✓ Emergency Checklist
Fire isn’t the only danger that requires trained first responders. Here is a checklist that also can help in preparing for floods, natural disasters or other emergencies:
❏ Devise a plan to handle a variety of situations, including which members of family or staff will do❏ Hold regular fire drills so everyone is up to speed if there is a real emergency.❏ Be in touch with fire departments, police and first responders in your area to familiarize them with the layout of your farm and livestock.❏ Identify water sources, such as a pool or pond, that can be used by fire fighters.❏ Have working fire extinguishers in the barn, and make sure everyone—employees and boarders—knows where they are and how to use them.❏ Take an inventory of equipment and tack. Make sure every horse is microchipped and that each has a leather halter (nylon halters can burn into their faces) with nametags and contact info.❏ Hang the halters on every stall or at every pasture gate.❏ Never padlock a stall when a horse is inside.❏ Train horses so they can be caught and loaded in a trailer.❏ Once horses are evacuated, close and lock stall doors—and the main doors if the barn has them—so horses can’t run back in as it burns.❏ Have a destination for horses who need to be evacuated.
