Hurricane Season is here




The start of Hurricane season was this past Friday June 1st and not surprisingly our first tropical system crossed the state this weekend. For those living in the coastal areas it's time to start planning just in case a major storm heads this way. I have posted items of interest on this blog in the past and you can find a more detailed list of plans on our web site www.jaxequine.com. There is also a short worksheet that you can use to organize yourself. If you decide to stay in the path of a storm you should consider some important facts. Your horses are at a greater risk "inside" your barn than outside. Think about it for a minute, your barn was probably built by the lowest bidder, has minimal roof support and was designed to maximize airflow. Unlike your house which are usually built north and south to take advantage of the sun.....your barn was built east and west to take advantage of the breeze. Thats a bad thing in a hurricane. If you have a large open field with few trees and good fencing and no powerlines it's much safer. Another good idea whether you stay or not is to have your horses microchipped. lessons learned in Florida during Hurricane Andrew and Louisiana during Katrina show the great advantage in microchip ID. While most of the dead and lost horses from Andrew were never ID'd
those in Louisiana were ID'd 90% of the time. When things go bad, horses go missing and they all look the same after they have been in a pond or under fallen trees for a week. A small microchip placed in the neck will be there forever and can even be scanned in a body that has been dead for quite awhile as it's placed in the nuchal ligament in the neck. I have a good friend give me his list of "5 things you need to survive a hurricane" , what he did during Andrew. I've added to it.
1. Generator- provideds power, 12 hours/5 gal of gas ( have several cans)
2.Gas grill-for cooking and boiling water
3.Rolls of plastic sheeting- to fix holes in windows and roof(staple gun,hammer and nails)
4.pool or hot tub-for bathing
5. firearms- Steve said there was gunfire almost every night and they can hear your generator. Post a sign so they know you are armed
ps
6.chainsaw- remove downed trees from driveway and roads
7.small window unit A/C- it's real hot and humid with a lot of mosquitos- you'll thank me for this one.

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