With cell phone cameras in nearly every hand and a world hyperconnected by social media and the Internet, news of a crisis can spread quickly. If not managed well, a catastrophic occurrence and the resulting news or social media exposure can cause nearly irreparable damage to a horse business, event, or brand.

The bad news is many equine facilities or organizations simply aren’t prepared to handle the public relations (PR) and media outreach required following a catastrophic event or natural disaster. The good news is that preparation is the easiest part.

Many reputable resources exist online that can help you plan for crisis communications. Here are a few:

• Equine Influenza: Horsing about with a quarantine crisis (The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, January 2010) 
• Crisis Plan and Communications for Event Officials (United States Eventing Association)
• County Animal Disaster Preparedness and Response Planning Guide (California Department of Food and Agriculture) 
• Crisis Communication Planning Workbook (The Center for Biopreparedness Education, a joint endeavor between Creighton University Medical Center and University of Nebraska Medical Center)

(For more information on Post-Crisis Communication, watch for the article in the June 2012 issue of The Horse: Your Guide to Equine Health Care