Flood necessitates evacuation of 15 Brookhaven Farm horses

The Feb. 14 flooding necessitated the evacuation of 15 horses from Brookhaven Farms.

The 10-acre horse farm is bisected by Ostrich Farms Creek, which overflowed during the rainstorm.

“The creek took over the back side of my ranch,” Teri Cagle, owner of Brookhaven Farms, said.

Nearly half of the farm’s acreage is between Ostrich Farms Creek and South Mission Road.

“It had already taken over the whole front,” Cagle said. “It washed away so much of the dirt. When that little creek turns into a raging river, it’s amazing what it can do in a matter of minutes.”

Cagle expected to replace approximately 1,000 cubic yards of dirt. Some of that dirt had supported stalls, arena fences and other equestrian facilities.

“They have nothing under there,” Cagle said.

Approximately 20 horses were on each side of Ostrich Farms Creek. Thirteen horses on the east side and four horses on the west side lost their stalls due to the floods.

“It looks like a war zone,” Cagle said.

The equestrian community answered Cagle’s call for help.

“It turned into a community that just started showing up with horse trailers,” Cagle said. “It was amazing how people reacted and stepped up to help.”

Emergency personnel allowed the evacuated horses to be transported along South Mission Road.

“We had first responders stopping traffic so we could get horses into trailers,” Cagle said.

The replacement of dirt will be complemented by the rebuilding of damaged and displaced facilities.

“We’re just doing the best we can right now,” Cagle said.