When seconds count: Horse rescue founder shares tips on how to quickly evacuate horses

BLACK FOREST, Colo. (KOAA) — When seconds count during an evacuation, people think about grabbing the most important things. But when your precious cargo weighs more than a few tons, a bigger plan is needed.

Amid windy, dry conditions prone to causing fire to spread, people I spoke with in eastern El Paso County say the same thing, getting important records and making sure animals are ready to evacuate.

While a loyal dog or even a friendly barn cat is much easier to load in a car, horses present a unique challenge during emergency evacuations.

"You can't wait an hour for one horse to load, you have to load all of them pretty quickly," said Lanya Clinard, founder of Safe Landing Horse Rescue.

When it comes to loading horses during a fire evacuation, Clinard says it's very possible to get all horses out safely. They just need to be "trailer trained."

"You gotta take them to the vet, you're moving, you're evacuating, you want to ride them, they gotta know how to get on and off no problem," said Clinard.

She says how to load onto and off a trailer is the first thing she teaches untrained horses when they arrive at the rescue. During my visit, she demonstrated how quickly she could load Lucy onto one of her trailers. It took less than three minutes.

If you don't have a trailer, make sure you have a neighbor or contact with one.

"You have to stay calm because they do feel your emotion," said Clinard.

Though she has yet to evacuate her rescue, which was founded after the Black Forest Fire, she says that damaging 2013 fire inspired many of her neighbors to come up with a plan.

"There were a lot of people who weren't able to move their horses, so they had to let them go," said Clinard.

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