Thunderstorms - To Turnout or Not Turnout?

Horse people know that when severe weather threatens having horses adds a whole other aspect of preparedness that needs to be considered.  Most everyone has heard what actions you personally should take when tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are expected: 

-Do you have that interior ground floor level room ready to be occupied in the event of a tornado warning?  Check. 
-Is everyone in your family accounted for and familiar with the chosen sheltering room?  Check. 
-Are your dogs/cats/birds/turtles (whatever!) easily transported to or already in your room of choice?  Check. 
-Can I get my horse into the house and if not into the interior room at least away from windows?  Probably. 
-Is this a good idea?  Probably not!

So what do you do with your horses when severe weather is expected?  This is something that I've thought a lot about through the years as it's not just my horses that my family was responsible for but our boarders horses.  Unfortunately, there's not a black and white answer to this.  Like most things when dealing with horses, a lot of preparation and a little common sense is involved!  Hopefully, the following information will help you tailor a weather preparedness plan specific to your horses' needs and give you piece of mind when the next thunderstorms roll through. 

Photo credit: Paul Suffern from the DC, Virginia and Maryland derecho event that took place the late evening of June 29, 2012.  Our horses were in the barn for this!

Preparations

One thing to definitely keep in mind while reading through the rest of this article is that if you can hear thunder then lightning can strike where you are.  Thunderstorms are not the time to be riding a horse and at the first sound of thunder or when you know a storm is approaching is the time to head back to the barn (or already be in the barn)! 

There are several things you can do prior to a severe convective (weather people like to use the word convection when talking about thunderstorms) event that make potential power losses less traumatic and make dealing with storm damage easier.  Here's the check list that I run through before severe weather:

• Do I have enough water or a water source in case we lose power? 

Like most barns, our place is fed by well water and a pump, which does not work without electricity.  We do have a generator but like to have stored water for 48 hours just in case.  You can use pond water if you have a pond but also have several 5 gallon gas cans reserved to hold JUST water.  You can get them at Target, Southern States or pretty much anywhere.  Just make sure you write on the can that it's only to be used for water!  Also, filling up outside water troughs to the brim is a good idea.

• Do I have enough hay and feed to make it several days?
• Do I have enough gas for my generators if I'm planning on using them?
• Do I have 10-20 spare fence boards and a few 4x4s in case of damage?

If storms cause damage, lots of people will be running to Home Depot so they can make repairs.  It's nice to have spare fencing so you don't have to go to the store with everyone else!

• Are the horse trailers parked away from trees? 

We had a branch come very close to hitting one of the trailers parked at our farm one time.  Ever since then, I've tried to leave them away from under large limbs when parking.

Turnout

Turnout during severe weather is a situation where you need to consider your horses' specific living conditions.  It may be better for someone a mile down the road to leave their horses out while it's best for your horse to stay in side.  If you have a large field with a very small number of trees it could be best to leave the horses outside.  That way they are not trapped inside the barn if the structure to the barn is compromised.  It's even better if there is a run-in in the field where the horses can be sheltered from hail and flying debris on three sides.

Our farm is located in central North Carolina and most of our fields have a lot of trees that the horses like to stand under when it's raining.  For our specific situation, I feel like they are safer inside the barn away from flying debris then outside.  We've had numerous trees fall down inside the fields during storms so when we know thunderstorms are likely (and especially with severe storms) we keep them in their stalls. 

A major consideration when deciding to keep your horse up or turn them out is your horse's temperament.  Is your horse used to being stalled or outside all the time?  A horse used to 24 hour turnout will be pretty unhappy being put inside for 12 hours.  I say 12 hours because turnout decisions most of the time have to be made at morning and evening feedings.  Most jobs don't let you run home to put your horse inside whenever a thunderstorm is approaching!  Horses used to being out all the time could hurt themselves running around on slick ground with pent-up energy when put back outside.  A horse that's used to being in a stall and in regular work will be find inside.  Communicating your weather plan to other caregivers to your horse is also important.  You don't want your house sitter having to deal with a mess when you're out of town!

Weather Information

So where do you find information about severe weather that will help in your daily horse care routine?  The United States National Weather Service has 122 offices with about 20 forecasters per office across the United States http://www.weather.gov/.

 Photo Credit: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/

Each office has forecasters that work around the clock every day of the year.  They are the ones who put out the Watches and Warnings you hear on your weather radio, TV, smart phones and radio!  When you visit http://www.weather.gov/ go to the top left corner and type your zip code and you'll be taken to a page with a forecast for your specific area.  All active warnings, watches and advisories are posted underneath a red bar above the forecast graphics.  The image to the left below shows a circled flood warning and the one to the right a product called the 'Hazardous Weather Outlook' (or HWO).  The HWO is a good thing to look at as it will mention the possibility of severe thunderstorms several days in advance.

 

 Photo Credit: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tbw/ and http://www.weather.gov/akq/ 

Your local news stations are a great resource for severe weather!  Make sure to watch your local news as the National Weather Service and media communicate frequently.  A lot of local news stations have weather apps for your phone so be sure to check on that as well.  

One last weather resource is something called the 'Convective Outlook' issued by the Storm Prediction Center based out of Norman, OK: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/.  They will highlight out to 3 days the potential for severe thunderstorms to develop.  There are 4 levels that you will see, each signified by a different color.  Green is called 'SEE TEXT' and means the area is being watched because conditions could develop that may lead to severe thunderstorms.  Yellow is a 'SLIGHT' risk and means there's an elevated chance that severe weather may occur.  Red is a 'MODERATE' risk and means the situation is pretty serious.  Severe storms are expected to develop and people need to pay very close attention to the weather.  Purple is 'HIGH' risk, which you see maybe once or twice a year.  When you see a high risk for your area, it's an extremely dangerous situation.  Definitely activate your severe weather plan!  

I hope this information has been helpful or at least will ease your mind the next time storms affect your area!  Please send an email to equuswx@gmail.com if you have any questions and visit http://www.equuswx.com/!