Enduring Chaos

More than 350 Louisiana horses and mules were rescued after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the Gulf Coast on August 29. Rescuers dealt daily with images of destruction—such as barns full of trapped horses that didn’t survive the storm surge.
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More than 350 Louisiana horses and mules were rescued after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the Gulf Coast on August 29. Rescuers dealt daily with images of destruction—such as barns full of trapped horses that didn’t survive the storm surge. Some horses simply weren’t able touch the ground in the nine feet of sludge that rose around them when levees broke.

But amid the destruction, there were also stories of triumph. Many horses that were turned out to fend for themselves were able to get to high ground. Horses and cattle were found together grazing atop levees that became islands of refuge; others remained close to home even without food or clean water, needing someone to save them. A few were found camped out in front of a feed store, waiting for someone to bring out dinner.

Organization arose from chaos and necessity, and there were numerous unnamed heroes who risked their own health and safety to brave contaminated waters, sometimes impassable roads, and the indescribable misery around them to make a difference in the lives of Southern Louisiana horses and their owners.

Louisiana Battered, Not Beaten

Bonnie Clark, president of the Louisiana Equine Council, and other horse industry officials earlier this year planned locations for equine staging areas in case of a hurricane. “When the storm hit (Aug. 29), we hung out for about three days because we couldn’t do anything—the state police wouldn’t let anyone down (into affected areas) because of the water and the general situation,” Clark said. “I got a call on Thursday morning (Sept. 1) from Dr. (Martha) Littlefield (DVM), the assistant state veterinarian, and she said we were going to have the first load of horses brought in to Lamar-Dixon” by area veterinarians. Lamar-Dixon is a large expo center in Gonzales, La., that eventually became home to thousands of animals, including 364 horses.

Clark and Louisiana State University (LSU) field veterinarian Dennis French, DVM, arrived at Lamar-Dixon before the first load of horses and sized up the situation. “We decided we needed hay, we needed buckets…we had nothing here, so we started getting all this stuff together

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