In this episode, Jec talks with Dr. Rebecca Husted, president of Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue, and a past Best Horse Practices Summit presenter. I’m a big fan.

As you’ll discover, Rebecca is a straight talker and someone who is passionate about doing right by the horse in the most critical situations.I first met Rebecca over a decade ago, when I took her days-long TLAER course in Maine. We had academic presentations and worked on several great simulations of emergencies.

I cop to being a stickler when it comes to preparedness. It’s something Jec and I are going to talk about in our next On the Fence episode – as a responsible horse owner, what do you have to know and be good at? What does your horse have to know Rebecca touches on it here: Can you trailer load quickly? Will your horses self-load? Do you own a trailer? Can you drive a trailer? Can your horse stay unbothered tied to the side of a trailer for a llloonnngg time? In pitch dark, can you do everything you need to do with your horse?

Just stuff that’s on the tip of my personal iceberg.

Don’t stress. Just practice. It’s like the little saying I used to repeat to my kids when they were trying to blame me for their stuff: "Your lack of preparation is not my emergency."

I love this episode and hope you do to – have fun checking boxes and don’t be bummed if you identify any shortcomings. Just shore them up.

We thank Pharm Aloe Equine and Lucerne Farms for their continued support. . Pharm Aloe offers aloe pellets and gel and other products to support horses’ GI health, immune system, and other processes. 

Lucerne Farms is a forage company based in Northern Maine. Lucerne has an array of products, with timothy or alfalfa or timothy and alfalfa, with a touch of molasses, or not, for feeding your horses.  Feeding forage is wwaayy better than feeding grain. That’s research based, but of course, your horses will tell you, too.