Horses and storms

[Kris Givens <givensb@prodigy.net>]

Kristen, I am so sorry about your horse and the boarded horse.  I can't
help but think that there for the grace of God go I.  My friend,
Marilyn, and I were caught in a horrific thunderstorm aprox. 7.5 miles
away from our horse trailers, stuck in a mesquite wooded area. It went
on for 30 to 45 minutes. Rain, hail, and lightning so close it was
deafening.  We could see it hit all around us.  At one point I looked
back and Marilyn, who was holding onto her horse Scout and I was
literally blinded by a bolt that appeared to have hit them.  Thank God
they weren't hit.  I had huddled up against my horse and was thankful
for the helmet I had on.  It was by far the scariest thing I've been
through in awhile. There we were and there wasn't a thing we could do
but wait it out.

Howard, you mentioned putting you horses up when it looks like it is
going to storm.  What to do with my horse has always been a dilemma.  We
have five acres, a big old dairy barn and also a stud pen and small
horse barn, plus another horse barn. ALL barns are metal.  The stud pen
has that big, thick metal pipe and is 8' tall.  So, do I put him in a
metal area that is just begging to be struck by lightning or leave him
alone in the pasture?  I leave him alone in the pasture.  The dairy barn
and the stud pen barns are open to him as a come and go thing.  I think
if I did put him in the stud pen I doubt he'd get in that little barn.
It has been my experience in the past that horses hate the sound of the
rain, hail, etc., hitting on the roof of a metal barn.

One storm an Appaloosa I had once endured, where I could literally see
the hail coming, I ran out and put some grain in the horse barn to lure
him in there.  As soon as the hail hit he ran out of the barn (it too,
was set up in a corral as a come and go basis) and stood out there in
the hail.  I felt totally helpless then.

If you are lucky enough to have the type of barn that you can totally
shut them up in it would. I can convert and am in the process of doing
so, the dairy barn into a stable.  It has two big open stalls that I
pulled the old doors off of as they were falling down.  (we just bought
this place last March).  I could set it up as a storm area.  But still,
it is a metal building.  At least the poles are big, telephone poles and
not metal like the stud pen.

Long story short, I am always at a loss as what to do with my large
animals when storms hit.  Imagine, too, I have to herd in my turkeys as
the stupid things will drown watching it rain! That is no lie!!