Texas

Like many of you, I watched the news coverage of the power-grid disaster during recent severe weather in the State of Texas. I also subscribe to a variety of equestrian blogs. Many of the blog authors happen to reside in Texas. My email inbox was eerily empty this past week. I assume that all of those bloggers were affected by this event.

Each disaster is different. I can’t pretend to know what this event in Texas has been like for the horse owners there. Or what the continuing fall out is and will be. I do know that I have experienced extended power outages during ice-storms in the Midwest where I was stuck at home with no heat or water. I had a pipe burst during a power outage causing extensive home damage. I also evacuated ahead of a hurricane when I lived in the South.

I know all of those events were extremely stressful, expensive and with lasting consequences. Even considering they happened to me pre-pandemic. I wrote a previous blog post detailing some of my experiences with the hurricane evacuation at https://thebackyardhorseblog.com/2020/09/14/severe-weather-preparation-resources-from-the-horse-com/.

I did receive one post this weekend from the Straight From The Horse’s Heart blog. The creator, RT Fitch, is an author and wild horse advocate. I follow his blog to keep up to date with various happenings in the movement to protect wild horses, something of deep interest to me. You can read his most recent blog post at https://rtfitchauthor.com/2021/02/20/thawing-out-in-texas-sort-of/.

As the immediate crisis abates, we will hear news from those horse folks who live in Texas or other affected areas. As the news cycle loses interest in the Texan crisis and moves on to other events, remember that the effects of these events can linger.

If you don’t know anyone in Texas to directly assist, please consider donating to the Fleet of Angels hay relief fund. Fleet of Angels provides assistance to horse owners during natural disasters and other emergency situations. If you know of someone struggling to feed their horses, you can urge them to apply for assistance. If you are in a position to help, you can donate money to the hay fund. Go to their website at

https://www.fleetofangels.org/

Are you aware of other resources for Texan horse owners? If so, please note them in the comments section below. You never know when someone needing assistance (or someone with resources to share) will stumble upon the information you provide at just the right time.