The flood situation in Lower Saxony and Bremen has been tense for several weeks. In Lilienthal, right on the border between the two countries, is the Veltenhof, from which 73 horses had to be evacuated from knee-deep water on the night of December 26th to 27th.
Even before Christmas, some areas in Germany were struggling with constant rain and saturated soils that can no longer absorb water. “The situation got worse at Christmas,” reports Iris Borchers from Veltenhof in Lilienthal. The paddocks at the paddock boxes were already wet and there was also water on a paved path to these boxes – it was threatening to run into the stables.
All attempts to drain the water through the ground were unsuccessful. Iris Borchers organized sandbags that she placed in front of the paddock doors. She put the horses from the affected boxes in a stable area that was not supposed to be rented out until the new year and was therefore still empty. Measures that initially seemed sufficient for the stable operator.
On the night of December 26th to 27th, Iris Borchers looked into the stable again at 1 a.m. – and suddenly found herself almost knee-deep in water. Together with her partner, she set off on the tractor to the neighboring fire department. Then the decision was made: the entire stable must be evacuated immediately. Iris Borchers contacted all the adjusters and people she thought she could reach and that they could help. She also contacted her superior, Wilken Treu from the Hanover Association, who enabled her to accommodate the majority of the horses in the association’s stables.
“My biggest fear was that a horse would bolt.”
A total of 73 horses were evacuated overnight, including pregnant mares and weanlings. “I didn’t want to lead the mares and weanlings through the water, so they were loaded and the trailers were pulled with the tractor,” reports Iris Borchers. The water was already too high for cars. All the other horses were led in small groups up the long driveway, through the water, to the road, where they were loaded and driven away. “My biggest fear was that a horse would bolt, pull everyone else along with it, and then run through the water in the dark and no longer see a fence or a ditch,” says the stable operator. “Somehow I got it all organized at that moment and it worked, but I can’t even say anymore how I did it.”
Of the 73 horses, 40 were accommodated at the Hanoverian Association that night. There are currently 30 horses from Veltenhof there. Accommodation for the remaining horses was organized privately by the owners and is spread across surrounding stables.
The Ellernhof in Bremen-Oberneuland as it actually looks. (© private)
Internal stable conversion at the Ellernhof in Bremen-Oberneuland
The water is also standing around the Ellernhof in Bremen-Oberneuland, run by Friedhelm and Nicola Behrens. Some horses have already had to move within the farm and are now temporarily housed in the machine hall. In addition, they were able to take in 25 cattle that had to leave their stable.
Accommodating the horses is not a big problem, but paddocks and pastures are under water. The horses have not been given any exercise for twelve days and only get their daily exercise by riding or walking.
So the horses are dry on the Ellernhof, but things are different with the hay storage. The hall in which the roughage is stored is under water. “The lower bales are probably soaked with water,” says Friedhelm Behrens. He estimates the damage at around 400 to 500 bales, which can no longer be fed. However, this can only be assessed accurately once the water has gone again. “But everything can be replaced,” says Friedhelm Behrens. What concerns him is rather the future. The Wümme lowlands in rural Bremen and the neighboring areas of Lower Saxony are flooded from time to time, especially in winter. However, the flood that the region is currently experiencing should not become normal. “It’s good to know how helpful people are right now, there’s no shortage of that. But the most important thing is that we not only deal with the flood now, but that we find solutions for the future,” emphasizes the farmer.
The Ellernhof during the flood. (© private)
Residential building on Veltenhof was also affected
The water is still standing on the Veltenhof. There is no electricity and you can only get around wearing fishing pants or on a tractor. Iris Borchers, her partner, her children and her mother are accommodated elsewhere. “My mother’s house is a little lower down,” reports Borchers. “It’s destroyed downstairs. We’re currently trying to dry out the house so much that the coming frost doesn’t cause any more damage.”
It is currently not possible to predict when Iris Borchers and her family will move back to the Veltenhof and the horses will be able to move into their boxes again. St.GEORG will accompany the process at Veltenhof over the next few weeks and will continue to report.
also interesting Tina GummarVolunteer
Joined the St.GEORG editorial team as a volunteer in March 2023. Comes from a horse family, has watched her grandfather’s foals grow up, broken them in, trained them, presented them at tournaments and sold them. Successful in jumping competitions class M2*. Training module at the Academy for Journalism, expertise in young horse training and training theory.
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2024-01-05 15:37:08
#Bremen #surrounding #areas #Stables #water
