Emergency Evacuation Plan
1. Be contactable
Have your contact details on your gate and in your emergency red box at your stables. Get to know your neighbours and give them your number, your first call about a fire nearby could be from one of them warning you about the danger.
2. Have an evacuation plan
Know where you will take your horses if they have to leave. Identify a friend or have a local livery yard available that can take them in. This may have to be in a lorry or trailer. Practise loading your horse so you know they will be able to leave. Have a back up person that can do this for you if you are away and cannot get there.
3. Defend in place
If the horses cannot be evacuated, they may have to be let loose. Make sure they are identifiable, this could be by microchip, freeze mark, id tags plaited into their manes, phone numbers written on hooves with permanent marker etc. Have up to date side view photos of your horses including any obvious markings that can help identify them.
Risk assess your property, the horses may be ok in a menage or the field with the least amount of grass as there will be minimal fuel for the fire, however the horses may panic when they see the fire and smoke coming closer. The largest open area is best, but fences may need to be cut and the horses set free.
DO NOT rely on the emergency services evacuating your horses. They will be firefighting and trying to stop it effecting your animals however they have to prioritise life safety.
4. Be prepared yourself and practise your plan
Have a checklist of everything you will need to take with you during evacuation, this could include equine passports, hay, water, feed and medication for the horses etc. If you have a trailer, be able to hitch it by yourself. Your chosen route to leave could be closed off so try and check before you leave and have an alternative. Be able to reverse your trailer or lorry in case you have to turn around!
5. Stay informed
· Sign up to the UK emergency alerts and local news alerts
· Follow your local fire service and local authority social media platforms
· Look out for weather warnings on the met office weather app, pay attention to heat and wind conditions.
· Join local equine social media groups
DON’T LET A REAL EVENT BE YOUR FIRST TIME PRACTISING! HAVE A PLAN, NOW!