Last time we discussed the reasons for making the effort at personal (people) preparedness so that you can assist your horse after you have taken care of your family first. So, assuming that you have done those things (if you haven’t, go back to last week, take the quiz, and get started), let’s move on to coming up with a disaster plan for your horse.

For the sake of this post, I will assume you have one horse. (For those of you with two or more, you will have a lot more work to do.) First, prioritize your evacuation status by having your horse trained to lead, load onto a trailer, and stand quietly when tied. These basic manners are good for all horses, but the easier you make it to handle and work with your horse, the easier it will be to move him, transport, and find him a place to stay in the event of a looming disaster.

This pony loads easily and is ready to evacuate in case of an emergency.

Photo: Rebecca Gimenez

The questions that I ask other people when they ask me what they can do to prepare for a disaster are:

  • “Does your horse load?”
  • “Does he load in the wind, rain, dark, and with people around? By himself? Without feed or treats? On strange trailers?”
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