![]() ![]() Many others have cerebral palsy or Down syndrome. The majority of Harmony Farm's riders have some form of autism. Harmony Farms provides alternative therapy for people with disabilities, and is the only center in the county that handles physical, mental and emotional disabilities, Rogan said. "We're going to be about $8,000 to $10,000 in the hole." "This type of situation impacts everything," Rogan said. Without the income from classes, occasional riding clinics or the third barn's rent, Rogan said she's nervous. Since it was drenched, the family has relocated for the month. Rogan rents out the third barn on the property to the original landowners. The previous site was provided free through Duda and the Viera Company. It's also more expensive to run and maintain. The farm moved from its Viera location on Duda Company property north of Space Coast Stadium two years ago, and the new place in Cocoa is bigger and better, Rogan said. Now, the 20 Harmony Farm horses can't leave their stalls, which puts emotional stress on them and financial stress on the farm.īedding and hay are running out, four weeks of lessons are canceled and $800 worth of fencing likely will be destroyed once the water recedes. "It will still be in flood stage into next week, she said. The river is up about 17.1 feet and its receding will be very slow, according to Peggy Glitto, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Melbourne. The geography surrounding the river is marsh and "that's where the water wants to go," he said. John's River Water Management District spokesman Ed Garland. The combination of converging waters, a lazy river-like current and a large amount of runoff from Hurricane Irma overflowed the massive river, according to St. John's River, which is slow-moving and fed by tributaries. The water wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. On top of all that, the motor on the farm's water pump stopped working. Only two of the three barns used to house horses were spared, News 6 partner FLORIDA TODAY reported. The farm was about 10 inches underwater Friday.Īll 14 acres, nine pastures and the covered arena were swamped. "We've been 'flooded' before, from the rain," Rogan said. The real damage came nearly three weeks later, when the not-for-profit, volunteer-based organization's founder Pam Rogan woke up to a call from her employees at the farm, 2205 Pluckebaum Road. Horses were healthy, rain water was being pumped out, and their arena was almost dry. – Harmony Farms in Cocoa got off nearly scot-free from any serious damage or flooding after Hurricane Irma. ![]()
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