I want to make this as simple as possible. If you are like me, you want to help others horse lovers in need; wildfire and storm evacuations are the most common reasons that come to mind.  However, what about a friend in need due to repairs to a barn, fences or other reasons?  If you agree to house those people’s animals while they rebuild. We want you to be aware to protect your own animals in the process.

Just saying Yes might not be a good thing if you are not prepared properly.  Let’s explore what you may need before offering this much needed help.

Don’t put yourself, your property and your animals in danger or even at financial risk.  I’ve heard, spoken with and read lots of stories where after a disaster people do not return to pick up their animals immediately. They are on your property, you are feeding, watering and cleaning up after them.  Did you charge a boarding emergency fee?  If you did, how did they pay you?  Can you continue to charge for this care?

Wait, were getting ahead of ourselves; let’s make sure you are prepared to take them in before you say yes.

Take an evaluation of your property.  What type of fencing do you have, do you have a barn, run – ins, shelters?  What about extra corral panels to create more space, corrals or having the ability to separate animals?  What animals can you harbor?  Small farm animals like goats, sheep, or others besides horses.  Can you house a stallion safely on your property, or mare and foal pairs?

You never know who might show up if you put out an all-points bulletin like this: “I’ve got room if you are evacuating in “you name the town”.  Feel free to contact me. However, how many animals (horses, etc.) you can take in?

Let’s get serious about a few other issues besides space.  What happens if a horse gets hurt in your care, colics, a mare gets bred because you were unable to handle housing a stallion? Do you have a farm insurance policy that would cover damages to your property, injuries to animals or even death coverage?  You might want to review your annual policy for these types of coverages, because again you are offering board AND care implied or not.

Let’s say you have the space; you can house animals safely and away from your own stock.  What’s next?  Before we get to a list of items to consider, you will want to make up some sort of “intake” sheet.  It can be as simple as name, address and phone number.  However, if you have “non-owners” bringing animals to your property you might want to consider the following items on that form as well.

** Location of pick-up (i.e.: street address or name)

** License plate, make and model of the hauling vehicle

** Name, address and telephone number of the hauler

** Name, address and telephone number of the person who authorized the hauler to bring animals to you

**Any items that are being shipped with the stock; medications, halters, blankets, special feed, etc.

** Instructions for special needs, feeding requirements, and supplements should be written also.

Be sure to have the hauler sign the intake sheet.  You may want to take pictures of the hauler and their vehicle as well.

 

Let’s take inventory of things you want to know about your property before offering help.

Here is a list to review your options when offering to help:

#1 – Extra feeders and water buckets

#2 – Placement in extra areas/stalls to house others away from your normal stock

#3 – Can you house other animals, goats, sheep, llamas

#4 – Do you have a veterinarian on call

#5 – Are you charging per day or not at all

#6 – Do you have an intake form

#7 – Do you require medical records, veterinarian information etc.

I’m sure by now you are thinking “I never even thought of these things”.  You are right, most people do not, but part of our efforts is to keep you and your animals safe and healthy.

Something to consider when offering help is the disaster itself.  For instance, if a wildfire is moving towards your location, never offer help, because if the fire moves quickly and you have only one 2 horse trailer, but you now have 10 horses on your property how will you evacuate?  Who do you call for help?  In a hurricane the information is mostly correct, but also can change.  What happens if now you are in the direct path?  With flooding, well that’s a tough one, because immediate flooding if you’re in the path it would be a hard pass on housing others, but what about 5-7 days later when flooding continues, rivers start to crest?

I’m throwing these thoughts at you because I want you to think, be proactive, aware and honest with yourself if you, your property and location can handle helping others.  You might think do not want you to offer help.  But actually, it’s quite the opposite.  I want you to be prepared before an emergency happens and truthful with the help you can and are willing to offer.

I would love everyone to say Yes, but that truly is it may not be a possibility.  If you can’t say yes to hauling horses or helping house horses, then volunteer at a location set up by another organization.  Follow through getting training so that you know the procedures and can help out.

We would love to hear from you if you’ve helped other and things went right or went wrong what worked and what didn’t.  This only helps others to understand what their own limitations might be.

As always, be safe, don’t be scared and be prepared for emergencies.