JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Hundreds of horses that evacuated to Jacksonville during Milton are heading back home.
Jacksonville Equestrian Center had the largest number of horses since 2017, according to Heather McDowell, the center's office manager. She said more than 300 horses were kept safe there.
“We can take up to 395 total,” McDowell said.
McDowell said as far as reservations go, the center reached capacity several times.
“You can see they tie the tags under their manes so in case they get out and get lost during the storm, they have a way to identify them and get them back to their owners,” McDowell explained.
Crystal Jordan was at the center Friday with her three children, checking on her horse, Nonchalant.
“That’s my number one baby, then my kids come next!” Jordan said.
Jordan said it was Nonchalant’s first time evacuating for a potential hurricane.
“It was crazy,” she said. “Everyone was coming from all different places. All this was full, the horses are neighing. There was one kind of jumping up trying to look at the other horse. I was like, ‘Look at them.’”
Catherine Yudow, who owns CY Equestrian, helped transport 40 horses to the Jacksonville Equestrian Center from a farm in St. Johns County. That farm now has ponds that weren’t there before Milton and Yudow said they will have to pause some activities until the farm dries out.
“This is the most flooded that it has been since I’ve been here and I’ve been riding here since I was nine years old,” Yudow said.
Yudow said she had to make sure her horse, Quinn, would be safe during the storm.
“Just like you wouldn’t leave your cat or dog out in the storm, you wouldn’t leave your best friend out too,” she said.
McDowell said it feels good to be able to help people during such a stressful time.
“They’re already going through so much having to leave their homes and not knowing if they’re gonna have anything to come back to,” she said. “So being able to see how grateful they were, it just warms your heart.”
McDowell wanted to remind people the center is open year-round to keep people’s horses safe during severe weather.