Those who live in areas with Tornados..

Not sure where to put this so I will put it here and the mods can move it if they see fit.

If you live in an area prone to tornados do you put your horses up in the barn or leave them out if you have that option. I have heard that you should leave them out but I guess in the grand scheme of things if it is a big one then it won't really matter?

I only have two stalls. I put mama and baby in one and leave the other two out because the other stall is being used for food storage.

Just wondering as we have had some really bad storms...thank God for the rain because being in west Texas we need it...but have had some super high winds (60mph) and tornado warnings.

Very few people around here including myself ever stall our horses when it storms. Considering the ranches here that have 30 or more horses it wouldn't be feasible to try to stall every horse every time bad weather rolled through which in Oklahoma that's a lot. As long as they have somewhere they can go at their own choosing to get out of the weather I feel that is fine. I'd rather see them loose instead of being stuck in a barn that blows apart with no where to go or get out from underneath it.

My riding instructor one told me a story about the pony I was riding for lessons at the time. Several (20+) years before, when the pony was a yearling, some rough storms went through, a couple of tornadoes. My instructor was out of town for the day and had left the pony in her stall. They got back, and the barn was a wreck, the poor pony was standing in what was left of her stall, the barn in pieces around her. Not a scratch on the pony, fortunately. Now, as the owner of a large boarding barn, my instructor puts all the horses outside in her biggest pasture when severe weather comes knocking. I keep my horse at home, and we are fortunate to have enough land that we could turn him loose in our biggest (40 acre, give or take, and with deep gullies and hills to get behind) cattle pasture and he could probably keep himself pretty safe. Luckily we've never had weather bad enough to need to do that.

Definitely open space if possible

I forgot to add that we only have about 2 1/2 acres so if something were to come through there is really no where to go. Oh and the run in shed is attached to the barn where they go in bad weather.

Keep them out. I live right smack dab in the middle of Tornado Alley and have always been taught to keep the horses out in inclement weather (besides snow). If the storm is bad, but it isn't going to rip the roof off, then put them in. But if there is a possibility for a tornado, out they go.

Definitely out, it's also a good idea to attach your information on the halter (name, phone number, ect.) by either writing on the halter, duct tape, ect. That way goodnees forbid your horses get out people will know how to contact you if they find them.

Our family comes first, the horses stay where they are, out or in, depends on the time of day, but the family comes first

When I was a working student at the Eventing/Fox Hunting barn - if a huge storm was coming in, usually there will be weather reports about it, and the Barn Manager was very good at keeping on track of things.

While in Michigan, we rarely get Tornado's, they do hit from time to time.

Anyways - if horses are in when a huge storm is coming, they all got turned out. Usually boarders and Fox Hunters who were at the barn during this time all helped - and getting 30 horses out took faster than it would if it were myself and the BM.

They always went out, or stayed out. That way, they can move and get around if need be.

The pastures all had large run in shelters and huge trees to get into or under if they wanted to, but mostly they stand out eating grass even when getting pelted with the storm.

^haha, Cat and Jack are out no matter what(they have only been up twice during sleet and freezing rain storms) and they will just be grazing when it is hailing outside!