Do You Have Disaster Plan?

By Jennifer Quack

You see them in the news - the wildfires of California, Arizona, or Colorado; the floods along the Mississippi; the freak snow and ice storms in the northern Midwest; Tornado Alley; and who can forget Hurricane Andrew? Disasters occur all too often, and when they do, we horse-people watch the television intently. Thoughts run through our minds. Are the people safe? What about the animals? What about those dogs and cats and cows and HORSES?

I have even had those same thoughts, myself. But it never went much deeper than that. While riding one Friday afternoon at my mare's lush abode - Nottingham Equestrian Center - a call came in that an area barn was on fire. This barn was LARGE - it was home to around 75 horses, I had heard. One of Nottingham's owners, Cheryl Connell-Marsh, assured an owner of a couple of these horses that Nottingham had room for her evacuees. Everyone at the barn then got on their cell phones and started calling around to other farms for more aid. Every farm contacted said they would help however they could. Then a few of us piled into Cheryl's truck, and with her husband, hauled the farm trailer out to help evacuate.

The scene was heartbreaking and scary, as you can expect. Fire trucks everywhere. Firemen and firewomen everywhere. The police were there to direct traffic and prevent congestion. Even the Red Cross had arrived to lend a hand to the volunteers. And, thank heavens, many, many horsemen and horsewomen were there to help. The owners had quickly evacuated the barn when the fire occurred, but unfortunately a few of the horses ran back in, as they tend to do. The owners went back in after them, but could not get them out, and, in fact, they just barely made it out alive themselves after the roof collapsed on them. All of these people are heroes in the horse-world.

All of the horses that escaped the fire were contained when we got there, until two ran through the fence. Luckily, no others escaped, and those two runaways were caught before they could come to harm. At that point, everyone - human and horse - was pretty much safe. However, with all the people there to help, it was still very chaotic. It took quite some time to organize the evacuation of horses, as only a few people were able to identify horses and give direction. Many of the people that knew the horses were too dazed and upset to function well, as was quite understandable.

When I finally got home, I could not sleep. As I mentioned above, I had not thought too deeply on the subject of horses and disaster until this fire. Seeing something like this first-hand really gets the brain going. I had never given a thought to being prepared - these kinds of things won't happen to me! But this was too close. I realized that, yes, they could just as easily happen to me as to anyone. So that night I searched the net. The next day, I called the fire department. I called local veterinarians. The following is what I learned. Hopefully, you won't have to go through a disaster only to realize too late that a disaster plan is something you should have had. I have learned that a crowd of help is a crowd. A crowd of help with a plan can save lives and expedite recovery - for both horses and humans.

Prevent

The first thing to think of when it comes to disaster is prevention. Some calamities can be prevented - such as fires. Make sure you have a general-purpose (one rated for A, B, and C type fires) fire extinguisher at every exit and also near any hazardous material or high hazard areas. Check your extinguishers often - a minimum of once a year; monthly or even weekly is better. Be sure you and those in your barn know how to use your fire extinguishers - read the directions well before you need to use them. Many fire departments will even give demonstrations (on a contained fire) of how to use them. Call your local department - chances are you can set up a demonstration which can be attended by all your barn-folk.

Along with fire extinguishers, post NO SMOKING signs at every entrance. Non-horsey people just don't seem to understand that straw, sawdust, and hay take very little to ignite! Also make sure you do spot checks in the barn for rotted timbers, have your furnace checked and cleaned routinely, and replace or repair any electric cords, fans, heaters, etc. that may be worn. And, if at all possible, keep stall bedding and hay in a completely separate barn. Try to keep your barn free of cob webs as well. Oh, and speaking of entrances and exits.the more you have, the more likely you and your horses will be able to get out alive. The owner of the barn that was lost credited the 8 or 10 exits in their barn as to why they are still alive. When the roof collapsed, they were only able to escape by feeling for a door through the smoke.

Other items to have on hand are hoses. Sounds silly, doesn't it? Of course your barn has hoses! What barn doesn't? But have you checked to see if you have enough hoses or hoses that are long enough to reach every corner of your barn? If you don't have long enough hoses, you may not be able to reach a fire with them, should one occur. And, if you have large water sources on your property, such as pools or ponds, are they accessible to emergency vehicles? The fire trucks can use that water, if needed, if they can get to it!

Windows are another area of your facility to inspect. I heard of a farm that had to take out every grain of sand in their arena a couple of years ago after a tornado. It was a well-lit, nice arena. However, those nice glass windows shattered during the disaster. The resulting broken glass took a lot of time, effort, and money to clean up. Use shatter-resistant material for your windows, whenever possible.

Prepare With Lists

If you can't prevent a disaster, you can at least be as prepared as possible for one. This means making lists and checking them twice! The following lists should be made:

Horse Identification List: You should have a master count of all the horses, then a detailed list of each horse's name, along with its breed, sex, markings, brands, and owner information. Be sure to identify on the list if the horse is, indeed, a "horse," or a pony/mule/draft, etc. If you can, include the horse's personality, such as "boss mare," since it will aid in placement should the animal need to be relocated. It's a good idea to keep a copy of each horse's current vaccinations and Coggins with this list. TIP: Make sure your vet accurately writes and draws your horse's markings on the Coggins, and be sure to have BOTH the registered name and barn name on it. Also, take detailed pictures of your horse, to best show off any markings.
Owner List: A list sorted by the owner information, which should include home phone, cell phone, and work phone. If possible, also have medical indications listed (for example, the owner may want any and all measures to be taken to save the horse's life, or may prefer humane euthanasia), and credit card numbers, as well as insurance information. Veterinarians are not quite like human hospitals - they can deny service.
Tack List: Your horse may be insured, but is your tack? Would you remember all your items if they were lost? Each owner/rider should have a detailed list of his/her tack, so that it may be replaced or recovered in the event of a disaster.
Local Veterinarians: Keep a list of not just your own vet's information, but several local veterinarians. What if your vet is on another emergency call or on vacation? What if you have more horses in trouble than one vet office can handle? Make sure your vet is identified as such, and called first, though.
Support Personnel: This main list should contain your local fire department, local animal aid resources, your family, your neighbors, your horse-friends, maybe even the local university vet school. Anyone you know that knows how to handle horses, haul a trailer, or even make phone calls. Some of these people could even bring hay and water and grain and treats to help entice frightened animals out of stalls, paddocks, or pastures, and into trailers.
Local Horse Farms: Keep a list of the farm's name, the contact person, the address and all phone numbers, along with directions to the farm from your own farm. Contact each one before including them on the list to see if they would agree to be a resource in an emergency. TIP: Keep a county/city/area map with this list and "pinpoint" each location. (It would actually be nice if all the farms out there would register with Penzance National Equine Disaster Relief. The link to their web site is at the end of the article.)
Local Show Grounds: Many times, your local fair grounds will have stalls open to temporarily house your horses. Make sure you not only have the grounds number, but have a contact name and number, in case you need to call during off-hours.
Local Tack Shops: Many tack shops are willing to help with donations of blankets, buckets, etc. Again, call around and check this out before you need them!
Local Feed Stores and Hay Suppliers: Even if you do keep a stash of food set aside for emergencies, you may wind up needing more than you stashed. Tips: Foods with lower protein are best to feed in stressful situations.
Local Electronics Stores: When those horses got loose, several of us traipsed around what must have been 50 acres trying to catch them. Several times, we couldn't see each other in the dark, or the horses. Where were they? Had one of us caught them? It would have been very helpful to have two-way radios and flashlights. I called my local Best Buy - they indicated that they help with emergencies, but, of course, only if the quarterly donation budget has not run out. Hey - keep the numbers handy - it might help!

Once you have made all your lists, make copies and give them to several trusted people. If you are not home when a disaster occurs, your support people should be able to find this list and be able to account for each horse. Even if you are at home, the shock of such a crisis can leave you too stunned to function well. A list such as this is especially important for larger barns! One of your support team can then be calling all owners and other support personnel to come help with the horses, adding to your aid quickly.

Prepare with Supplies

First Aid Kit: One in the barn, one in the trailer, and one in your home - both horse AND human. Banamine and Bute are two horse drugs that are helpful to keep in your kit.
Blindfolds: Keep one in each first-aid kit; preferably have one for every two horses.
Blankets: While it's always good to have a spare anyway, keep it in your trailer.
Buckets: Many barns may have enough buckets for their own horses, but not for any sudden extras. Keep as many buckets in your trailer as you have room for horses.
Supplies for burns, hypothermia, etc.
Lunge line and lunge whip: let's face it - some horses just need these to help get them in the trailer.
Keep halters and leads near each horse. If they are in their stall, keep their halter right next to or on their stall door. If they are all hanging in one area of the barn, chances are your support people will not know which halter goes with which horse. This may not prove to be a problem, unless you have a petite Arabian and a large Warmblood! You wouldn't have much control over the Arab with a Warmblood halter, and you'd have no halter for the Warmblood! When seconds count, you can't be searching for the right sized halter. Another word about halters: rope or leather is best. Until my recent research, I did not know that nylon halters can melt very easily, and can leave deep wounds on horses.
Keep as many extra halters and leads in your horse trailer as you have room for horses.
Flashlights: in case anything happens at night and you loose power.
Be prepared for damaged fences. In some cases emergency and help vehicles may need to go through fenced-off fields. Evacuating horses may require them to go through fenced-off fields, as well. Keep a set of the bare minimum of supplies for fence mending in your garage or trailer as well as in the barn.
Be prepared for a loss of power. If there is no power, would your fencing still work? Would your water buckets freeze? Take steps to minimize this type of impact - have a minimum number of battery-powered fencers for emergencies, and keep an insulated bucket or two handy. These types of supplies will help for at least a few hours, until better conditions are found. If you can, even get generators.
Spray Paint or Livestock Markers: if your animals get loose or are set loose during a disaster, spray paint your phone number on their left side, if you have time. Orange paint usually shows up best on all colors of horses.
"Dog Tags": I keep a small tag engraved with my horse's name and my phone number on her halter. These are the small tags that you can get at pet stores that would usually be attached to a dog collar.
Food and water. Keep an extra supply of grain, hay, and water in your trailer or in your home. A few days worth of food and water is good, but enough for a week is better. Remember to refresh this supply periodically, so that it does not go bad. Remember, use lower protein foods during stressful situations to reduce the chance of colic. Also, applesauce can be added to water to encourage horses to drink.

Prepare with Action

Get to know your local fire department and other emergency personnel.

- Give them a set of building schematics

- Give them a master key to the buildings

- Make sure they know the location of exits, power, and hydrants

- Inform them of your chosen meeting place (Assembly Stations)

- Have them perform yearly walk-throughs - which may result in lower insurance rates for you, should you implement some of their suggestions!

Install smoke detectors - even a sprinkler system, if you can. It's especially nice if your alarm system is set up to ring the fire department when it goes off.
Learn - Learn as much as you can, as often as you can. FEMA has some excellent (free!) courses on disasters, and you can even get certified after the courses are taken. The Internet provides a plethora of good information on disaster planning, too. (Check the list at the end of this article for some good sites.)
Get to know your neighbors. Set up a "Buddy System." Neighbors can be key support personnel, if you have a good rapport with them. They can have a copy of your horse identification list or know where you keep it. They can help emergency people if they know about your farm. In turn, you can help them out, too, if they need it.
Have boarder meetings - go over locations of lists, locations of supplies, basics to know (make sure stall doors are shut after getting a horse out, how to blindfold a horse), etc.
Maintain your barn - sticky stall doors can waste precious seconds when you are trying to rescue a horse from a fire or trying to turn them out during a tornado.
Designate Assembly Stations. Make sure you have Assembly Stations set up for both animals and people. (For those of you that have taken a cruise, you know what these are!) You may even want to post signs. Signs posted on paddock gates would be beneficial, as anyone could read the sign and help; for example: "In the case of a fire or tornado, this paddock is a designated Assembly Station for all horses in the east barn." Post a master Assembly Station guide in each section of your barn, such as:
If this barn needs to be evacuated in an emergency:

- All horses in north aisles are to be evacuated to the north-east paddock.

- All horses in the west aisles are to be evacuated to the west pasture.

- All dogs and cats are to be evacuated to vehicles or the residence.

- Once evacuation is complete, all persons should meet by the picnic table.

Conduct evacuation drills - When quickly evacuating horses, remember that their stalls are their safe havens. Many horses are lost when they are taken out of the barn, and they run back in to the "safety" of their stalls. One simple thing to help is to close their stall door once the horse is out of it. It can be easier to get a horse out of a barn aisle than out of a stall. And without the option of retreating to their stall, they may go for the next safe haven, which could be their pasture. If you can, blindfold them and lead them out. Remember to remove the blindfold when you put them in the pasture or trailer. This may sound obvious, but when a crisis occurs, even the simplest things may be overlooked. If there is time, cover their nostrils and wet down their manes and tails before evacuating, as well. Practice drills with the same intensity as if it were a real emergency.
Install one-way gates at the ends of barn aisles. A gate that you simply have to push to open to the outside of the barn would be nice to have. If the gate then swings back and latches to the outside of the barn, there is no way a horse could come back through the gate to run back into a stall. Be sure the gate is easy to open, and/or can be removed quickly, though, if emergency aide needs to get into the barn.
Get vaccinated! (You and your horse!): Have your horse routinely vaccinated and tested for EIA. This will help two-fold in a disaster. One, your barn support network will be happy to know your horse won't be bringing any diseases into their barn; and, two, you know that your horse won't pick up any diseases if it has to spend time at another location. Remember that you could be hurt, as well, so stay current on your tetanus, at least!
Implant microchips, get a freeze-brand, or tattoo. If a disaster occurs, you must have a way to positively identify your horse and prove ownership. Microchips, brands, or tattoos are good ways to do that.
Set up your parking area to accommodate emergency vehicles. How many times have you gone to the store and seen the "No Parking - Emergency Vehicle Lane" signs? Well, it might be helpful to have an "Emergency Vehicle Lane" next to your barn, as well. If you store trailers at your farm, be sure they are situated quite a distance from your barn. At the fire we went to help at, many of the trailers could not be used, as the fire personnel thought it would be unsafe to get that close to the barn. (And they seemed to be over a hundred feet from the barn.)

After a Disaster

Immediately after the disaster:

Take a head count. If enough volunteers are available, have one positioned at each Assembly Station to count (even list names, etc., if there is time) as animals/persons congregate during the disaster.
Check for pneumonia from smoke inhalation, as well as burns and other injuries.
Be sure all parties involved are contacted, if you were not able to reach them during the disaster.

The next day or the earliest you can begin "getting back to normal":

For insurance purposes, video tape and take pictures of any areas touched by a disaster. Do not limit the recording to buildings and land - make sure the animals are pictured, too.
Repair fences.
Check for debris in pastures and paddocks.
Learn. Learn from what happened and use it to better prevent and prepare for another disaster.

All in all.

If you prevent and prepare, you will have created something similar to a PIP. This is what firefighters call a "Pre-Incident Plan." By keeping all of these things in mind, you can help to ensure the safety of your horse(s) in a crisis. It just wouldn't be good if your horse survived a disaster, just to be lost from a disease he picked up at his "safe house" or from injuries not relating to the disaster!

I cannot stress enough how helpful the FEMA "Animals in Disaster" course is for preparing for disasters. And it's FREE! Also, I highly encourage every farm to register with Penzance National Equine Disaster Relief. These two measures alone will increase your ability to handle a disaster many times over. The links to each of these sites are located at the end of this article. If you do register with Penzance, it would be very helpful to describe in detail what kind of aid you can give. If you are not set up to take care of stallions, be sure to state that. Also, if you have a heated facility, or have extra blankets, etc., it would be good to know as well.

Remember, I learned all of this information from the Internet, my local fire department, and local veterinarians. Be sure you discuss your disaster plan with your local emergency personnel and veterinarians. They may have more or different tips for you! Also remember that even having a plan is no guarantee of safety and better response, but odds are it will help.

Summary of Lists

In your home:

Copy of all lists
First Aid Kits (horse and human)
Minimal Fence Mending Kit
Lots of batteries (for fencers, flashlights, etc.)
Food and water

In your trailer:

Copy of all lists
First Aid Kits (horse and human)
Bucket(s) - one for each stall in trailer
Blanket(s) - one for each stall in trailer
Halter(s) - one for each stall in trailer
Leads(s) - two for each stall in trailer
Lunge Line and Whip
Food and water

List of web sites for disaster plan research:

. Equisearch:
http://www.equisearch.com/farm/stable/eqdisaster2562/ http://www.equisearch.com/library/weekly/aa090198.htm http://www.equisearch.com/farm/stable/eqdisaster173/ http://www.equisearch.com/care/disaster121403/index.html.

. Penzance National Equine Disaster Relief (PNEDR): http://www.kersur.net/~santa/disasterlist.html.

. The Horse Review: Animal Disaster Preparedness Directory: http://www.horsereview.com/disaster_preparedness_directory.htm
(The site is a bit out of date, but the data is still helpful.)

. Disaster Planning for Horse Owners: http://www.horseplaycentral.com/HealthTips/evacprepare.htm.

. Disaster Planning for Horses: http://www.vtvets.org/common/horsebrochure.pdf.

. Horse Council of British Columbia: Disaster Preparedness: http://www.horsecouncilbcsite.com/disaster/disasterpreparedness-00-mainpage.html.

. Virginia Tech: Disaster Planning: Barn Safety: http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/periodicals/livestock/aps-98_07/aps-937.html.

. FEMA:
http://www.fema.gov/library/aprep.shtm http://www.fema.gov/library/dispws.shtm.

. USRider: Large Animal Rescue Video Available from USRider: http://www.usrider.org/news-LargeAnimalRescue.asp
(Interested organizations should send a written request on their letterhead, indicating when the video will be viewed and the approximate number of people who will view it. Requests should be made to: Attn: Large Animal Rescue Video, USRider Equestrian Motor Plan, P.O. Box 54711, Lexington, KY 40555)

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