So as we continue the story of our first evacuation, this is how it went.
All the horses were now haltered and my riding horse was saddled. The two other neighbors who had horses had their horses loaded up and ready to move out, but I still had no idea where to go, who to call for help or how long we would be away from our home. Needless to say I was COMPLETELY unprepared for an event like this, yes completely unaware that this was even a possibility.
Again, here’s another side note: The neighborhood where we lived, just a year before had also been evacuated much in the same manner. Unfortunately we were not aware of this and did even see it on the news. With that being said, it’s NO excuse for being unprepared.
Remember here I was with 3 horses, 2 dogs, birds, a rabbit, personal papers, computer etc that all must go without a horse trailer and only an open bed truck and small SUV. I called my dad at 5:30 in the morning (he’s a retired fire fighter) to ask questions about where to go, what to do with my animals. Unfortunately he had no idea, but would call a friend to come pick up my horses if I could ride out a mile to load them. Oh, ok is all I could say, because honestly my mustangs had only been loaded 1 time after coming to my house and that was a neighbor who was a trainer that helped me load them in her trailer. Would they even load?
If you’ve have read anything about evacuating or been to my presentations, I always give you homework. That homework is to make sure your horses will load in any trailer, with anyone handling them at any time of day or night.
As we were leaving our property on the journey to make sure everything including ourselves would be safe, the Sheriff did come back to advise the neighborhood that the evacuation order had been lifted. Thank heavens, but now we had the fun job of unpacking everything, getting everyone back in the yard, pen, corrals etc.
From this learning experience and the 4 other times in 5 years is why EquestriSafe was born. We will discuss further why and how this idea began to stick and resonate with others without our horse community.
