Equine News from 2005

How to Help Hurricane Horses and Horsemen

BATON ROUGE — In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, much of the media focus has been on the New Orleans Metropolitan area and rightfully so; however, much of the most severe damage occurred in the outlying parishes of St. Tammany, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines. The horses, the horse industry, and the people and businesses that support it in these areas have been absolutely devastated.

The LSU Hurricane Equine Rescue Operation, coordinated by the Equine Health Studies Program of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine and comprised of faculty, staff and students along with countless local veterinarians, equine industry representatives, and volunteers, has worked tirelessly and cooperatively on behalf of the rescue and support of the horses evacuated from these areas. The LSU-led teams have rescued over 350 horses and are well on our way to re-uniting horses and owners. For more information and photos of the rescue efforts, please visit www.LSUEquine.com.

It is important that the equine industry, nationwide, be aware that the most streamline and effective way to provide monetary support to the horses and horse owners affected by Hurricane Katrina is by directing financial support to the grassroots level. Many of these people have lost everything they have worked for in a lifetime. Others in the commercial breeding operations have a devastated market; many have no jobs, risk either losing their livestock and farms, and certainly do not the having monetary means to breed these mares back this coming season. This could be potentially devastating to the Louisiana breeding industry. Assisting the horses and horsemen of Louisiana can best be accomplished by forwarding contributions for the horse rescue operations and horse industry support to the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association (LVMA) Equine Committee.

The LVMA Equine Committee Foundation has established a Hurricane Relief Fund for victims and survivor relief. Those individuals and/or organizations within the horse community that wish to make a difference for horses and horse owners in Louisiana should make their contributions to the LVMA Equine Committee Foundation and note Horse Hurricane Relief in the memo line of their check.

Contributions should be forwarded to:

Dr. Sonny Corley
LVMA Equine Committee Foundation
236 E. Gloria Switch Road
Lafayette, Louisiana 70507

At this time, rescued horses will continue to be housed at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center through the end of this month. At that time it is anticipated that owners will have either identified them and made arrangements for their transport and housing or long term foster care will be identified and implemented.

Many individuals and farms offering assistance have been noted and will be called upon in the future should the need for long term foster care be needed. Until then, owners are encouraged to identify their animals as quickly as possible. Owners who have not yet located their horses are encouraged to go to Barn #4 at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center and check in with a staff member. They will then be directed to begin looking through the remainder of the horses to determine if their horse(s) are there. Having tattoo or microchip numbers, photos or other evidence of ownership will be helpful and necessary to claim their horses.

Currently an adequate volunteer base is in place and sufficient hay, feed, medical and other supplies are on hand. However, the needs of this effort are dynamic. Therefore, the best way to assist the Louisiana horse victims and their owners is to provide a monetary contribution.

Media Contact:
Ky Mortensen
LSU School of Veterinary Medicine
225.578.9590
kmortensen@vetmed.lsu.edu

The mission of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is to provide superior education in veterinary medicine and related fields, to offer a wide range of superior services to the general public and the veterinary medical community, and to maintain a relevant, high-quality research program in basic and applied fields.