In other places, the last few days may have been marked by Cinco de Mayo celebrations, or maybe Chocolate Custard, Respect for Chicken or Intergalactic Star Wars Day were appropriately marked. But, for the residents of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, a community of just over 61,000, the beginning of May has been a nightmare. A wildfire began on May 1, and by May 3rd, it destroyed about 1600 homes and forced the evacuation of almost 90,000 people as the blaze threatened more neighborhoods and the surrounding areas.
Governments at all levels, many aid agencies and others are contributing what they can to both fight the fire, which as I write still burns out of control, and assisting the residents as they evacuate. Evacuating for many, has meant making quick decisions about what to take and what to leave behind. Many have left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing because the evacuation order left them with no time to leave their jobs and get to their homes. Sadly, this means, along with all their possessions, pets too may have been left behind.
The Fort McMurray area has several riding stables and there are private horse owners who keep their horses on small acreages. This isn’t really horse country. The climate is ‘sub-arctic’ and the terrain is rugged. There is plenty of bog, and crown lands - owned by the federal government (hence the people of Canada) are wilderness. But there is a small horse community. And, with the wildfires raging, they like so many others, are making hard decisions.
Those with a truck and trailer at their disposal, may join the other residents to take to the road - a single highway connects them to Edmonton to the south. Clearwater Horse Club, a stable with about 100 horses, according to their Facebook page, has evacuated all of their horses with trailering help from other nearby facilities. On Twitter and Facebook, those who can offer space for any livestock are doing so.
Others have saddled up, and ponied extra horses out of harm's way. One photo that has gone viral shows a young girl riding her horse alongside bumper-to-bumper traffic while her father trailered their two other horses to safety. With the snarled traffic caused by those getting out of the area, horse owners found themselves waiting for trailers that weren’t going to make it in time. Some reached what they thought was a safe place, only to re-evacuated.
Fort McMurray teen rides horse out from wildfire evacuation
Yet others have had to turn their horses loose and hope for the best. The advice given to those who have no way to move their horses has been to fill the water troughs and open the gates. Owners are relying on the survival instincts of their horses to see them through the crisis. And they are turning to social media to reach out to anyone who might give them news about their animals.
Even after the flames are extinguished horse owners will not be through with the fire. Horse’s lungs are very delicate and horse owners in the area have had to deal with smoke inhalation damage after a smaller fire went through the area a few years ago. If structures are lost and pastures damaged, there will be plenty of hard work in the months ahead.
So while our hearts go out to everyone affected by the fires roaring through Fort McMurray, it’s a good time to consider how we would handle a similar situation. Recent ice storms, floods and other natural disasters have shown us that we need to be ready for emergencies. We need to know how to look after ourselves, and how to do the best we can for our four-legged companions.
Canada is a huge country, so those of us on the Eastern side aren't greatly effected by happenings on the other side. That said, I don't know anyone who isn't concerned about the fire and hasn't made some sort of effort. I've donated to the Red Cross, although some have gone into action and filled their trucks and trailers with water and other supplies and headed west. People there are slowly returning to their homes, and like so many have had to do after a disaster of this type, are already rebuilding. And, I'm sure there are lots of lessons in how to cope learned along the way.
Canada is a huge country, so those of us on the Eastern side aren't greatly effected by happenings on the other side. That said, I don't know anyone who isn't concerned about the fire and hasn't made some sort of effort. I've donated to the Red Cross, although some have gone into action and filled their trucks and trailers with water and other supplies and headed west. People there are slowly returning to their homes, and like so many have had to do after a disaster of this type, are already rebuilding. And, I'm sure there are lots of lessons in how to cope learned along the way.
My horse Phoenix was a barrel horse I got from Fallon Taylor. My story with my pride and joy came to a close on April 26, 2013. The day before was a beautiful day and it was warm enough that I didn't even have to wear a jacket. Th ...
January was a horrible month in the province I’m in, with several stable fires making headlines. The first was a stable of forty-two horses, mainly Standardbreds. Fire crews were helpless to rescue the horses trapped inside. Less ...
Governments at all levels, many aid agencies and others are contributing what they can to both fight the fire, which as I write still burns out of control, and assisting the residents as they evacuate. Evacuating for many, has mea ...
In the path of one blaze was Rancho Padilla in Tujunga Canyon, a family owned ranch where 30 of the 60 horses stabled there were lost to the fire. There was no time to evacuate the horses, as the buildings were already on fire whe ...
In North America at least, stories from the California fires are dominating news feed. With dozens of human fatalities and many more missing and unaccounted for, thousands of homes and other buildings burned and over 200,000 acres ...
Kerala is a province on the lower south western shore of India. The horse she’s riding appears to be a Marwari horse, developed in the northern regions of India. While you have to admire her sticky seat, we’ll reserve comment on t ...
After only two days of racing another horse has suffered fatal injuries at Santa Anita racetrack. Santa Anita was shut down March 5 and during the shut down, investigations into why twenty-two horses suffered fatal break downs sin ...
If you’re building box stalls, you’re going to need doors. There are several of choices in material and design, and it all depends on your budget and taste. Many of us will have to build or buy basic wooden doors, but there are ot ...
What is the difference really, beside the gait at which they race? The biggest difference between a trotter and a pace may be something we can’t see. Horses can be trained to pace, but with mixed success. The natural tendency of a ...
Horse racing has resumed at Santa Anita Park. Racing was temporarily suspended following the fatal breakdowns of twenty-two horses in less than sixteen weeks. That is over double the number that died in the same period last year. ...
Beezie Madden continues to prove she is the queen of show jumping. Her second World Cup win at the 40th Longines FEI World Cup Final in Paris followed three days of competition with nearly faultless rides. She won both day one and ...
Horse owners in Alabama and other nearby states are in angry and saddened after being betrayed by a vet student who had promised to care for them. The owners were not able to look after their horses themselves, and entrusted Fallo ...
A few weeks ago, a startup called HoofStep contacted me about a kickstarter campaign they had begun to launch their product. HoofStep uses Artificial Intelligence to monitor your horse 24x7. By using a halter-like harness that car ...
By 
