03/07/2021
Something to consider...
It’s that time of year again! We already have a fire mere miles away from our location! I created this post last year, but it still holds true.
My question for you is, are you ready?
Do you have a plan for your animals, dogs, cats, horses etc if there is an emergency such as the recent wild fires? For the horses and other livestock it can be a bit more difficult than just a dog or cat.
Transportation
How do I get my horse out? Do you have a horse trailer and something to pull it? Can you hook the vehicle up in less than 30 minutes? If not, I recommend practicing. I realize it sounds stupid, but the last thing you want to do is be in a panic mode and trying to hook up a trailer that you always have trouble with. I can hook up my trailer in less than 20 minutes most days by myself, yes it took practice to get to that point. I did not start out that way, my cousin can tell you it once took me about an hour, yes that’s right an hour, but it gets easier with practice and doing it regularly.
If you do not have a trailer, make sure you have a list of friends/family who do, I recommend 3 to 5 options and have it ready to go. Does your horse load in their trailers? My horse does not load in straight load trailers, so any friends with a straight load are out for me, slant load only. Make sure to take such things into account.
Loading
Does your horse load in a trailer in less than 15 minutes? I trailer once a week, sometimes more, so my horse is a pro at loading with just me and her. Does your horse require two people to load? Does your horse balk at loading? Try and get your horse to load with just 1 person if at all possible and not need someone to push from the back. For my horse she is a Princess and does not want me in the trailer with her, so I run my lunge line through the side of the trailer and back, and then hook her up and stand by her and pull gently on the line and she loads right up, if I try and stand in the trailer with her she looks at me like I am dumb, because obviously there is not room for her and me in the trailer!
If your horse does not load well, practice. Its not fun and it is a challenge, but most people I know whose horses do not load well in a trailer only haul a couple of times a year. The only way to fix that is to practice, even if you just load the horse and drive around the block and come back, it is a good for both you and the horse to get the feel for it.
Location
You have your horse safely evacuated that is great, now where do you take your horse? Do you have a spot already planned? Is it far enough away? I live in Oregon and all the fairgrounds here are open for animals that need to be evacuated, and since this is Oregon they also have stalls and pens. If I have to evacuate my horse my plan of action is to go to the Crook County Fairgrounds, if they are closed/full, back up plans are Deschutes and Jefferson Fairgrounds. In case of an emergency is it is best to plan to take to a large facility, that way if someone else has to drive the animals you can easily give directions. Getting directions to the fairgrounds is much easier than “my friend Michelle, who is just outside of Redmond, on what road is that at again? The one before the railroad tracks and it has a big black gate.” If you plan on going to a friend/family members house, make sure you have their address ready and available and written down so you can share it if needed. To be triple ready I do recommend making sure the site GPS’s out okay with your phone navigation, nothing worse than heading somewhere only to discover you can’t turn left where it tells you to! Please note most fairgrounds have a different entrance for “Livestock” than the regular people entrance, it is always good to confirm ahead of time where that is.
Do you have your transportation, loading and location ready? Wonderful! Now what?
In case of an emergency you want to be able to identify your horse. If someone asked me what does your horse look like? My horse is a registered paint mare who is a tobiano bay with more white than not and a blaze. Now 99% of peoples eyes just glazed over at that description, most horse people would understand it, but for the rest of the world that explanation made zero sense. Have a picture of your horses, from each side, front and back, that way you can easily show someone or text it to someone.
I do not know about your horse, but my horse cannot say her name in English and provide my phone number (if your horse can do this please let me know how to train mine to do it!) In an emergency there are a number of ways to make sure that you have your phone number and contact information attached to your horse. I have a pink livestock crayon in my trailer, that I can write my name and phone number directly on my horse with. You can braid a tag into their mane or tail. You can write with a sharpie on their hooves, or if you have a horse with black feet you can use a light colored nail polish. It is best to have the information attached to the horse before they are loaded into the trailer in case of confusion once they are unloaded, the last thing you need is for your horse to end up at the wrong evacuation location with no contact information with it.
Paperwork, the boring stuff that makes the world go around! Does your horse have up to date shots? Do you have a Coggins if you need to cross state lines? Do you have your vets and farriers phone number pre-programmed into your phone? Making sure you have all those things ready and available will make things go easier.
What does my horse really need?
If you have ever gone to an overnight horse show or gone horse camping you will realize that packing for a horse is like packing for a 1000lb 2 year old, you need two of everything and if you forgot their favorite toy the world is going to end. Now in an emergency you do not need as much as for a horse show or camping. A halter that fits properly and a lead rope, I always recommend having a couple on hand because I am convinced my horse is going to break hers. Hay for at least 24 hours if possible, in an emergency if you do not have time, get out, worry about hay later. If you have time plan ahead and grab at least a bale or two. A bucket for water, if you do not keep one in your trailer. If you have a horse that is finicky about different water make sure you have containers to haul water. Some grain and treats are always helpful for encouraging a horse to load easily especially in a stressful situation. The basics for grooming and fly spray if you have time are always nice to have along. If you are like me an have a portable corral and have the time to load it, that would be another good item to take, that way your horse would not take up a stall that someone else might need.
Do you board a stable? The stable that I board at has a plan in place, but I have my own plan ready to go. It is important to not count on the stable owner to evacuate your horse, they maybe able to, but as we have seen over the last few days not all stables have that ability.
When should I go?
The hardest question of all, when should go you move the horse? I am one who errs on the side of caution on this, go earlier when you have more time is my motto. It takes me 30 to 40 minutes realistically most days to hook up my trailer and load my horse when I am not stressed out and in a panic. As wildfires move into areas please keep in mind that there will be road closures and other people trying to get out, depending on where you live that could mean a lot of people on a road that is not meant to handle that much traffic, in those cases police/fire departments will often make it so that the road is only open one direction, and will not allow traffic back in, so that they can get more people out. In those cases if you wait too long getting to your horse maybe a problem if they are not allowing people back into the area. In the worst case scenario that is taking off your horses halter and anything else they might be wearing, ie blankets, flymasks, etc and opening gates so they can get out if they need. If you horse is broke to ride, I know people who have ridden their horses out of an area, if you have no other options for getting out. I would rather haul my horse to the fairgrounds and spend a night there and not have needed to evacuate in the end, than have to turn my horse loose and hope she makes it out safely because I waited too long. This is a hard decision and has to be made on a case by case basis.
Having a plan ahead of time prepared can help reduce your anxiety and make sure that you are ready for that moment we hope never comes.
