Maryland horses fared well during Hurricane Isabel’s sweep across the state Sept. 18-19 and in the aftermath. Rob Burk, executive director of the Maryland Horse Industry Board in Annapolis, Md., believes that due to advance warning and education on disaster planning, Maryland horse owners were well prepared for the arrival of the storm, which ended up striking the state with less intensity than was predicted.

Both Burk and Allan Schwartz, vice president and co-founder of Days End Horse Farm Rescue (DEHFM) in Lisbon, Md., said horses at one farm in Maryland experienced injuries as a result of flooding following a rainstorm early this week. According to Burk, “Aside from that, all the reports coming in from animal control officers aren’t that remarkable. We didn’t have very many problems, and the people were fairly well prepared ahead of time.” The Maryland Department of Agriculture circulated press releases regarding disaster preparedness before the hurricane, and Burk thinks that these notices and information, which were broadcast via newspapers, radio, and television, helped prevent problems