Emergencies

By Michelle Beagle, RVT, Redwings board member

With the tragedies playing out in the world today, I decided to write something that you can use as the basis to build an evacuation plan for you and your horse, and even your pets.

Never think you have it all worked out. Run through drills regularly. Schedule them and make it stick. Check the dates on your emergency supplies at these drill dates.

Make copies of important documents like photos of your horses and pets, and registration papers, insurance papers, coggins test results, microchip, brand or tattoo information, and detailed feed and care instructions for your horse. You may not be there with your horse and pets when they are rescued. Have maps of local access routes and secondary paths out of your area mapped out ahead of time. Set up emergency evacuation spots for you to go to and perhaps meet others. Have a list of phone numbers to friends you have set up as an evacuation point, or to local emergency agencies that would help in a emergency. Place all these items in a sealed plastic bag. A copy of these materials should be at a secure friend or family member’s house. If needed, update all of these materials when you do your drills.

Pack up 5-7 days of emergency feed supplies and refresh them every other month. The last thing you want is to force a sudden feed change onto your horse which would add the risk of colic.

Know the type of emergencies that could affect your area, be they fire, flood, hurricanes, tsunamis, or earthquakes.

Make sure your horse has a way out with a trailer, either yours or someone else’s, as well as carriers for your other pets. Make sure the horse can load before the emergency hits.

With the help of your veterinarian, put together a first aid kit for your horses or pets, as well as for yourself!

Set yourself up with some tools that would be useful in an emergency. Think about tools that you normally need for your horse. For instance, you may have to pull a shoe that your horse bent in trying to escape.

Have tack and extras for other horses that you may need to help, or if your tack breaks. Some people recommend leather halters so they won’t burn and melt like the nylons ones can in a fire. Cotton lead ropes are good for the same reason. The leather does have a chance of breaking, so use your judgement.

Put all your emergency needs in a large sealable plastic garbage can or a few cans that you can grab on the run when you need them.

If you have time to collect water before you go, plan ahead to have a few containers that your throw in your vehicle, fill and take with you. Time how long it takes to fill them so you know whether to fill them or not. Storing water for long periods can cause contaminated water. Speak to your veterinarian before trying this.

Get your neighborhood together to talk of what to do, and perhaps to set up a call system to alert each other if a fire or other disaster is headed your way. Local law enforcement and rescue agencies may have the capability to help with holding a meeting to plan evacuation measures.

If your horse is in a wildfire situation and you still have a chance to get him out, use a wet towel weaved under the halter and over his eyes. Wet him down and try to keep him and yourself wet. Many horses will freeze in this situation; a side step followed by forward movement will help. Walking blindfolded is an exercise in trust with your horse that you may want to practice before the emergency. But be careful; your horse can panic, so keep safe!

I truly hope you never have to fall on any of these emergency tips, but if you do, you’ll be ready quickly enough to save your hooved (or other animal) partner.

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