Hurricane Irma: what we'll do to prep for horses

Living in North Carolina in hurricane season, even as inland as we are, I have developed a routine over the years for preparing in case bad weather related to hurricanes comes through. While November Hill is indeed on a hill, our property lies between two rivers and near a lake, so while we don't usually have to worry about flooding on our farm, the roads surrounding us are often in flood advisory zones when we get heavy rain.

For those not familiar with North Carolina, we have many big trees: oak, pine, tulip poplar, maple, etc., and the combination of heavy rain with high winds can increase the chances of these big friends toppling. Years back when Fran came inland we listened to the roaring of wind all night and got up to a landscape completely obscured by fallen trees. Our basement was flooded. We had no power for two weeks and had to walk to the local large grocery store which became a distribution point for bottled water. We had a toddler and a cat then, so there wasn't as much prep nor was the power outage nearly as difficult as it would have been with all our animals now.

This time of year, when hurricanes head our way, or look like they might head our way, I stock up on bottled water for humans, cats, and Corgis, as well as cat and dog food, human food that won't spoil and doesn't need to be cooked, and any batteries we need to power things like flashlights, etc.

I monitor the devices (iPad, iPhones) and keep batteries charged.

I fill the bathtubs with water to use for flushing toilets in case of power loss.

For the barn residents, our horses, pony, and miniature donkeys, I stock up on bagged feed and hay. Closer to the time the hurricane approaches I make sure every water trough is full of clean, fresh water. I fill all the buckets and keep them full in case we lose power. I make sure the water storage tank in our feed room is clean and full.

I have a wish list of things I'd like to have in place for power outages in general, but especially for hurricanes:

A whole-house generator.

A hand pump installed on our well, so that even if we lose power and thus the well pump, we can get water out.

Extra stall mats, shavings, and buckets for our garage, in case I ever decide to move the horses there for safety. I think this would only be true for truly extreme weather and obviously weather we could predict with enough time to safely move the horses from barn to house. This would also probably necessitate doing some practicing so they would be used to the drill and not alarmed by the garage doors being raised/lowered. Now that the barn roof is so secure this goes further down my wish list!

The thing that used to be on the wishlist which is now done:

New barn roof with hurricane clips! I'm so grateful we were able to get this done this year. The hurricane clips make it much less likely the roof will rip off during a tornado or high winds. Since our horses generally weather the storms in the barn this is important - our vet told us years ago that he sees many more injuries in storms due to flying debris hitting/cutting horses than he sees horses injured inside the barn, ASSUMING the barn is in good shape and is well-built.

We do not lock our horses in but with their shelters on both sides of the barn they can walk in and out and they seem very happy to stand in the stalls and keep their eyes on the storm.

We also have a good chainsaw and I make sure we have gas for it prior to a hurricane. It's essential for clearing fallen trees from fences, roads, etc.

Our hot water heater, stove, and heat are powered by our propane tank, but only the stove can actually be used when the power is out. Matches are essential for lighting the stove and also the wood stove if we need heat, which isn't usually the case since hurricane season is well before the cold hits here.

This year there's a new item on my to be done list that sadly hasn't been done yet and is too late for Irma:

A good tree trimming of the big oak adjacent to our house, the tree limbs overhanging the barn, and some fenceline branch trimming. This is going to require a professional with special equipment. The company I got an estimate from mid-summer turned out not to be the right people for our needs and I haven't had a chance to find a new one yet.

Sending out thoughts for safe passage for this upcoming storm and to those still reeling from Harvey.