Horse owners watched vigilantly as Hurricane Irene approached the Eastern Seaboard late last week, making preparations to protect their animals and their property. But now that the storm has passed, authorities are in the process of evaluating the damage caused by the Irene.

Several states have been able to preliminarily investigate the damage while others remain without power and the resources needed to make proper evaluations. TheHorse.com is striving to bring you the most up-to-date information regarding the status of the equine industries and horses in the hardest-hit regions and, at press time, had obtained the following information:

Vermont: A report from Reuters indicates that Hurricane Irene brought the worst flooding in more than 80 years to the state of Vermont, and that state officials called the "catastrophic flooding" the worst natural disaster since 1927. The full extent of the damage remains to be evaluated.

"What I can tell you at this time is that Vermont has suffered severe widespread flooding in the wake of Irene, and there are efforts under way at this time to reach out to individuals and organizations within the agricultural sector in order to obtain damage assessments," said Kristen Haas, DVM, Vermont’s state veterinarian. "This effort is made more difficult by the fact that there are widespread power outages and communication capabilities are limited. It will likely be a bit more time before we have a full understanding of the extent of the damage