Dozens of horses displaced by flood
MONROE, Wash. -- A relief effort is under way to help local horses that have been displaced by the flood.
More than a hundred horses have been staying at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in the wake of the storm, and it could be months before thousands of horses can return to their fields and barns.
When the storm hit, Josie Owens of Carnation moved 30 horses from their washed-out home to drier ground. The floods destroyed her barn and thousands of dollars' worth of food and supplies for her animals.
"Everything that was in it has been moved, shifted, knocked over. We lost feed. We lost hay. We lost vitamins, supplements," she said. "They just had a sale at Monroe Feed. We stocked up. It's all gone.
Many horse owners buy and store their hay for the winter. If flood waters reached it, it's been reduced to soggy mush.
Owens worries about the well-being of all of her horses, but she's especially concerned bout Foley, who is due to give birth in three weeks.
"Being here is stressful enough, a strange environment," she said. "But being stressed by the weather and by the flooding and by the dirt in the water could cause her to give birth prematurely, which would not be good."
Owens is not alone in her troubles. The storm has affected thousands of horse owners who now face big cleanups and huge uninsured losses. To help these owners, equine rescue organizations have set up a Web site named FlakeSale.com.
"(There are ) barns and paddocks that are flooded, that have dangerous debris in them, that have missing fence posts or dangerous fencing now," said Kalisa Jenne-Fraser of Second Chance Ranch.
Sandra Ritchie of Gold Bar raced to save her mules when flood waters surrounded her home.
"I'm always afraid they're going to freak out and panic," she said. "when we moved them, there was water in the corral already."
Ritchie is thankful her mules have a safe place to stay, at least for now. Because it could be awhile before many animals can return home.
More than a hundred horses have been staying at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in the wake of the storm, and it could be months before thousands of horses can return to their fields and barns.
When the storm hit, Josie Owens of Carnation moved 30 horses from their washed-out home to drier ground. The floods destroyed her barn and thousands of dollars' worth of food and supplies for her animals.
"Everything that was in it has been moved, shifted, knocked over. We lost feed. We lost hay. We lost vitamins, supplements," she said. "They just had a sale at Monroe Feed. We stocked up. It's all gone.
Many horse owners buy and store their hay for the winter. If flood waters reached it, it's been reduced to soggy mush.
Owens worries about the well-being of all of her horses, but she's especially concerned bout Foley, who is due to give birth in three weeks.
"Being here is stressful enough, a strange environment," she said. "But being stressed by the weather and by the flooding and by the dirt in the water could cause her to give birth prematurely, which would not be good."
Owens is not alone in her troubles. The storm has affected thousands of horse owners who now face big cleanups and huge uninsured losses. To help these owners, equine rescue organizations have set up a Web site named FlakeSale.com.
"(There are ) barns and paddocks that are flooded, that have dangerous debris in them, that have missing fence posts or dangerous fencing now," said Kalisa Jenne-Fraser of Second Chance Ranch.
Sandra Ritchie of Gold Bar raced to save her mules when flood waters surrounded her home.
"I'm always afraid they're going to freak out and panic," she said. "when we moved them, there was water in the corral already."
Ritchie is thankful her mules have a safe place to stay, at least for now. Because it could be awhile before many animals can return home.