Whenever thunderstorms roar across Central Oregon, Chicks Charming Billy, a championship cow-reining horse, goes into a tizzy by jumping and spinning in a series of frantic pirouettes. “Over and over, he’ll jump a good four feet off the ground and twirl,” said his owner, Sarah Resor of Silver Horse Ranch in Bend. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The warm weather that finally arrived to the area means summer thunderstorms will eventually roll in. While many horses do just fine in Mother Nature’s chaos, others get distressed, according to the Equestrian Medical Safety Association in Santa Fe, N.M., and some — like Chicks Charming Billy — get plain excited.

“He doesn’t appear panicked. It’s more like, ‘Gee, this is thrilling!’” said Resor, who boards 40 horses and owns 20 of her own. Even so, when severe thunderstorm warnings are issued in Central Oregon, she makes sure the horses and riders at her ranch are as safe as possible. “I’ve seen storms here really pack a punch.”

Loud noise aside, horses have good reason to get spooked by angry summer weather. Each year in the U.S., flying debris and lightning strikes kill numerous horses and other livestock during tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, according to news reports. Last summer in Jasper, Ga., four championship race horses were killed when lightning struck a drainage pipe near where they had gathered during a storm. Just last month, twisters killed three horses and injured at least a dozen on ranches in Oklahoma.

In fact, in the horse world, weather-related threats are a big enough concern that the American Association of Equine Practitioners established an emergency fund to provide aid to horses “affected by recent storms and natural disasters,” according to its website.

Tornadoes in the High Desert are unusual, but severe thunderstorms are not. Folks who were here in June 2009 probably recall an explosive storm that slammed the area with gusty winds, lightning, golf ball-sized hail, and an inch of rain in 20 minutes, according to the National Weather Service. Additionally, our semi-arid weather commonly produces dust devils — small but vigorous whirlwind tunnels of dust that zip across the ground.

Last spring at Resor’s ranch, a dust devil ripped the roof off a hay shelter. Afterward, she strengthened the attachments to all the sheds’ roofs and sidings, she said.

When a severe thunderstorm is approaching, should horses remain in the pasture or be led inside? There’s no hard and fast rule on this, said veterinarian Jessie Evans of Bend Equine Medical Center. “It depends on the horses’ personalities and what they’re used to. A horse that is typically left outside might injure itself if confined to a stable during a storm,” Evans explained. Conversely, a horse known to panic during storms that is comfortable in a stable should probably be brought indoors, she said.

Two local cases of horses injured during storms stand out in Evans’ mind. One involved a horse treated for multiple lacerations after he ran through a fence made of wood and barbwire. The other was a young horse that broke its nose after getting hit by a hefty tree branch, she said.

And sometimes riders can get in trouble atop horses spooked during storms. Evans recalls when an unexpected storm marched in one day five years ago when she was working as a trail-riding guide at Yellowstone National Park. “We were on a high field with a lot of lightning and thunder around us,” she said. Suddenly, an otherwise mellow horse reared up and galloped away, leaving a dazed tourist on the wet ground. Evans collected the frightened horse and rode him back to the stable, she said. “I had everyone get off and walk their horses back. The fellow who got thrown was all too happy to walk.”

Likewise, Resor, who offers summer horse camp to kids between the ages of 6 and 16, has a hard and fast rule when it comes to thunderstorms and her young student riders. “Dismount and walk. That’s what we’d do. Dismount and walk back.”

Below are tips on how to protect your horse and yourself during thunderstorms, as advised by the Equestrian Medical Safety Association and the National Lightning Safety Institute:

• Remember that a lightning bolt is hotter than the sun, enough to fuse sand into glass, meaning that you and your horse don’t have to get hit directly to get injured or killed.

• Avoid higher elevations, or standing under a large tree or near metal fences or pipes, because lightning seeks the highest and easiest pathways toward the ground.

• Look for large boulders or bushes for shelter on the trail.

• Avoid sheds with metal roofs, which attract lightning and make more noise when pelted by rain or hail.

• Make sure fence posts, building sidings and roofs are securely fastened.