Preparing horses, and everything else, for a hurricane is a regular task in Florida. I live in Homosassa, Florida, a small town about an hour north of Tampa and an hour southwest of Ocala. As of Wednesday, Sept 25, we are in line to get sideswiped by Hurricane Helene. Even though we will not get a direct hit, the storm is large enough that we could get hurricane-force wind gusts and sustained winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour. My two horses, Nadia and Lily, live at a public boarding facility in Lecanto, a few miles further inland than my house. To take precautions, we have gotten the horses ready for the storm. What does that entail? 

Preparing Horses to Weather a Hurricane 

What we are going to experience is not expected to be severe enough to warrant evacuation, but that is certainly not the case everywhere. Those more in the direct path are moving to a safer location.  

Putting horses out or keeping them in is always a point of discussion surrounding a bad storm. Both situations present risks, and the decision comes down to the individual situation. At this farm all the horses, unless ill or injured, are turned out during the worst weather. This is to avoid trapping horses in case of a building collapse. They have new round bales in their hay huts and grass in their pastures, so they have plenty to eat.  

We have slips of paper with the farm name, address, and phone numbers, along with the horse owners’ names and phone numbers. We seal those in plastic baggies and tape them to each horse’s breakaway halter. I also put fly masks on my horses. Some people do and some people don’t in a storm. Sure, it’s not going to help if major debris hits the horse, but it can help keep small debris out of their eyes. As someone whose horse eventually lost an eye because of small debris, I choose to put on fly masks. 

Of course, since halters can break, subsequently losing the plastic baggies described, I also braid my contact information into my horses’ manes. Nadia and Lily are Arabians with long manes so it’s easy to do. (They are also microchipped if that form of identification becomes necessary.) 

Watching and Waiting for the Hurricane 

In the past seven years I’ve boarded at this farm, we’ve been fortunate to not get a direct hit by a hurricane. It looks like Helene will miss us, too. But it never hurts to be prepared in case the unexpected happens. I’m thinking of all of those facing the worst of this huge storm and hoping for the best possible outcomes.