A horse stands in its stall as a wildfire driven by strong winds burns in the background in Moorpark, California December 3, 2006. REUTERS

I hope they got this poor thing out of there. Anyone know anything about this?

When the fires raged in Los Alamos many years ago, horseowners were trailering their horses down the hill in droves. I was living in the nearby Pojoaque Valley at the time and had one equine refugee in my barn. A little Paso Fino gelding. The skies above us were red for a good couple of days. I've never seen anything like it. Some horse owners left their horses up there, hoping the fire would pass by. It did, but the reams of smoke didn't. A lot of horses died of smoke inhalation. I would turn my horses loose and let them at least have a go at survival on their own before I ever left them in that kind of situation.

Living in this dry, arid place, we always have a plan ready during the fire season for the evacuation of all of our animals.