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Leeana

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I have always been afriad (i do live in ohio afterall) of tornado's. But i've always wondered does anyone else here wonder what they would do if a tornado or hurricaine came? What would you do w/ your animals ..most likely the barns wont stand up during a bad tornado. Im always worried about it bc i get this picture of coco laying 2 miles away laying on his side dead and me finding him. Its horriable to imagine but what would you guys do if there was a tornado coming or worse. I got this idea from Katrina.
 
Coming from Tornado Alley myself, though I haven't actually been in one, yet. First, take accurate identification pictures, keep registration documents in a fireproof, small safe. Worry about yourself getting out of the tornado's path. DO NOT put your horses in a barn during a watch or warning, they must be able to get out of the way. I used to plan on opening the gates so they could get away if necessary, however, in my experience, if a horse is scared, its not going to leave its "safe" place.

You will probably never be fully prepared for a tornado like you can be for a hurricane. There is usually almost no warning for a tornado. You can keep water and extra feed in an alternate location in case the tornado hits your main stock. I think you just have to hope and pray!
 
Hurricanes, tornados, been there done that.

There is NO question about it. My horses are in the barn.
 
Hee, hee, if my home state of Kansas gets hit w/ a hurricane we will all be in VERY deep doo-doo!!!
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On days when horrific storms are forecast, and that is very different from the unexpected/unpredicted run for your life storm, I leave halters on all my horses. They decide if they want to stay in their stalls or out in the field. Lightning kills more horses each year than tornados so that is the larger fear. Unpredicted storms are handled a little differently- if I can, I will halter, if it is not safe than I dont and I can't go bonkers after making that call.

Range is dead on right- batten down the hatches then keep yourself safe because you will be of no use to your livestock and companion animals if you have suffered a profound injury.

We had a hellish storm roll through here this spring which produced tornados and did cause damage 9 miles to the north of me. It was the first time since I've had the mini's that a tornado has passed that close and I learned something- they DID react prior to the storm hitting. I watched them running and running in their paddock. I kept looking thinking something was in there chasing them as they seemed so frantic and it wasn't "play racing" with each other. GULP. My three big mares were hanging out like they were tied to the horse trailer at a show- no big deal. I almost ate my own words "stay inside and stay safe" when the little guys finally went into their shed and hunkered down as the winds and rain really kicked in. It sure seems like they reacted to the approaching storm the way some dogs do. FTR, since the storm was forecast all horses did have on their halters. One must consider that if the fences come down it may be a stranger or non-horse person who is the first one in a position to help capture them. Being in a rural area most all of our deputy's are well versed in working w/ livestock so that is nice.
 
When the weather gets violent around here.....all my horses are safe & snug in their stalls. I shut all doors & windows in the barn until it passes. Of course, a

"head on" hit by a large tornado has the potential to destroy a barn, and possibly some of the horses along with it. BUT, the chances of that happening are very small compared to being hit by lightning or flying debris in a bad storm if they are outside in the midst of it!
 
When we built my barn we used all the hurricane straps and hardware that we could, it is quite overbuilt. BIL who is a master carpenter couldnt stop giggling when he first saw barn, kept saying 'talk about overbuilt, you could have usde 1/2 as much' told us to be sure we were in the barn if a tornado came through LOL

Actually, I have thought this out and planned. In the event hubby and/or I are hurt, my mother has copies of all the horses info and knows what to do if needed. We have nearly 600 acres adjoining us , so if there is enough warning of a tornado, that is where they will go. I am so , well, Virgo, about things I even have a 'snowed in' plan, like that will ever happen in central TX LOL that comes from my CT years
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Im going to make a plan for stuff like tornado ..snow ..ext. this weekend. I was just up for idea's. Living in Kansas would be horrid ..i'd worry myself to death!
 
We are pretty self sufficient here but there are times we take care to plan ahead. In the winter months I make sure the tractor is always fully fueled so that if we have to power the generator its just a matter of backing up to it. We heat with wood so thats not an issue. We never let our supply of staple goods get to a point where we would have to go without any basic needs for atleast a week. We could exist for much longer but after a week to ten days we might have to give up things like ice cream in the evening or whip cream for the hot chocolate. We do not live in a tornado area so our major risk is being stranded for long periods after winter storms without electricity. It would require a flood of biblical proportions (worse than New Orleans) for us to worry about that.
 
justaboutgeese said:
We are pretty self sufficient here but there are times we take care to plan ahead.  In the winter months I make sure the tractor is always fully fueled so that if we have to power the generator its just a matter of backing up to it.  We heat with wood so thats not an issue.    We never let our supply of staple goods get to a point where we would have to go without any basic needs for atleast a week.  We could exist for much longer but after a week to ten days we might have to give up things like ice cream in the evening or whip cream for the hot chocolate.  We do not live in a tornado area so our major risk is being stranded for long periods after winter storms without electricity.  It would require a flood of biblical proportions (worse than New Orleans) for us to worry about that.
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Smart! My parents had a full cellar that they kept constantly stocked up with canned goods. And my mom was a wonderful canner of vegies and fruits. I remember bins of pasta and rice too..... All because of the Depression era.

As for how to handle our animals? Since we we don't have a barn big enough to house them all, I would make sure they all were haltered with ID tags and let them loose in our upper 40 acres. It has irrigation canals all around it and the field is far away from trees and hopefully any other debri.

MA

PS: sorry for the hiccup....incase anyone noticed..... dealing with children in the house.....

Also want to add, we happen to be very fortunate in not being in an area where either hurricannes or tornadoes hit. Our main concern is with forest fires.
 
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[SIZE=14pt]PRAY![/[/SIZE]B]
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Here in Oklahoma City we see quite our share of tornados. Thanks to the wonderful radar and helicopters and storm chasers and weathermen tracking the progress street by street we know where they are going and what time they will get there. So we have time to gather the horses and get them all in the barn and we lock down all the doors, close all the wondows.......all 21 of them ..... turn on the ceiling fans as it is often warm then decide whether to hunker down ourselves or make a run for it.


 


We are talking about having a tornado shelter put in the garage floor. Haven't decided on that yet, but would sure make me happy I can tell you!.


 


And like I said we pray a lot!


 


Charlotte
 

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