Hold a Thought for California Horses in the Fire's Path

by Fran Jurga | 30 August 2009 | The Jurga Report

This blog publishes a lot of advice and safety information about disasters and evacuation. My heart sinks every time an emergency situation affects horses and I wonder how well prepared people are.

That's the case today, with the California wildfires blazing in the hills outside Los Angeles. Tragically, two firefighters have been killed, caught in a fireball as they tried to escape.

Of course horse owners have been complying with evacuation orders. The Los Angeles Equestrian Center at Griffith Park was full by Saturday, and the latest order has horses being sent to Pierce College in Woodland Hills, which also hosted evacuee equines in 2007.

But my heart broke when I saw this image today in a gallery of startling fire images on the Charlotte Observor web site. The caption says that this two-year-old had not been trained to load onto a trailer so he was being pickup-ponied to safety. One can only wonder how many miles this horse had to travel and what shape his feet might have been in at the end of his journey. A horse trailer ramp might look pretty good after a few miles. With luck he had some protection for his hooves.

People are doing what they can for horses to get them out of the fire's path.

As of last night, this fire was only 5 percent contained. The area is particularly popular with horse owners. Rainbow Ranch, which is home to 60 horses, and the non-profit Animal Acres are two of the many horse facilities under evacuation orders. Animal Acres put out a call yesterday with a wish list for help: Trucks, trailers, pickup trucks with camper shells (for the birds), carriers for the birds (chickens, turkeys, etc.), large water bowls, people good with herding, animal soothers, bedding, food, water hoses. That's a pretty good list of priorities during a disaster, assuming they have some veterinary expertise and fresh water available as well. Animal shelters and rescue farms generally are not easy to move, and many animals in their care have special needs.

Safety Video: Evacuating Horses in a Natural Disaster

by Fran Jurga | 27 August 2009 | The Jurga Report



Welcome to the third in a series of safety videos from Texas A&M University on aspects of caring for horses during natural disasters.

I'm taking this one personally, since Tropical Storm Danny is headed toward the coast of New England as I write this. And the coast of New England is about 50 feet from this keyboard.

I don't expect that Danny will be Son of Katrina, but last week we had mile-high waves from Hurricane Bill far out to sea, and who knows what next week will bring.

I think it's time to sit down and go over all your a) "hunkering down" and b)"getting-outta-here-now" plans for you and all your animals. Maybe add category c: if you and your animals are all set, who can you help, and how?

In the back-to-school spirit, you can go out and buy a notebook and start writing down all the details the video suggests you'll need. Get out your important papers and start making copies. Call your vet now for any records you need, and check with your local authorities about emergency plans for your community. You just might be glad you did.

Oh, and keep an eye on Danny...and the next one coming behind him.

Thanks to extension.org for making these safety videos available.

Disaster Planning: Are Left-Behind Horses Better off Left In or Out?

Texas A&M University Extension Specialist Dr Brett Scott continues his disaster planning advice with one of the most difficult dilemmas a horse owner can face: if you have to evacuate and can't take your horses (or all the horses at a location), what is the safest way to set up the left-behind animals?

I'd write more but I'm going to the lumberyard to buy three sheets of plywood and a a can of neon spray paint. And I'm going to hide them in a safe place where they won't get used for something else!

That's one thing Dr. Brett doesn't mention: the time to buy storm supplies like plywood and tarps is not when a storm is coming. The stores will be sold out. Invest in those items when they are on sale and store them away.

Thanks to Extension.org for making this video public.

Safety Video: Is Your Horse Trailer Ready for Fire/Hurricane/Flood Evacuation Use?

by Fran Jurga | 11 July 2009 | The Jurga Report



No one wants to think about it, but it's that time of year. Forest fires, hurricanes and floods are sure to be in the news again this year, but maybe if everyone is prepared, the worst will never happen.

Brett Scott PhD, Assistant Professor of Animal Science and Extension Horse Specialist at Texas A&M University talked to a video camera recently and provided a laundry list of tips for horse owners who should be preparing their plans now for how to evacuate their animals if the need arises.

Who can forget those horrible scenes of traffic jams and closed gas stations back in the days of Hurricane Gustave? It was so hot, and many horses were stuck in trailers pulled by trucks going nowhere. And when they got somewhere...there was no power.

Sure, this is all common sense. Sure, we all already know this stuff. But look around. Imagine that today's the day. If you had to load up and hit the road with your horses because a wildfire was approaching or a nuclear power plant melted down, could you do it?

How would you do it? Walk yourself through the steps. Now ask yourself what would happen if you were away for the weekend. Could a stranger or a neighbor or a rescue agency worker come to your barn and get your horses to safety. Could they find the equipment and identification information and medications your horses would need?

Writing phone numbers on a blackboard is not enough. Make a binder. Take pictures of all the horses and identify them with name, age, medical conditions and behavior idiosyncracies. Write down all the possible information you can think of for people to contact.

Then get to work on that trailer. And maybe get to know your neighbors, just in case.

Thanks to extension.org for hosting this video.

New Year's Resolution: Update Your Disaster Plan for Pets and Horses (and Yourself); Watch AVMA Video Tips

I hope that Mother Nature's resolution for the new year is to have a quiet, peaceful year without hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, blizzards, ice storms, tidal waves, earthquakes or wildfires but just in case, take a few minutes to watch this helpful new video featuring Dr. Heather Case, Coordinator for Emergency Preparedness with the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Case reviews common sense steps to take to have your pets and horses ready to evacuate in the event of a disaster. There are sure to be specific aspects for your geographic area or the type of pets you own but the dawn of a new year is a great time to go over your basic plans and inventory your contacts and supplies.

Don't forget your own health, as well as your pets. The first of the year is a great time to take 15 minutes (that's all it takes, honest) to fill out a Google Health Profile. This profile lives online and can contain just simple information like your doctors and family contacts in the event of an emergency, or you can list allergies, or vaccinations, or medications and dosages. If you are away from home and become ill or injured, this data could be of supreme value to hospitals providing your care. This is a no-brainer for trail/endurance riders and eventers, but valid for anyone working around horses.

What will those clever people at Google think of next? My Blue Cross Blue Shield newsletter recently advised me to set up a Google Health Profile, so this system is widely recognized for its value. You can fill in as much or as little information as you wish.

Another new year's task that will start your year on the right hoof is to book your routine health appointments now: your annual physical, your dental xrays and cleaning, eye exam, your mammogram and gyn exam (if you're a woman), and (especially) those Big Tests like bone density and colonoscopy, if you are due to need one. Don't put off your routine health until the middle of riding and travel seasons, get those appointments onto your calendar now! You'll also be able to book your best time of the day if you have a few months to spare.

Check on your tetanus booster status; anyone working outdoors or around animals needs to stay up to date on that one! I think a skin cancer screening is a good investment, too.

And, while you're at it, go shovel out that horse trailer, if you live in a snowy zone, and make sure that you can open all the ramps and doors. No, you can't run away from an ice storm or blizzard, but if you have a sick or injured horse that needs to get to the hospital this winter, your trailer must be ready to roll! (Check the tire pressure, too!)

Taking care of things sooner instead of later will give you more time to enjoy with your animals, and who doesn't want that? Your animals need to have their plans in order, and if something goes wrong, they need you to be healthy and able to care for them!

No One Ever Expects a Forest Fire: What's Your Plan?

I noticed today as I was driving that the undergrowth is filling in the landscape around here. The trees are leaved out, and the “brush” understory is now making it more difficult to see as far as I could a few weeks ago. Spring is making progress…or is it?

Along with the joy of spring weather after winter comes the heat of summer. And heat means danger of fire.

We hear a lot about grass management in pastures, but not much about managing trees and bushes. We all believe that a pasture for horses should have shade from the sun, but what if that big lone tree is also a lightning magnet? And what if that brushy scrubby line that gives your pasture privacy from the road also becomes a tinder line for a forest fire?

Every year, it’s a good idea to re-evaluate your property and run through some “what if” scenarios. One of the most important is where and how you park your truck and trailer, and what you have in it. Whether you need to evacuate from a fire or get a colic-stricken horse to the vet in the middle of the night, your trailer is your most important tool. But if you can’t see to hook it up after dark, or it is blocked in by farm equipment or cavaletti, you need to think of a new plan.

All horse owners would benefit from learning more about forest fires and how they work. Today the University of California at Davis published a guide to forest fire information from key members of the University’s faculty, and it has great information and also links to other documents about fires.

Among the experts consulted was Dr. John Madigan, a UC Davis authority on equine and emergency veterinary medicine. He urges horse owners to first clear brush at least 30 feet from barns and corrals. (That's Dr. Madigan in the photo.)

Among other tips from Dr. Madigan:
Trucks and trailers should be kept nearby and operational in case animals need to be evacuated, and an alternate exit by foot should be mapped out in case roads are blocked by fire.

Stalls and doors should be closed after evacuation to prevent fire-panicked horses from running back inside.

A community-based emergency evacuation plan for horses is essential. Horse owner groups should work with local animal control and fire departments to develop a plan and a list of horse hauling resources and sites to take horses to safety rapidly. A practice drill should be conducted early in the fire season.

A veterinarian should examine any horse burned or exposed to heavy smoke, and owners should not apply any topical treatments to burns.

Photographs and written descriptions of all horses should be kept in a bank safe-deposit box to help identify animals that become lost or separated during a fire.

Dr. Madigan didn’t mention it, but I’m sure that barn aisle clutter is something that those of us in the real world are acutely aware of, while people who dwell in clinics and breeding farms are not. All those tack trunks, blanket hangers and “stuff” like wheelbarrows in the aisles makes evacuating horses in the dark (the power is sure to be out if you need to evacuate) a challenge and a danger.

Sure, you’ve heard it all before..but maybe this is the year you’ll get organized.

Now, where did I put those flashlights…