When Your Disaster Prep Becomes A Drill

My husband says that horse people are crazy. Have you heard the country song Horse People by Chris Petersen? ”Horse People, they’re just a little different than most people…” is how the chorus begins. Unfortunately, my husband remembers more of the negative aspects of my dealings with certain horse people over the years rather than remembering the good ones. Case in point was this past weekend when he accompanied me when I went to pick up a horse. A friend of a good friend had reached out to me in hopes that I could pick up a horse she had purchased. She was out of state and now that the seller had the money in her hand, she was playing hardball, essentially holding the horse for ransom (board) and making it difficult for the owner to arrange a shipper. And because I had seen pictures of the sale photos, it was apparent she had also decided to stop feeding the horse once she was sold. When the buyer told me the name of the seller, I let out a groan, because while I had never met this person, I had heard lots of stuff about her, and none of it was good. Hence, the reason to take my husband along. I did not have an empty stall available but after reaching out to my local horse community, I immediately had not one, but 4 offers to stable the horse until the owner could come pick her up. So armed with the text messages between seller and buyer and proof of payment, off we went. Thankfully it went off without any issues, the mare quickly loaded and I was in the truck and off the property before the seller could give me any problems. She tried to make it all out as if the buyer was the problem, but I had copies of the texts proving otherwise.

We have just gone through Hurricane Idalia, and while our farm was spared as was a good portion of the state of Florida, there were those who did not fare as well. But leading up to the hurricane, it looked like we were going to take a hit, especially in Ocala. And it was heartening to see the equestrian community come together, as they always seem to do, as they braced for a potential disaster.

Once again, WEC (World Equestrian Center) in Ocala opened their stalls for evacuees at no charge. There were so many posts from people offering to haul horses for free and offers from people who were staying on site to help out those who could not stay. There were posts of evacuees offering beer and snacks and the opportunity to come relax in their barn while they waited out the storm. They were really making the most of Idalia! Other facilities, including the Livestock Pavilion and many which were private farms, also opened up stalls for horses as well. In the end, most of us got lucky, and most evacuees headed home less than 24 hours after arriving. Unfortunately, many farms further north in Perry and Live Oak did not fare as well, and immediately there were offers to help, whether it be to clear trees, bring in hay and feed or to stable misplaced horses. Horse people may be crazy but we do look out for one another!

And so another storm has come and gone. I am fortunate to be high and dry, unlike many farms in Florida, but I still take hurricane planning very seriously…. every tub, bucket and barrel is filled with fresh water, anything that can blow around in the barn is tucked away, hay and feed is stocked up and the hay is covered with a tarp. Gabe and the donkeys are marked with two methods of ID, and with the exception of the ducks and hens, everyone else is tucked into their stalls, goats included and my barn cats stay in the tack room.

Yes, it is a pain to go through so much work to prep for a disaster, but I would certainly rather consider this a drill than have to deal with damage from a storm. And I am now ready for the next one, which there will most likely be before the season is over. I won’t bother putting my extra tubs and buckets away, above the tack room. Instead, they will sit in an empty stall, along with the tarps, ready to use in an instant. My dry erase board and “Donkey Kisses, 5 Cents” sign, and all the other cute stuff I have hanging on my barn walls will stay down until I put up my Christmas decorations so that I don’t have to spend time taking them down again. And my disaster planning kit with ID tags and reflective tape is back in its place, after frantically searching for it, before realizing I had left it in the house after giving a speech to a local horse club.

Every barn should have a disaster plan and they should have a drill. If you have boarders, they should be included in a drill and if it’s the real thing, they should be expected to help out with the prepping. Having a drill will ensure they know what to do. One barn I boarded at was able to quickly and efficiently prep the barn, because everyone had an assigned job, whether it was to fill tubs, ID horses, close shutters or remove objects from the barn area. Are you in a fire prone area? You need to have fire drills. Karl Cook’s Pomponio Ranch in California has great videos showing how they hold their fire drills. Is your area prone to floods or tornadoes? What is your drill going to be? Are your disaster kits ready and available?

It is encouraging to see how well the equestrian community came together this past week and it shows how prepared we have become. We may be crazy but we do look out for each other in times of need!

Gabriel’s Favorite Things:

Well actually it is my favorite thing. I added some new items to my Disaster Kit, including reflector tape in an assortment of colors and Reflector Snap Bands for joggers and cyclists. Purchased from Amazon, they come in a pack of 20 for $11.69. They fit any size circumference, you simply snap them and they unravel! They fit my donkeys as well as my 17 hand Throughbred. They are not only reflective, but you can write on them with a sharpie. Reflective measures should be used in case your animals get loose during a storm.