With the CA fires, it does make you think. (Well, I began thinking anyways.)
!. Do you have a will with your pets included and their care?
Honestly- I don’t have anyone that has wanted my horses, except probably for monetary value (to be sold, and they would come with money for their lifetime, and then some).
A dog that is picky what other animals and dogs “bother him”.
A semi-feral cat. (He was a barn cat, but 6 years later loves the bed life.)
2. Does your barn have an emergency plan? Where my horse is a cattle farmer owns it. I don’t believe he values horses as much as their owners, if there was a disaster. Plus, he has many cows. Boarders have trailers, but where to go?
I don’t have anything in my will, but I do have an adult son who lives with me and hopefully would continue to care for the animals.
Luckily, I’m in a part of the country not prone to big disasters, but my plan is that all of my horses and other animals would fit in my truck/trailer for evacuation if necessary (2+1 and extended cab truck for 2 horses, 1 pony, 2 dogs and 1 barn cat).
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Last fall, we had some atrocious prairie fires. Some areas of the state were dry and then we had a few days of 60 mph winds. The fires move FAST in those conditions. About all most ranchers could do was go out and cut the fence wires so the cattle could attempt to make an escape, but even they cannot outrun 60 mph flames moving. And for ranchers that have hundreds, and hundreds of head of cattle, no one has enough trailers to get them out, nor even able to get them out quickly. When the evacuation order came in, you made it out with the clothes on your back.
A lot of farmers lost their entire herd of cattle. Either killed by smoke inhalation or burned alive. Absolutely horrific.
The horse folks that I know in that area were at least able to get their performance horses out in time. Large broodmare bands were not so lucky, again, for the same issues of the cattle ranchers.
We thankfully were not threatened by the wildfires but it can happen ANYWHERE. We have all important documents in a fireproof safe, although the one thing I would need to remember to do is grab the key for it. We have a will in place.
I’ve only got 4 horses so I would hopefully be able to get the trailer hooked up quickly, get them loaded quickly, and get out. (they are all good reliable loaders) Two of our 3 cats I could wrangle into a cat carrier quickly … the 3rd loathes the cat carrier so she would honestly have to be left behind.
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in my area fires are unlikely, we get blizzards and flooding. Not unusual for the roads to be bad and power to go out and for us to not leave the farm for the week, easy to deal with though - back up heat and power for the well pump and always keep groceries and feed stocked up. Flooding here is generally an inconvenience not an emergency it happens so regularly that most buildings are flood proofed and our roads mostly elevated, if it is going to be bad enough to require evacuation we generally have a week or so to move everyone and find a friend with an extra paddock. People here generally make their own arrangements, I attended the large animal planning meeting the one year and our government thought farmers with 100 head of buffalo could move them in an afternoon with a couple hours notice and house them in standard cattle facilities. Don’t think I would ever live in an area that requires sudden evacuations to be honest.
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In my area we get snow, but it’s “sit tight, drink a beer”, then starting digging with machinery. I doubt we’d ever have an evacuation scenio, but…
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Nope and nope, unfortunately.
I am pretty good about dealing with emergencies without evacuation. And I have given some thought to what I might do in an evacuation. But thankfully, I’ve never lived where evacuations are common enough to truly worry about it. (Of course, that doesn’t mean one couldn’t happen and I shouldn’t be prepared!)
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We are not in an evacuation zone, nor are we in a flood plain.
We have a backup generator and a large propane tank, but should that fail -
We have a small generator that could power the well pump/sump pump/ejector pump (not all at the same time). Our well is artesian and hold roughly 20# of pressure without needing a pump, so unless we needed big water pressure it would not need power.
We have a wood burning stove and tons of wood - if attended to and kept at max load it can heat the house to blistering temperatures.
In the very unlikely event of evacuation, I could stuff all equines in my trailer but it would be very, very tight. The axles, tires, and floor supports are rated for it though, so we would be able to roll.
I have way more hay on site than I need, the trough is good for several days without refill, the perimeter fence does not need power to be effective.
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This thread got me thinking about what could cause an evacuation in my area. Fires are always possible, but very, very rare here. Even though I live on a peninsula, I think I’m far enough inland to be spared any hurricane or flood evacuation. I’m miles from the nearest stream or river, although this was originally swampy land that can easily become standing water.
But I am within the 50 mile zone of two nuclear power plants. That usually doesn’t mean evacuation, but could mean contamination in the event of a serious accident.
And I guess anywhere could have some sort of serious hazmat situation.
When I used to live in an area where we have routine hurricanes, I learned how to plan for evacuations. Now I live in an area where we just have frequent blizzards.
That said, my horse is insured and she is in my will.
If something serious were to happen at my barn, I’m pretty sure my horse would love to live in my basement. 
She is a serious snuggler.
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I have 3 horses that live about 70 feet from my basement doors- I have thought about that too or in case of a tornado🤣
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Yes, all animals outlined in wills, including money set aside in trusts for their care when they go to the people who will take them. And also, which will be euthanized as it’s not fair to them to ask them to have a huge life transition at this stage of their lives.
We never thought we’d have natural disasters in Vermont (snow doesn’t count, it just…is 
). Until July 2023 when our area had devastating floods. We had 9 inches of rain fall within 48 hours across the state, and our area was one of the hardest hit. We live at the intersection of two dirt roads. Both town maintained, but one is more a one-lane Jeep trail than a well-maintained road. The better of the two roads lost the bridge in the flood, leaving an impassable 20 foot chasm - it wasn’t until May 2024 that the bridge was repaired and the road reopened.
In the interim, it was not feasible to take a trailer out down the “Jeep road,” particularly in mud season. I lost a horse to a horrific torsion colic in March 2024. The decision to euth was medically driven, she was just too far gone when I found her. But seeing my absolute devastation, vet did bring up the option of sending her down to Myrhe for surgery (though the prognosis for her making it through was basically nill). There were several reasons she wasn’t a surgical candidate, but getting her that first mile down a muddy, rutted out goat path in the trailer was honestly a real consideration. The thought of having a horse go down in a stuck trailer that was nearly inaccessible was almost as awful a thought as euthanizing her in the barn.
I had a new horse arrive (pre-planned) a couple of days after that awful event, and the shipper parked on the blacktop at the end of the road. I met them at the blacktop and we walked sweetheart new mare the mile home up the muddy dirt road in sleet and freezing rain.
I had never truly processed just how remote we really are until last March.
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This thread was a wake up call for me. I know I created it😂, but I thought ehhh I’m too young, and of course my friends would “step up”.
I have 2 horsey best friends, one lives out of state, but wants to move back- she’s looking for a horse farm in the area. My friends, although they don’t know true facts, know my assets and that the horses would be WELL taken care of, and have extra benefits, including their own horse farm. They know more than others do.
I didn’t come right out and ask, but we were chatting- neither stepped up for “my precious babies”. I don’t blame them at all- it’s a lot, I am just surprised.
I thought almost anyone would step up for a farm and rideable horses.
I feel like I have a lot of work to do!!!
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@Callista17, I’d really recommend talking to an estate lawyer to get things in writing and organize the way you want a trust set up, especially if you’re going to include property. I think that’s what you implied you’d like to do in your last post. The lawyer can help you with some language to approach the people you’d like to consider your request; it admittedly can be an awkward thing to ask someone, particularly if you’re of an age where it’s not really a common topic of conversation. I will say that for a couple of my horses and a dog, my intention is for them to return to breeders, so it’s more a business transaction than a request of a friend.
But still, step one, get things written down so the details are really clear and specific in your mind. Step two, talk it over with people you’re relying on to carry out your wishes to be sure they are willing.
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We already have a great family attorney that sets up our trusts, wills and health care proxies.
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I’m in a fire area in NorCal and had to evacuate in 2020. I was already pretty well prepared (we had a few day’s notice which is rare), so I had a place to take them lined up and we evacuated when the zone adjacent to us went under evacuation warning. That said, I did make some changes from that experience, from volunteering with our local large animal evac group, and from taking a class with CalFire to get a pass to go behind fire lines to care for my animals.
I bought a large enough trailer to move all 5 of my/my client horses at once
Our large animal evac group has a permanent location to take horses to during a fire, but I have a second horse property so I’d take them there
Halters are always on stall fronts with spares in the trailer
I have an emergency contact list posted in the barn with owner’s and vet’s names and numbers and horse descriptions
The truck and trailer stay hooked up and fueled up, pointed towards the front gate in fire season
I have spare things in the trailer as well - blankets and coolers, halters and leads, longe line, standing wraps, first aid kit, battery operated road flares, and a tool bag
I have a list of “stuff” that I would grab from the barn if I have time (meds, saddles and bridles, then trunks then grain and hay). The owner of my feed store is the president of the evac group so I know there will always be hay and grain available identical to what they are used to
For the house, it’s the dogs, their food, and a very small number of personal items
Improvements to make at the next property:
Emergency contacts posted at the gate along with a map of the property (it’s 260 acres) showing water sources, building locations, and all ingress/egress points on the property
Fire proof boxes outside of barns with halters for all of the horses plus extras, emergency contacts, and horse descriptions
As I plan to shelter in place on the next property, fire retardant building materials, lots of water storage (talking 200,000 gallons plus), defensible space around buildings, sprinklers in and around buildings, and hopefully a water truck (we already have a small water trailer with hoses)
I’m sure I’m forgetting some things but that’s the basics
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I’m in Los Angeles and we just updated our barn evacuation plan. Here are some tips, in case others find them helpful. Of course, these are for when you can conduct an evacuation in advance - much of this doesn’t apply if you only have a few minutes to get out.
Prior to fires:
- Put a halter tag on each horse's halter with contact name and phone number.
- Keep water buckets in every trailer
- Move all trailers up near the barn, ready to hook up quickly.
- Keep meds in the feed room or fridge, or in a common area.
- Know which horses can haul together and make a plan for which horses go in which trailers.
- Contact private barns you can go to. Big evacuation areas fill quickly.
- Fill hay bags.
In evacuation:
-
First person to arrive:
- Put a halter on each horse and leave the lead ropes loose outside each stall, not tied.
- Pack meds for all horses.
- Start packing tack room.
- Bring the pasture horses into the barn ready to be loaded.
- Pack the tack room - everyone grabs saddles, bridles, boots, etc.
- Pack feed baggies and enough feed for 1-2 days (you can generally buy anything else).
- Ace horses who need sedating.
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I like that you have a list for the first person/people to arrive, that will (hopefully never have to) come in handy!
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Timely thread.
My Driving Club has a meeting setup with the local Large Animal Emergency Rescue unit of the FD on 1/26.
My vet was instrumental in getting this started.
I’ll report back here if they bring up any topics not already addressed.
For myself, I need to get a Will on paper & ask my stepdaughter if she agrees to be my Executor (something she’s already done w/o being named for several family members).
My 2 older horses - now 24 & 22 - will be euthed as both can be quirky. 10yo mini will go to a local theraputic center with a Driving program.
If I needed to evacuate, all 3 can easily go in my stock trailer.
Where I’d take them is problematical. Possibly nearby fairgrounds or ???
Depending on the reason, they could remain in pasture - we’re Plains & not any hurricane, tornado or fire prone area.
Tack in the barn is a single saddle & bridle.
Mini’s harness & carts already live in the garage & would have to be left behind if I couldn’t make a 2nd trip for them.
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We are in tornado/hurricane territory. 300 miles from the Gulf of Mexico but those things can stall and dump rain. We stay prepared in terms of propane, fuel, chainsaws, tarps, etc. We’re somewhere that wouldn’t flood the house or buildings but we could get “trapped” by bridges out. 2 kawasaki mules give me some measure of comfort in terms of getting out to get fuel. We have water filters from camping equipment, firewood, tents, etc and a generator to run the essentials in the house. We’re both pretty handy and capable in a pinch.
Fleeing a fire? I’m about to have more horses than trailer when we downsize and sell the LQ. I have thought about selling the 2h BP and replacing it with a gn stock trailer so that I could load up the ark if needed. 3 horses, donkey, 4 dogs and 5 cats.
As for wills, I need to make a plan, I don’t have one and that’s ridiculous.
I don’t have a will but it has been on my mind solely for the animals. Now, since we bought our first home there is a substantial asset to account for as well. Does anyone have any free or low cost resources for creating a will?
For evacs, we aren’t really in an area with fires but we get flooding and tornados. You don’t evac before a tornado (usually) and the specific property we had the horses on was very high up so wasn’t ever at risk from flood but I always tried to keep things ready for emergency. Emergency kit with meds stayed in the trailer, halters always followed the horse from stall to turnout with extras in the trailer. Stayed up on trailer maintenance, same with truck. Now boarding so not quite the same situation. If we ever had to evacuate our house and the horse I’m not sure we would be able to get to the horse in time (boarding 30+ min from home). I’m sure it would take ~20min give or take to wrangle the two dogs and two cats into a vehicle before we could even head to the barn. This does have me thinking about important docs/ items (are they in a safe? Do I have copies?) and the like.
