Not so much for the coastal communities. Hurricanes do their most destructive work on the open water and the coastlines, and while it’s wonderful to live near the beach or on the estuaries, you do it here in Florida with one eye on the radar. If a hurricane does hit, the effect can be devastating, and people find themselves in need of help in the aftermath.
“It’s some of the worst devastation I’ve ever seen,” says Louisa Barton, Director of Ocala CEP’s Equine Initiative. “And there are a lot of horse owners who need essentials: Food, hay, water, and shelter. They need to have at least that stress taken off their shoulders while they figure out what to do next and how to get back on their feet again. The last thing they need to be worrying about is feeding and sheltering their horses.”
“There are a lot of horse owners who need essentials: Food, hay, water, and shelter. They need to have at least that stress taken off their shoulders while they figure out what to do next and how to get back on their feet again. The last thing they need to be worrying about is feeding and sheltering their horses.”
– Louisa Barton, Director of Ocala CEP’s Equine Initiative and Showcase REALTOR®
Fort Myers, Englewood, and Venice were pummeled by Ian, with winds up to 150 -170 mph during the storm, and a lot of farms in these South Florida communities are suffering. Here in Ocala, of course, horses are our hearts. This community tends to rally together in support of our four-legged pals not only at home, but wherever we can lend a hand – or a horse trailer. Barton has seen time and again as equestrians leap into action to help fellow horse owners, so she immediately created the Save The Horses GoFundMe, which is already collecting supplies and donations to help these beleaguered coastal communities.
“We felt like someone had to just jump in and get it started,” she explains. “I called Richard Larsen at Larsen Hay and asked if they’d donate, and he gave us $7500 worth of hay initially. Then he doubled it when we found out the devastation was so much worse than anyone expected.”
The GoFundMe page was created, with Vice President Tamara Fleschhaker at the CEP offering the support of the Equine Initiative as a platform for collecting donations, and they got to work organizing and collecting everything from food to bedding and fencing materials and figuring out how to move it South. Drop spots were created and coordinated – such as the one at Florida Horse Park, where GM Jason Reynolds helped with logistics as the supplies were loaded and hauled to the coast.
“There aren’t enough thanks in the world for how everyone leapt in to help, and I’m just so grateful. Even on a good day without hurricane damage to deal with, those areas don’t have the resources we have in the Horse Capital,” Barton remarks. “We’ve delivered supplies to people who have lost literally everything, and there are a lot of horses down there.”
Jiffy Transport, a semi company, donated their rigs, time, and fuel to help with the deliveries. At one point a convoy got stuck on the interstate for a few hours because of the damage and resulting logistical problems of clearing and repairing access points. That was a tense situation, wondering if the supplies would manage to get through in time to the people who needed it badly.
“That was dicey, but we hung in there and made it through, thanks to Betty Bevacqua from Larsen. She was tireless.” Barton says. “The expression on everyone’s faces when the materials and supplies arrived made it worth all of that. They were so relieved.”
“There aren’t enough thanks in the world for how everyone leapt in to help, and I’m just so grateful. Even on a good day without hurricane damage to deal with, those areas don’t have the resources we have in the Horse Capital. We’ve delivered supplies to people who have lost literally everything, and there are a lot of horses down there.”
– Louisa Barton, Director of Ocala CEP’s Equine Initiative and Showcase REALTOR®
The Save The Horses drive is open and active until, Barton says, “we run out of stuff to give them”. They need the aforementioned food and water supplies, but also medicines, stabling and shelter, grooming, saddle and tack, blankets, and any services people can and are willing to donate, such as farriers, veterinarians, transport, and trailers. Currently the GoFundMe is nearly halfway to its $50,000 goal and is also open for donations.
“We’re going to keep going as long as we can,” Barton says. “If the situations were reversed and it was Ocala that had been hit, I know there are communities who would leap to help us. I just feel that it’s a responsibility to pay that forward and help out because we’re in a position to do it, and when you see what a huge burden you’ve lifted from these communities’ shoulders, you know you’ve done the right thing.”
Currently, the greatest needs are help with logistics and transport, water tanks, and fencing of any kind. If you can assist with these, other potential services, or have questions, please contact Louisa Barton at the Ocala/Marion Equine Initiative: Louisa@OcalaCEP.com. Other supplies gratefully accepted are feed, hay, bedding, halters, buckets, medical supplies, fly masks, fly spray, and pet food. All of these items can be dropped at Florida Horse Park , 11008 S Hwy 475, Ocala.