After the ice storm, homeowners no doubt have learned some new survival skills. Karen Kersting learned just how useful empty cat litter boxes can be.

As many scrambled to find generators and heaters for their homes during the ice storm and its aftermath, Kersting had another concern. She was responsible for the well-being not only of her family but also the 15 horses and three ponies at the UpReach Therapeutic Riding Center in Goffstown, where she is the executive director.

With the power out, water could not be pumped from the well. The outage came less than a day after the center had installed a new well system, to replace one that had failed a week earlier.

“It was very discouraging to have been through all that and knowing we should be able to walk in and have water,” Kersting said.

Because of the problems with their well, the staff at UpReach had stocked water in barrels at the barn where the horses are. But after one day, the supply became low as the horses took in their daily average of 12 gallons of water. Kersting said she had to figure out a way to bring more water to the horses from her New Boston house which was running on a generator.

A few weeks earlier, Kersting had had an argument with her husband, who was tired of tripping over empty litter boxes she insisted on keeping in their basement. With about a dozen of the boxes in the basement, the Kerstings had more than enough for the five cats they own, but Kersting said for some reason she thought they should not be thrown away.

“There was a husband-wife conversation about why we wanted to keep all these empty kitten litters down in our basement where they were just taking up space,” she recalled. The Saturday after the ice storm the answer finally dawned on her.

“All of the sudden it came, ‘Ah hah,’” Kersting said. “I have empty kitten litter boxes … and litter boxes with lids.”

On Saturday she made several trips from her New Boston home to the riding center, using the 5-gallon cat litter boxes to bring water to thirsty horses. Even so, it was not enough for them. The riding center made up the difference thanks to the generosity of Larry Brown, the owner of Goffstown Ace Hardware store, who let her refill her water barrels at his store, according to Kersting.

On Sunday, Dec. 14, power was restored at UpReach and only a few of its therapeutic riding classes had to be canceled during the crisis, according to Kersting. And, as for the litter boxes, she said she is now more determined than ever to hold on to them.

“The thought is that if I keep them forever I will never need to use them again,” she said.

The UpReach Therapeutic Riding Center still needs help from the community to offset the cost of its new water system. For more information, call 497- 4323 or visit www.upreachtrc. org. Th e center is at 153 Paige Hill Road.

The riding center serves about 80 clients – both children and adults – with a wide range of disabilities. The center has a staff of nine, on top of 140 volunteers.