Springtime is notorious for crazy weather patterns. No matter where you are in the country, a spring day can start off needing a coat to ward off the cold, ramping to a short-sleeved shirt-required afternoon and culminating in a stormy evening. Severe weather season can be a scary time for horse owners, but it’s a little easier if you prepare for what you can control.
While we have all we need in the palm of our hands with smartphones, you never know when you will lose electricity (thus the ability to charge your phone) or have a network outage, so invest in a portable weather radio (plus extra batteries) to have on hand at the barn and in your house. The Emergency Broadcasting System will send alerts throughout the weather event.
Before the Storm
Each horse owner should have an emergency action plan (EAP). This organizational document will not only help with an orderly evacuation or preparation for a disaster, but should also alleviate some stress of the unknown when it comes time to implement the EAP. The American Association of Equine Practitioners' Owner Education Committee advises that everyone involved with your horses (farrier, trainer, etc.) should have a copy of your EAP.
The plan should be laminated or protected from the elements and be available at all barn entrances, tack rooms and trailers.
Each EAP should contain:
- Information about the farm/ranch
- Location
- Ownership
- Employees
- Emergency contacts
- Veterinarian
- Farrier
- Owners
- Information about the animals that live at the farm/ranch
- Name (barn and registered name)
- Breed, color markings
- Feeding instructions (grain, hay, supplements)
- Coggins and vaccination records
Each horse should have his own set of paperwork that is available in print and electronically. The following documents should be gathered:
- Coggins (updated each year)
- Health records
- Photos of your horse (all four sides)
- Insurance information
- Facility information (where the horse lives)
- Emergency contact list (include someone who does not live in the area)
- Medical directives
Ideally, these papers are updated annually, at a minimum, when you have your horse's annual veterinarian wellness check and vaccinations performed.
Prep at the Barn
Have enough hay, grain, supplements, medication and water available and stored (away from the elements) to get your horses through at least 48 hours, in case there are any power outages, damage or a flood. Fill all water troughs and any extra water buckets and jugs with water in case you are unable to get water for some time.
Fences should be checked routinely for any damage or weaknesses, especially in times of severe weather. Have a plan for where you will move animals on the property if they cannot be kept in the barn—do you have enough turnout to have everyone safely and comfortably relocated? Are there sheds or lean-tos where horses can get out of the elements?
If you need to evacuate your property, do you have a horse trailer that can haul all your animals to a safer location? Trailers need to have routine maintenance performed and be packed and ready for evacuation. Horses should be accustomed to loading into a trailer, safely. If you don’t have a trailer, connect with a neighboring farm that may be able to help you transport your horses in an emergency situation.
Prep the Horses
Horses should have some type of identification on them, in case they are separated from their home. Some ideas for identification include:
- Microchip/tattoo
- Phone number painted on the body
- Nameplate on halter with phone number
- Weatherproof tag braided into the mane
If your horse will be wearing a halter, the halter should be leather or have a leather crown. Breakaway crowns are best in this situation in case something should snag the halter, your horse can break away for safety.
The location of where your horse should be kept during a severe weather event can depend on exactly what the weather is supposed to be. Experts recommend keeping horses in a barn as long as it is solid (i.e., not an older, unstable barn) to protect the horses from lightning, hail and high winds. If flooding is a possibility, your horses would be safer if they were left turned out where they can flee to higher ground to avoid flood waters.
While it's said that weather is unpredictable, technology continues to improve to give us time to prepare, but it never hurts to take some time each season to perform routine maintenance around the barn, fields and truck/trailer to have everything ready should something happen. Taking the time to take the unknown out of the equation will help everyone feel a little more prepared and safer as you tackle Mother Nature.
For more information:
- The AAEP offers a free webinar on Disaster Preparation, which you can watch anytime on YouTube.
- FEMA: Is Your Farm Ready? 4 Livestock Preparedness Tips
- FEMA: 5 Tips for Protecting Livestock During a Disaster
- The University of Minnesota Equine Extension Program: Preparing for a Barn Disaster
