Days after Rita, equine rescue requests are still coming in to the Louisiana State University Horse Hurricane Hotline, although not with the urgency or number of calls that poured in after Hurricane Katrina hit several weeks ago.

“Today we’re sending a team over to Sulphur, La., which is on the western side of Lake Charles,” said Rustin Moore, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, director of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine’s Equine Health Studies Program (EHSP). “We’d gotten an e-mail from the granddaughter of this lady who had to evacuate from Sulphur (in Calcasieu Parish) to De Ridder, La. She apparently left 17 horses.”

Sonny Corley, DVM, of Acadiana Equine Clinic in Lafayette, La., drove over to Sulphur to check on the horses Tuesday (Sept. 27), and he saw seven horses–one stallion and six others. The stallion was in an area fenced by barbed wire, and there were two groups of three horses, one in the front of the property, and one in back.

“They’ve taken one big trailer that can hold 10-12 horses,” added Moore on Sept. 28. The trailer was filled with feed, hay, and medical supplies to drop off at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center (the staging site for evacuations), before heading into Sulphur. “If they end up finding more horses, they could either call (for another trailer) or return for them