# So What DO You Do With Horses Facing A Tornado?



## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

I don't live in a tornado valley, but they have blown through once or twice. This latest horrific strom line has left me saddened for the people involved, but reminded me of a question I have had since I got the boys.

If you knew there was a tornado coming, perhaps could see it in the distance and it looks like it was coming in your direction, what would you do with the horses, goats, etc before taking shelter? Our pasture is about 6 acres or so, with electric wire. The goat pasture is surrounded by trees, only about 2 acres, and fenced in with cattle wire. I think of them all running to the barns and getting trapped, or, with such small pasture, getting struck by debris. With such a small acrage, getting away from the tornado is unlikey.

I always sort of planned to open the gates and just let them loose, trusting that they will go where it is safe by instinct, shutting the barn off so they can't go in, maybe grabbing wire cutters and snipping the wire so it all sags and is easily run through. I go out and shut the doors when they discussing a tornado watch.

Like I said, we have had some touch down pretty close to here, I have watched two develop right over my area and move on a few miles before touching down. I know in hurricanes, it is better to leave them out; they will hunker down and be fine as long as they don't get struck by debris. But a tornado?

What do you guys have in effect for this possibility? I do know there isn't much time at all between knowing a tornado is on the way and it actually reaching you. This crazy weather is a recipe for unprecedented weather patterns.

Not loosing sleep, just wondering.  I used to be afraid of old Sid out there in metal shoes during a storm, thank goodness they are all barefoot now. He is generally the tallest object in the field to start with!!


----------



## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

I like mine outside. I had a stable collapse in a tornado and we never got a warning, it popped up out of nowhere over the lake and hit my place and several others. Took civil defense six hours to dig the horses out of the rubble. No horses hurt badly, lots of bruising and a small cut on the knee of one colt. 

I much prefer to leave them out, they can get in the windbreaks of trees and hang out better than being stalled.

Horses (well some of them) are smart and will head downhill out of the wind.


----------



## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Yeah, not much you can do. I agree with shutting the barn doors so they can't get in, open the gates, cut the wire and hope for the best.


----------



## Sededl (Jan 14, 2011)

I Make sure I have emergency break away halters. Write it down, put in a sandwich baggie and tape to the cheek piece. Something with your name and address written down and waterproofed on the halter. Can also braid something into manes or tails. Some people mircochip, others do hoof brands. During Katrina, some clipped their contact phone number into their horses coats. As far as tornados, Id probably just set them loose and hope they hunkered down in a low place that was moderately sheltered. Other than that there isnt much that could be done


----------



## mountainwmn (Sep 11, 2009)

Well, since I live in a trailer with no basement, when the tornado hit here, I was hiding in the barn with my boy.


----------



## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

ID dog tags attached to their halters with information engraved.

If you have enough forewarning, I've heard of folks painting or shaving phone numbers on the side of the animals for identification in the aftermath.


----------



## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

If the wind is strong enough, horses will lay down. They have a better chance out than in.


----------



## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

I wouldn't break the fencing. They could get hit by a car. Who knows what a horse will do when spooked. I'd just keep the boys out in the pasture. We don't keep them in halters so would have to rely on neighbors bringing them back if they got off our property.


----------



## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

Seems to me like releasing them would make them easy targets running down the road by people fleeing their houses in cars...

When I had my horse, I had a slide-on tag on the halter. It would slide onto the piece that goes over the poll, and then I would buckle the halter, so it rested just above the buckle. So anyone approaching from the left side could see the tag with my info. I've also seen people use regular dog tags, and clip them not to the bottom where they would be easily snagged and ripped off, but on the side o-ring closest to the jawbone on the side (not the o-ring down by the mouth)... Seemed to work well. You can also get the tags that you permanently rivet to the halters, but most of those have small rivets for single-ply dog collars, so you'd have to specifically get them with long rivets for the double-ply of a halter.

I like the idea of shaving your phone number onto the horse to there's no halter for potential hang-ups, but if by some chance the phone lines are down, you may not get contacted by anyone... I think adding your last name and city would also be helpful. During tornados, things seem to end up long ways away from where they came from.

I think if a horse is blindly running into things that could tear its halter off, at least the halter would be there to protect its face a little bit. 

All my animals have worn collars... Even my fence-jumping maniac sheep wore nametags, in case they ever ended up wandering the countryside. Occasionally the tags disappeared (they wore dangling dog tags so you could see them through the wool), but I would just replace them... Not a big deal.


----------



## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

Even my spooky mare doesn't run when the weather is really bad. They turn their butts to the wind and just stand still.

We had to evacuate a few years ago because a hurricane was coming. I had no horse trailer so had to leave my horses and we only have 2 acres. They were still inside the fence when we came back. I know a tornado hit very close. We are the only property that didn't have damage so it had to be just a few houses up. There were no injuries at all on either horse.

As for identification, what about the stuff they use to mark numbers on endurance horses? I'm not sure what it is, but I've seen horses days and/or weeks after races and the numbers are still visible.


----------



## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

You could always get those sale barn tags that slap on with the glue in the can... Write your own info on the tag. Trouble coming, slap tags on all of them and go...

Lord knows that cement glue and those tags from the sale barn are just about impossible to get off, so even a tornado shouldn't budge them! *lol*


----------



## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

Leave them out and hope for the best is what we do. Being in IN we are in tornado zone. One of our counties little burgs was devastated by one Friday. My vet's farm is in the area it hit but I got in touch with him to see if they we're ok and if he needed any help, he said it hit a mile east of him and things were fine at his place.

Not too worried about them getting over a downed fence as there are some of mine that won't bother walking out of an open gate and those that will run back and forth along the fence trying to find their way back in. Besides that, any horse that is seen loose for miles around we're the ones they stop and tell. Don't know why as our fences are all good. Place about a mile down the road has 4 horses. They were out and still right next to their property. Guy drives the mile to tell us our horses are out. I wish they'd quit doing that as it gives me heart failure EVERY time even though I know it's probably not mine that are on the loose.


----------



## Whisperwindkat (May 28, 2009)

Breakaway halters with information taped to the side of the halter and locked out of the barn in the pasture.


----------



## chris30523 (Jun 11, 2005)

I don't turn mine out with halters so we use a cattle tag that has the info written on it with a sharpie braaided into a mane or tail depending on the horse. Mine got loose with the high winds last week when a tree took out the fence. They were spooked and running and ended up about 3mi. from home. Got a call at 6am from sherriff deputy and went and rounded them up. Long walk home with the girls but they were safe .


----------



## farmgirl6 (May 20, 2011)

I leave mine out as well, the id tags on the halter is a great idea, for my pet cows as well.....need to do that. I have two semi underground garages but I doubt I would have time to get the cars out and the critters in....


----------



## cannedman (Nov 28, 2010)

We had some rough weather on Friday and we left ours out. My grandfather always left his farm animals out and said when the weather gets bad they will lay down.

We had a neighbor that had 20 cattle killed when lightning hit a tree they were standing under.


----------



## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

chris30523 said:


> I don't turn mine out with halters so we use a cattle tag that has the info written on it with a sharpie braaided into a mane or tail depending on the horse. Mine got loose with the high winds last week when a tree took out the fence. They were spooked and running and ended up about 3mi. from home. Got a call at 6am from sherriff deputy and went and rounded them up. Long walk home with the girls but they were safe .


Clever idea-I might try it with an alternative emergency number in case I'm not available (read dead.)
I wonder if it would work with goaties too. Nothing to braid it to but they could wear a plastic chain with a tag. Plastic chains break pretty easily.


----------



## chris30523 (Jun 11, 2005)

where I want to said:


> Clever idea-I might try it with an alternative emergency number in case I'm not available (read dead.)
> I wonder if it would work with goaties too. Nothing to braid it to but they could wear a plastic chain with a tag. Plastic chains break pretty easily.


The goats were loose also but didn't stray too far from home. I think a tag on one of those plastic chains would work though.


----------



## Cindy in KY (May 10, 2002)

We have 13 miniatures and 2 Saddle mares. We leave them out and all the barns are open so they can come and go. The other night, all of them ran into the barns when it started to hail. They are used to running inside when they want. I wouldn't feel good about locking them out. The Jersey cow and her calf get locked in during rain or storms and every night. The herd of minis always run to their barn when it's bad weather.

When we had the ice storm, they all had to be locked in, it was so scary. But the ground was sheer ice and they would have broken their legs, especially with all the tree branches falling for 3 days. Once the ice on the ground was covered with snow and breaking as we walked, we could let them out. I don't think I slept for 4 days worried sick a huge branch would collapse my pony barn with them locked inside. But we had no choice at all. They have not been locked in since, except to brush and groom them. And we are working on cutting those big trees down. I don't want any more trees around the house or barns.


----------



## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Cindy, that is the ONLY time I lock mine up. Ice is too dangerous, period; if they don't like it, at least they will be around to be angry at me after the storm has passed!

I hadn't thought of them running out into the road!!


----------



## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

If there is a tornado heading to the house then the horses are on their own, we are heading to the basement!


----------



## missysid (Feb 21, 2006)

We had a tornado hit our farm in March 2010. There was no warning it came out of no where. Sitting in the living room watching TV I watched the front porch of our new home be ripped off. I ran to the window to look at the pasture before going to the basement reluctently. What I saw made my heart break. Our horse stable was in pieces in the pasture - the barn was only 4 years old and solid. 

Thankfully our belgians are out 24/7 with a run in portion of the barn they can go into. The barn went through the fence in 2 places and we did have to catch them after the storm stopped. Only minor scrapes but it took a month for them to step foot into the new barn. Every noise or wind they ran to the back pasture. 

I think God everyday they were not in the barn when the storm hit!


----------

