article by Pat Raia from the pages of The Horse
Timely Tips to Protect the Lives of your Horses, Burros and Mules
“As most of you know my wife Terry, co-founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation, is sheltering evacuated horses and donkeys at our farm in Magnolia, Texas where the fire is burning only a few miles away. Likewise, she stands at the ready to help our Director of Wild Burro Affairs, Marjorie Farabee, who is on evacuation standby with her dozens and dozens of donkeys, mules and burros…so this story and information strikes very close to our heart. We hope that you will find it of interest, also.” ~ R.T.

photo courtesy of KHOU News, Houston
Thanks to record summer temperatures and persistent drought, several wildfires have flared in Texas this year, according to information contained on the Texas Forest Service website. Since Sept. 1 the Texas Forest Service has responded to 181 fires covering a total of 118,413 acres. On Sept. 5 the agency responded to 22 new fires affecting 7,544 acres, including 10 new large fires, according to the website. As of Sept. 6, firefighters continued the struggle to control the blazes.
Throughout the Labor Day weekend, Texas horse owners used Facebook and other Internet avenues to share news about available resources including transportation, feed, and shelter beyond the fire zone. But veteran firefighter Gina Gonzales, of the Loveland Fire Rescue in Loveland, Colo., and an assistant instructor for The Large Animal Emergency Rescue Inc. (TLAER), said evacuation is not an option for some owners. When that’s the case, owners should take these “shelter in place” steps before the fire advances:
- Stock water: Fill every available bucket, trough, and other container with enough water to accommodate animals for between five and seven days.
- Stock feed: Horses sheltered in place should have enough feed to accommodate them for between five and seven days.
- Gather hand tools: Have metal shovels and heavy-duty metal rakes on hand to extinguish cinders that might fall onto your property. “Wind can carry cinders as far as a quarter mile,” Gonzales said. “Hand tools are the best way to extinguish them.”
- Gather equine identification information: Owners will need definitive identification to reclaim animals displaced during a wildfire event or other disaster from animal control or welfare authorities.
- Mark your animals: Animals should also be marked with the owner’s name and contact information. Gonzales recommends owners use indelible markers to write this information on horses’ hooves, or on duct tape placed on the horses’ neck or buttocks.
- Mark your property: Place placards on property fence gates informing firefighters that animals are being sheltered in place there. Owners should also include their names and contact information.
- Remove horses from barns: Horses should be relocated from barns even if those structures are equipped with sprinkler systems. Paddocks or metal-construction areas provide safer shelter. Close up the barn to prevent scared horses from running back inside and becoming trapped.
- Be alert to signs of smoke inhalation: Along with risk of lacerations and other injuries, horses sheltered in place run the risk of smoke inhalation. Owners should be able to recognize signs that their horses have inhaled smoke. “If you see soot around your horse’s eyes or coming out of its nose, that horse has been breathing smoke,” Gonzales said.
Keith Taraba, DVM, of the Northeast Texas Equine Services in Pittsburg, said risk of smoke inhalation could last up to 30 days after fires have been extinguished. Left untreated, smoke inhalation can have long-term consequences including lung cancer in horses. Veterinarians treat smoke inhalation with antibiotics, as well as drugs that dilate airways and steroid drugs that reduce tissue inflammation.
“If owners find their horses coughing, sneezing, or breathing more heavily than usual, they should seek treatment as soon as possible,” Taraba said.
For an inspiring and gripping first-hand account of how the Louisiana State University‘s Equine Rescue Team saved hundreds of horses and other animals following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, read Horses of the Storm. ~ you will read of the efforts of Habitat for Horses and the role that Terry Fitch played in the rescue operations.”
Finally, Gonzales recommends that owners residing in wildfire-prone areas reduce fire-damage risks by creating so-called “defensible spaces” around their properties.
Defensible spaces are 100-foot perimeters that surround barns, paddocks, homes, and other structures. These spaces are devoid of overgrown brush, flammable chemicals, or trees that could fuel cinders emanating from wildfires.
“If you have a defensible space, be sure your horses are placed within it if you have to shelter in place,” Gonzales said.
Related articles
- Smoke From Texas Wildfires Raises Concerns – PHOTOS: Wildfires Rage Across Texas (foxnews.com)
- Raging Texas Wildfires Destroy Nearly 1,400 Homes (foxnews.com)
- Texas wildfire’s toll makes big jump (news.blogs.cnn.com)
- Texas Wildfires Claim 852 Homes in 48 Hours (abcnews.go.com)
- Worst Tex. fire 100% contained, but risks remain (cbsnews.com)
- Equine Advocacy Blog Hits 1 Million Viewer Milestone (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Categories: Equine Rescue, Horse News
I just watched the weather channel and Arizona is nearly covered in Rain and so is part of New Mexico…!!! if this storm hold together it will reach West Texas tomorrow. Put your prayers and dancing feet on this storm!
LikeLike
Thoughts and prayers are with you all and everyone’s equids. Hard to grasp, I am sorry I am so far away. Stay safe!!!!
LikeLike
PRAYERS and RAIN DANCE!
LikeLike
Did Marjorie say that there are 107 Burros to move?
LikeLike
Terry could better answer that as she has been out there but they have a bunch at their sanctuary.
LikeLike
Yes, there are 107. Some have been evacuated to their trainer’s property. We headed out with 3 trailers last night, but the man Marjorie works for decided that he would prefer the remainder to stay on the property as their property is fairly void of trees. Keep them in your prayers.
LikeLike
Details? Did you take our rig? R.T. Fitch Author – “Straight from the Horse’s Heart” President of the Wild Horse Freedom Federation The Force of the Horse, LLC 1-800-974-FOTH http://www.rtfitch.com rtfitch.wordpress.com http://www.wildhorsefreedom.org
LikeLike
Huge rain dance sent from Ohio, we have rain here and were trying to direct your way !!!! Please all be safe there all people and Equines and all animals, wish we were near so we could help………………….
LikeLike
If you have time place sprinklers on top of your barns, and around barns, fences, if you have toe water run them the taller the sprinkler the better on top of the barn use a fan sprinkler. on the ground the sprinklers that are tri pod mounted I call them spiters SOAK THE AREA WHERE HORSES ARE. IF YOUR STOCK IS IN THE BARN WALMART HAVE MISTER HOSES NOT THE BEST QUILTY BUT IT WIL HELP. THEY SHOULD BE PLACED OUT SIDE OF THE BARN WHERE AIR COMES IN TO KEEP SMOKE DOWN. it works we had the same thing happen to us fire skipped us.
LikeLike