D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
June 2010
Horse Sense for Emergencies
Before you go on vacation in fire season, plan for the worst.
By Barbara Gorzycki
You've planned your Spain vacation for the last two years — the rooms, the flights, the sights and sites. Your sister and your neighbor agreed to cover the care of your house and plants, your four horses, five goats, three cats, two dogs, and one hooded rat named Marilyn Monroe.
And OMG you're finally in Spain! Just as you raise your glass of sangria in celebration and click on your computer to check your messages, though, your joy changes to panic and your heart stops: Your neighbor's emailing that your area back home in the Southwest is threatened by wildfire. You know your neighbor and sister can get the cats, dogs and Marilyn to safety, but what about the goats and horses? Didn't your sister say she was afraid of horses? You vaguely remember your neighbor saying he doesn't know how to halter a horse. And didn't they both say they weren't comfortable with goats?
If your home had to be evacuated when you were away, a well thought-out plan would be invaluable to your peace of mind, especially if you own large critters. Pre-fire and pre-vacation, here are some important things to think about and discuss with your pet sitter — or neighbor or sister:
Have an evacuation plan in place. It should include having your truck and trailer hooked up, ready to load, and parked in the direction to drive out and off your property. Quick access to truck keys is a must; if you have your keys in your pocket in Madrid while fire rages in Silver City, all those people trying to get your animals to safety won't be successful. If your truck has bizarre mechanisms for starting, walk your pet sitter through it before you leave. Imagine what it would be like to have all your critters loaded on the trailer but not be able to start the truck.
If you have a two-horse trailer and four horses and five goats, in any emergency that's not a working plan. Which horses would you halter and load? Which horses would you choose to leave behind? What would you do with the goats? I have a pet-sitting client with one horse but no trailer, but because we've discussed fire safety in advance of her vacation, she has a neighbor 0.2 miles away with a trailer already hooked up to her truck, and the neighbor and I have exchanged phone numbers just in case. I have several other clients with so many animals that no plan would work to get them all out to safety if a fast-moving fire threatened. They have all, however, given me specific plans to follow, which include letting the animals into arroyos where there's little to no vegetation (fuel) while moving some into pastures where they would be safer.
Ideally, you will have written instructions posted (via email to your pet sitter and/or posted in your barn) regarding any loading quirks your horse displays or any dominant behavior in loading more than one horse. If you haven't loaded your animals in awhile, now would be a good time to have some fun loading and unloading them. For all large animals, just getting them familiar again with trailering is beneficial all year long. Right now my two go from their barn and small corral to the trailer and then to the pasture for the day. In the evening they go from the pasture to the trailer to the barn. We practice this every day during fire season. With carrots.
It's imperative to have halters and ropes at the ready. One of my clients worked with some horses in Phoenix last week, and she reminds me to tell all my clients to check for sun-damaged ropes. Large animals can snap those damaged ropes. When another client travels, she maintains her ponies in their small corrals with no access to larger pastures, their halters and lead ropes right in the tack room within easy reach.
Your trailer should have a little feed in buckets and some water in containers. Evacuations might last hours or days. Your truck's glove box should contain whatever documents necessary to transport animals. I speak from experience when I say agents from the USDA are out there looking at trailers and the animals in them. Check with your vet regarding required papers.
If there were a fire and the authorities closed off sections of property and road access, they would do those steps so that they could get equipment and personnel to the scene quickly. Timing then becomes crucial: Get in and get out before the authorities close the roads.
We can do only the best we know how, and no one can honestly promise you your large animals will be safe because there are variables no one can factor, but having a plan is the first step in protection. And you're probably asking yourself right about now: Where will she take those animals? I have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C all lined out. Just in case.
A member of Pet Sitters International, Barbara Gorzycki operates Frumpy Fox, a Silver City pet-sitting service. Contact her at 534-4176 or 313-0690 (cell), or visit www.frumpyfox.com