Workshop for horse owners

Kate Carter is the District Technical Officer for Hornsby and an active volunteer in The Oaks Brigade.

Kate has developed a Bushfire Safety program for horse owners that has been welcomed by members of the equestrian community. It was Kate’s course and handout that inspired the new ‘Prepare your horse for bush fire’ brochure, released in late December and now available for order on the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Resources Order Form.

Here is Kate’s story about her community engagement program for horse owners...

Describe the program
The horse program is a two-hour workshop run at the property of a horse owner.

The first part of the program is a presentation/talk. In the second hour the brigade do a property inspection of the house and facilities to give the participant an idea of what to look for and how to improve what they have in regards to bush fire preparation.

What motivated you to start planning a community engagement program/presentation for horse owners?
I was amazed by the number of people we would talk to at various events saying they would stay to protect their horses during a fire. This was extremely worrying as a great number of these people weren’t capable or prepared enough to survive a bush fire. I would try to improve their understanding as they came to our community events, but other NSW RFS members had the same questions and horses and bush fire safety come up at their events, and they didn’t have the answers to give. Being a horseperson myself I knew there were a lot of horse owners out there that needed help, so I decided it was time to do something about it.

Who has been involved in the development of the program?
Firstly I would have to say my manager Mark Sugden was wholly supportive, allowing me to bring something new into the area by way of a workshop designed for horse owners. I engaged the help of one of Hornsby/Ku-ring-gai District Brigades – Arcadia, to host the workshop. The brigade did all the promotion, found a suitable location and assisted on the day. I also discussed the veterinary aspect of my information with my local vet, who specializes in horses.

A big thank you must go out to the NSW RFS Community Engagement Team, who turned my humble little handout into the ‘Prepare your horse for bush fire’ brochure. This will go a long way to making our messages and the workshop more polished and professional.

How many times have you conducted the program so far, and how did it go?
I have helped the Arcadia Brigade to run it once and they are going to target Pony Club and other riding clubs in their area. They now feel comfortable to run the program themselves and have some knowledgeable horse people to do this. The day with Arcadia Brigade went exceptionally well. The participants were very impressed with the workshop and it helped to cement the ideas surrounding the leave early message.

The program is currently going out to some ladies in the Hunter area who are using their contacts in Horse Rescue to deliver it.

Have you had any feedback from the community about the program?
Those that attended the pilot were extremely happy with the workshop. One lady said she had been caught out in the last fires, as it was too late for her to leave. She said she didn’t want to go through that again, and she had come to learn when it was best to leave and what she could use for ‘triggers’. Another lady wanted to know how to best leave the horses, giving them the best chance of survival (too many horses to relocate them). The discussion between the participants and brigade members at the end of the workshop was great and really rewarding. This was a good opportunity for the Brigade to engage closely and build more relationships within their community.

What do you still plan to do?
I have passed the workshop on to some ladies from the Hunter area who have close links with a Horse Rescue group. These ladies are going to run the workshop with their local brigade. I have had enquiries from the Illawarra and some other Fire Mitigation Officers have shown interest. As with all workshops it will evolve as more people present it and tweek it to suit their area. The only stipulation I have is that it MUST be presented by a knowledgeable horse person. Horse people will not listen to someone tell them how to look after their horses if they have no background in horses. The more knowledgeable the presenter, the more participants will listen and make changes.

Describe what has worked really well...
Arcadia Brigade was so willing to present the workshop, and the members involved in the program were fully supported by the ‘non-horsey’ members.

It helped having footage of horses in the Helensburgh fires, as it made it that little bit more real to the participants, especially those that haven’t experienced a bush fire event.

Photo by Ruth Allsopp of Beau and Scoobie

From the Community Engagement Team

Thank you to Kate for all the work she has put into the development of this program. It was great to be able to support Kate with the brochure development and bring in some other volunteers knowledge to help with tweaking the brochure. Great team work all round!