Hurricane Florence Update 9/10/2018
Hurricane Florence is bearing down on coastal North Carolina and we know everyone is concerned about the horses, so here is our official update:
As of right now, Currituck County (where the horses live) is only evacuating tourists, but Dare County (Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, Hatteras, etc.) has ordered a mandatory evacuation for all residents and visitors. We are hoping that the storm tracks a little further south, sparing the Outer Banks a direct hit. We are expecting high winds, lots of rain, storm surge, and flooding. Most of our staff lives in Dare County.
The horses have lived on this barrier island for 500 years, and they are well equipped to deal with rough weather. They know where to go to stay high and dry and are probably in better shape right now than most of us humans who are scrambling with final preparations. They are much better off without any help from us; anything we might do in the hopes of “protecting” them would probably end up being more dangerous and stressful for them than the storm.
There are currently 18 rescued horses at our farm in Grandy, and right now our focus is on making sure they are ready to ride the storm out safely. They have shelter, but also the option to stay outside. Just like with the wild horses, their instincts will tell them where to go to be safe. We have a generator, we have filled up all of our extra buckets and water troughs, everyone will have emergency ID braided into their manes, and someone will be staying at the farm during the storm. We believe that it is safer to shelter in place, since the majority of the rescue horses are still very newly tamed, not used to being stalled, and not used to being trailered.
We will keep everyone updated as best we can. Thank you all for your concern and well wishes. We respectfully ask that unless you have an immediate emergency regarding a horse, please refrain from messaging us. We are trying to keep all of our lines of communication open and have very little time to respond to messages right now. If you are in the path of the storm too, please be safe!
