what to do when it comes to tornados and horses

[northerngreeneye]

Hi everyone, I was talking to a couple of my friends and we were talking about tornados. One of my friends asked me about what to do if you have horses, what does everyone recommend?

We live in Canada and we a proned to them.

[devotee]

If your barn is sturdy and well ventilated (to let the air pass through), that's the best place for them. There is more danger from flying debris outside than there is from a potential barn collapse, in most cases. One thing you can do if you are nervous about the barn is to use sticks (twigs) to latch your doors, so that the horses can get their doors open should they need to do that.

Also, it's a good idea to have some kind of ID on your horses, in case fences get breeched and they escape. You can write on their halters or firmly tape a film cannister onto the halter with appropriate information on a scrap of paper inside of it. Include your phone number, address, and vet information.

I'm interested in other ideas and experiences, too. What do others of you do?

[northerngreeneye]

I don't know about that, I would be worried that the barn would collapse. What does everyone else think?

[Lindsey]

Living in Kansas we get a fair amount of them. Never had any close to me though *knocks on wood* they are usually several miles away.

What I have been told is to let them loose. Open as much area as you can to them. Horses are smart, they will go to the area that seems the safest. I was told never to leave them in the barn, if there truely is a tornado coming towards you, it will take the barn. Put your phone number on the halter, or if you don't thave a halter that you can do that, you can spray paint your number on them. Also, it would be good idea to have your vets number on it, in case it does get hurt, they can call your regular vet.

[lovelyepona]

We use grease pencils to write our numbers on them, cell that is. We also have tags on he halters, like the luggage tags with our name, phone number and address. I have Micro chips that I need to have planted in them. So that works as well.

We always let ours go, they will find the safest area to be. I've seen tordanos take down concrete buildings. Luckily we don't have many here (2 small ones), but I sure did see a ton when I,lived in Indiana.

[twnpnds]

I have always been told to turn them out. An old timer told me years ago that they are safer out of a barn and that they seem to know where to go. I like your film canister idea for an id devotee. The luggage tag one is good too lovelyepona. We had a tornado here this spring. The twister was a mile or so from here but we could see the top of it and hear the roar. My family was in a storm house and the thought about squeezing all of the llamas in there did cross my mind. LOL. I looked out and didn't see them. As soon as it was over I went looking for them. They were fine and didn't seem the least bit worried. And we had golfball sized hail. They had a safe place somewhere. I didn't have time to halter all of them and I don't id them because everyone here knows "the llama lady". We are also the only ones around here with a mule and everyone knows who he belongs to. If I had horses though I would id them because there are a lot of horses here. You can get engraved metal or plastic halter tags for a very reasonable price.

[northerngreeneye]

Thank you all for your input, it was really interesting. I think you guys are right about letting them go. Animals has a way to get out of harms way and I like the the idea of the name tags. It is a really great idea.

[erikasbackyard]

In Kansas it would make sense to turn them out. Somewhere like here in NC, where there are lots of trees and we get branches and stuff flying in all directions, it seems to make more sense to put them up. Otoh, when the hurricane came inland and flattened all the trees and many buildings and had tornados with it and left us without power for a week, I let my horses decide whether to be in the barn "lobby" or out (the barn was not especially sturdy). The wind was awful when I checked on them late that night, and my old man was standing outside in the far corner of the paddock, about in the middle of the small field, with his butt to the wind. He was about as far from danger of debris as he could get, and the barn wasn't going to come down on him. Everyone else opted for the lobby.

They all had their id info in film canisters, since along with everything else, if the electricity goes down, the fence doesn't work. I included a sheet with permission for my vet to do whatever was necessary, including put them down. THIS PART IS IMPORTANT, since communication can be messed up after storms. When the power goes down, even cellphones don't work for long.

Interestingly, the old man was the only one who ever after got all upset when hurricanes were making their way up the coast and we got that funky atmosphere here, whether they were coming inland or not. He would be beside himself. He never had been before, but they hadn't come here before. That hurricane made quite an impression on many of us.

[MaryKansas]

I do have a microchip implanted in one of my fillys, but not the other. I never thought of using an ID tag, I'm going to have to make my way to PetSmart and get a few made up and attach them to the horses halters.
Luckily, we havent had any tornados where we are, they seem to either go to the North of us, or to the South of us, but we've had lots of close calls.

[hedgemom]

When you include a phone number, try to use one that is not in your area. In the event of disaster, phone and cell service could be down for a long time. Use a phone number of someone you trust who most likely won't be affected by the same events.

Also mail that person copies of your medical permissions. That way they can fax it to any vet who needs it, if it gets lost/misplaced.

If you have animals with special medical/dietary needs, you'd also want to give that information to that person.

[Lindsey]

erikasbackyard said:

In Kansas it would make sense to turn them out. Somewhere like here in NC, where there are lots of trees and we get branches and stuff flying in all directions, it seems to make more sense to put them up.

Since when does Kansas not have many trees? You know what...it's not flat here either.

community.webshots.com/photo/552121767/2376388130054937227uSxXEm

There is a risk of flying objects, but I would rather have somthing hit my horse then have a barn collapse on top of them.

[twnpnds]

Microchips are great but not in a situation like a tornado or hurricane. One thing, most people know nothing about microchips. The other thing is someone has to have a reader. A lot of vets don't even have one. To be on the safe side, when you have warnings out put those halters on along with some kind of id that everyone can read. The hurricanes we had here in Mississippi were awful. I can't help but thinking about all of those homeless animals, including horses. My cousin stopped at a shelter around Jackson,MS and there were some horses without owners. If they only had id's many more would have found their owners. I know that some were just left behind and were not even thought about again. But a lot were thought about. It's not that people didn't want to take their pets, they couldn't. And yes hedgemom, you should include a number that is not in your area. If you are going to a relative's or friend's house include that number along with your cell number. Cell phones won't work for long without electricity. They have to be charged sooner or later. Good idea Erika about permission to treat or euthanize slips.

[northerngreeneye]

Thanks for the tip about giving someone else the horses information, I would never ever think about that.

[MaryKansas]

LOL Lindsey...lots of people have the wrong misconception of Kansas (Must be the whole Dorothy and Oz thing)
The western part of the state is flat for the most part (at least thats what I'm told, havent made it that far yet) , but I'm in the upper North East part of the state, and there are so many hills and valleys, I was actually surprised at them all when I first moved here, it is beautiful country!!

[Lindsey]

marykansas said:

LOL Lindsey...lots of people have the wrong misconception of Kansas (Must be the whole Dorothy and Oz thing)
The western part of the state is flat for the most part (at least thats what I'm told, havent made it that far yet) , but I'm in the upper North East part of the state, and there are so many hills and valleys, I was actually surprised at them all when I first moved here, it is beautiful country!!

Yep, don't you just love when people refer to Kansas as the Wizard of Oz..

Far west is pretty flat, but in central Kansas you have the Flint hills which are breathtaking beautiful.

I am in Louisburg, which is 5 mins from stateline, so we are way east. Tons of valleys here, we actually live in one. Sometimes I wish it was flatter, so I would have room for a small arena.