survival abilities during natural disasters—often surpassing humans.

For temporary emergency stabling and more tips visit:
North Carolina Horse Council www.nchorsecouncil.com
Sunshine State Horse Council www.sshc.org

Georgia Brown is a freelance writer who frequently writes about horses. She raised horses for several years and learned many life lessons while competing in dressage and distance trail riding with a gentlemanly Arbian Stallion that lived to the ripe old age of 33. She currently lives in Sarasota, Florida

 


Equus Caballus, the magazine of the domestic horse, has been dedicated to the proper care and feeding of horses, ponies, donkeys and mules for over seven years. This site is a compilation of over 400 archived articles and new features about nutrition, health and equine management.

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