The Horse:Your Guide To Equine Health Care provides monthly equine health care information to horse owners, breeders, veterinarians, barn/farm managers, trainer/riding instructors, and others involved in the hands-on care of the horse.
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Natural Disasters Dr. Rustin Moore reminds owners not to wait until the last minute to evacuate, thinking a hurricane or wild���re will miss you or be less powerful than predicted. evacuating with horses John Madigan, DVM, MS, a professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), School of Veterinary Medicine, says if there���s a flood, fire, or hurricane warning, evacuating early is crucial, even if you aren���t immediately sure where you will go. If you are in an atrisk area, load up the horses and leave the farm, then use communication resources such as radio, texting, or social networking to find out where you can go with your animals. ���Some people try to get all the information about where they could go, but the first thing to do is get out of harm���s way,��� he says. pam mackenzie If you live in a natural disaster-prone area, pay attention to weather forecasts and situation reports. While tornadoes can pop up rapidly, hurricanes, floods, or wildfires usually come with some notice. If there���s an out-of-control fire in your area, however, and the forecast is for high winds, act quickly; a fire can travel dozens of miles in a few minutes. ���Don���t wait until the last minute, thinking the fire won���t get to your place, or that a hurricane will miss you or be less powerful than predicted,��� says Moore. ���With Hurricane Katrina, people had plenty of time to get out, but ignored the warnings until it was too late. Part of the issue was unpredictable things that happened, like the levees breaking, causing flooding.��� Dennis French, DVM, professor at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, was also involved in recovering horses impacted by Katrina. He says it���s important to have trailers functional, serviced, and ready to go at a moment���s notice���whether to relocate your own horses or to rescue others. You can���t just grab an old trailer that���s been sitting unused and expect it to be functional. Also be able to leave your farm quickly: this means having horses trained to load. If you don���t own a trailer, borrow one so you can teach your horse(s) to load. Like a fire drill for school children, horses need to know what to expect so you won���t waste time trying to load a reluctant horse. courTeSy dr. rebecca mcconnico Watch Closely and Don���t Wait Service trailers regularly so they will be functional and ready to go at a moment���s notice, and make sure your horses are trained to load. 22 If immediate evacuation is necessary and you only have a few hours to get out, would you be able to exit efficiently? Rebecca McConnico, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor of veterinary medicine at Louisiana State University, notes the importance of fuel reserves, being able ot hitch the trailer, and having horses that load well. Have plenty of halters and lead ropes on hand; store buckets and a hose where they���re handy for packing; make sure all horses have up-to-date health papers; and know where these and other equipment and information you might need are located at a moment���s notice. Always have at least a half tank of gas in your truck. If you head out with horses, pack the hay and equipment and anything you and your horses need to subsist if you land at a facility without these basics available. If you go to an empty fairgrounds, for instance, and there are no hoses or buckets, you���ll need these items to water your horse. Also know ahead of time where you���re heading. For example, if you live in a region likely to flood, be aware of facilities on high ground. Knowing about these and other horse-friendly places (e.g., fairgrounds, racetracks) in case of emergency evacuation is important. McConnico says it���s crucial to keep vaccinations up-to-date and Coggins documentation current. ���Maybe you are a month overdue with this, and then suddenly have to evacuate your horses and take them to a place that won���t let them TheHorse.com The horse June 2012