Hurricane Prep with regards to our horses

[misty'smom]

I am in Va. and I will be putting my 2 little fillies in the barn soon. It is getting windy here and I am letting them have a little more grazing time because they may have to stay in all day tomorrow. They are in a routine now ( we have had them 3weeks) about 6pm they come into their stall for their evening feed and stay in the rest of the night. Our new barn was built pretty sturdy so I think we will be OK. I can see the barn from our windows and we have flood lights so I will keep an eye on them. Probably will go out and check on them as well.

I pray that everyone stays safe and gets through the storm without any major incidents!

 

[HGFarm]

I am scared for some of you- prayers for everyone to come through this ok!

 

[zoey829]

I am in NJ. It is going to hit us hard. I think we are all prepared as much as we can be. The stalls are ready. We will be bringing them in tonight for sure.

I pray everyone come out ok as well as the furry creatures!!!

School is canceled Mon and Tues. They even closed my husbands work. I am so glad we will be here in case ssthing does happen!!

 

[Mona]

Sending thoughts and prayers for everyone's safety, both 2 and 4 legged that are in this storm's path.

 

[Riverrose28]

Well so far so good, just some wind and light rain, all my guys are tucked in for the night, school is closed for tomorrow and hubby's shop is too. Got lots of sanwich stuff for when we lose electric, stocked up on firewood, and we picked the last of the limas, so now we are shelling. I won't can though until the storm is past, I don't want to lose power right in the middle. Fixing a good dinner for tonight, just in case we need to eat sandwiches the rest of the week. Stay safe all of you all. Love Terry

 

[eagles ring farm]

Prayer for all through this storm.... I ran out today and bought some junk food. and things easy to prepare on our propane camp stove. I also made a big meal tonight in anticipation of what we will eat if electric is lost. But I did fill my lucky blue pitcher we have never lost elec when I remember to fill it ..This will be a big test for it..lol. Also shut off the electric fence I didn't hear anything about lightning but better safe than blowing a fuse on it.

prayers to all in her path

 

[wingnut]

The waiting is getting to me! I figured it would really be "starting" for us by now. For us, it's going to all about the winds and the amount of rain...with the inevitable loss of power. We're as prepared as we can be at this point. From the sounds of it, I may still have time early tomorrow to do anything that might come to mind...I'll know more when we get up in the a.m.

 

[JAX]

Diane just out of curiosity,did your horses have access to a barn or were they locked out of it? Was just wondering if they made the choice to stay out of the barn on their own. Ive always heard that a horse will leave its enclosure (if able to) if they feel like its in danger, but 1/2 of mine will leave the sheds when the rain gets hard I think because it gets louder.

 

[zoey829]

Yes the wait is killing me. It is raining now and some gusty winds but nothing too crazy yet. The little colt is inside. The mares are outside right now. Will play the rest by ear. They have access to the shleter inthe meantime. But I fear leaving them out when it gets bad do to the tree debris and objec from the environment. Ugh!!! Lets just pray all goes well!!

 

[dutchhollow]

My thoughts are will all in the storms path, stay safe!

60 mph winds are a common occurance here, tornadoes in the spring, always give the horses the choice, and as others have said they always choose as far away from anything as they can get, butts to wind, which scares the heck out of me. But, can not think of anyone around here that has lost any left out. Neighbor did loose a few cows last spring, cat. 1 tornado direct path, 125 mile an hour winds, that got hit by broken trees.

Stay safe!

 

[targetsmom]

My worry about leaving the horses OUT, is that a tree will fall on a fence and then I will have loose horses getting hit by traffic on our busy road. Or that they will eat the oak leaves that are coming down faster than the rain. So I confine them to a small area, with access to a big stall, or else put them in stalls in our timber frame barn. This waiting is hard......definitely the calm before the storm. The horses seem to know something is coming though.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I agree the waiting is the worst! Have most everything set here, the horses are out grazing for the last while, they may be stalled for 2 days depending on how the storm moves. I hadn't thought about Ulcergard, another good thing to add to the list!

 

[Bess Kelly]

They do like to weather a storm, on their own -- so to speak. If it is just a rain storm, mine will wonder into their run-ins. I believe it is a combination of the pressure of the air mass (which we don't normally detect) and the severity of the storm wind -- mother nature works very well sometimes. Seems to be that they "know" not to stand by a tree in lightening, etc.

Many, many yrs ago, lightening hit my barn at the end where the fan was mounted for the hay loft. It sparked the hay, then a raging fire. I was fortunate and saw it, called fire dept just before my phone died as they line in the barn went out -- ran out there in PJs and drug all the horses outl, turning them into the adjacent pasture where they ran to the far end.. It burned to the ground!!! But, next AM at daybreak, I looked out and saw one of the horses standing in the ashes where his stall used to be!

Generally, animals will try to stay where they know their home and feed and friends should be. That's why, when there is a "break out" and they all run fast as they can -- WoooHooo I'm free! -- (and others are screaming because they can't go so they tell on those who did) I generally stroll to the barn for the feed bucket and give them a few minutes to run, then settle.

The storm is mostly past us now here in VA Beach, BUT hitting Delmarva hard it appears. Winds picked up and the heaviest rain is right over you guys, so it appears on the maps I'm seeing on TV. Not near the worst storm I've seen/had hit here but, we did not get the heaviest winds. Our coastal areas got a lot of tidal flooding.......A LOT!! But, I'm not there to have that. We did get about 4" of rain and that isn't something I needed!

You guys, stay inside and safe. Get your boots out of the closet!!

 

[zoey829]

Yes waiting is the worse. I keep looking outside and saying "come on and get it over with!" I keep making myself crazy with things I have to do!!!! Ugh!!! PLease stay safe and I hope everyone can report back with very little damage!

 

[bevann]

Thought I would get on the computer while I still have power.Just got in from cleaning stalls and feeding all.Had 4 inches of rain so far.All horses are tucked in with less hay than usual and more water with senior feed and beet pulp in it.Even my boarder 35 yr old Arab is in but not liking it.Not too bad so far here, but the worse is yet to come.Lots of food that we can eat if power goes out.I just hate to lose 2 large freezers full of food since I stocked up really big before my surgery but if that is the worse thinbg that happens it's not bad.Today was my 1st day cleaning stalls since my knee replacement.Got to go get some ice on the knee-it's talking to me now.Keeping everyone in my prayers-hoping all humans and critters stay safe.

 

[wingnut]

Thanks for the reminder about using beet pulp to keep them hydrated. I don't usually use beet pulp but do have some in the tack room. When I go out after lunch, I'll prepare some for later this afternoon.

 

[Margo_C-T]

Sending prayers and fervent wishes for all people and animals in the path of this scary storm to come through OK in every way! Watching the TV reporting about it is scary enough; I can hardly imagine being where it might strike you.

Margo

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I am watching this storm creeping in towards the coast- I cannot believe the ferocity of it or the size! It is all over the news here and I fear for my friends and their little horses- please, do whatever you are told to do by the authorities, hard though it may be. You may think leaving them is hardhearted or cruel or even impossible, but, believe me, you cannot help them, once it is over, if you are dead!!!

Stay safe, all of you, I shall be thinking of you all night.....

 

[Riverrose28]

Several years ago two ponies were hit by a truck 10 miles up the road from me when a tree took out their fence and they ran into the road. Both had to be shot by the police as they both had broken legs. Since then, I put mine in, also when I went out this morning there are three that have a run in and no large trees near by two of them weren't letting the sorrel mare into the run-in, she was shivering in the cold rain, so I put her into a stall in my indoor. All the rest that have run-ins seems to be sharing, the rest that are usually housed near large trees are put inside for their own safty. So far so good, but the worst is still to come tonight here. Got soup cooking in the crook pot for a nice warm meal, cause I'm sure we will lose power since I live in a forest. So, I'll get back on after the storm, wishing you all well.

 

[kay56649]

I hope everything for you guys works out and everyone and their babies stay safe!! I am very fortunate to live in a very safe area. We haven't had a tornado in over 87 years, we don't get hurricanes or earthquakes, the only downfall is we get over 100" of snow. If you have a snow plow, good heat, and hay, winters aren't that bad. Our horses grow thick winter coats and stay insulated with hay (there is a big hay shortage this year because we are selling all of it to the south). We are fortunate enough to have a small and efficient heated barn for our 4 horses. Windshields can hit -50 degrees but it very rarely drops to that. We have no poisonous animals or insects and the biggest animals that can hurt you are the wolves, black bears, and a rare mountain lion. Only a handfull have been sighted within a 100 radius of our area. You VERY rarely hear of anyone getting hurt from them. We also have some very nice and clean towns with no smog or anything. I wouldn't leave here even if someone payed me. It's wonderful