As rescue teams search for hundreds of people who remain unaccounted for after floods ravaged parts of Colorado, horse owners are working to rescue at-risk animals and care for those displaced or stranded by the flooding.

High flood waters have been wreaking havoc on areas of northern Colorado since rains began falling last Wednesday (Sept. 11). CNN reported Sept. 17 that the flooding has left six people dead, hundreds more unaccounted for, and nearly 18,000 homes damaged across the state.

On Sept. 18 the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) issued an e-mail statement on the flooding and its impact on animal health.

“The area impacted is comprised of important agricultural-producing counties," CDA Deputy Commissioner Ron Carleton said in the statement. "Livestock appear to be relatively safe at this point but there are a tremendous amount of crops under water. It is too early to anticipate how this will affect agriculture. We need to let the flooding recede to see what lies beneath the water but there will, no doubt, be some losses and long-term effects