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  • From: "wwfarm" <wwfarm@wiktel.com>
  • To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Re: air scenting
  • Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 09:31:51 -0700

This post is to answer Jorene Downs question on which horses work best for
air scenting.

After working with about 80 horses across the US on the beginning training
steps of air scenting. I can tell you that Jorene's thoughts on which horses
work best was right on the money.

At my clinics I put the horses through a test. I can tell you in a short
time which horses will be the easiest to train for air scenting. The test is
actually a quick
version of the beginning training steps.
To date about 75% of the horses that I worked with show good potential.
As a rule the closer to cold bloodlines the less potential you have. As a
rule horses that are kept out on pasture will naturally be better than
horses
that are stalled most of the time. Now there is always exceptions to the
rule and sometimes the most unlikely candidate will be the star of the show.

A few post back I believe it was Una that said alert training was good
for MSAR. Yes this is very true. Even if you do not plan to train a finished
air scenting horse, some of this type of training will increase your
awareness of your horses silent alert signals which is knowledge that
everyone involved in mounted SAR should have. People have told me of
experiences where they were on a mounted search and their horse started
acting different, it was not until the missing victim was found by someone
else that they realized that when their horse was acting differently they
were very close
to the missing victim. I wonder how many times the victim was never found
when mounted searchers misread their horses??

Our horses are smarter than we think. I personally was on a search where
we were looking for a 80 plus year old Alzheimer's patient . After three
days all search tools were failing. Trailing dogs, helicopters with heat
seeking
devices, ground troops even the national guard was called out with no luck.
Then a team mate of mine was riding along a small trail that had previously
been searched. All of a sudden his horse just stopped on his own accord.
They then found the missing victim in poor shape but alive. My team mate
said that if his horse did not stop most likely they would never have found
the victim. LETS CHALK UP ANOTHER ONE FOR MSAR AND JUST AS IMPORTANT THE
ANOTHER ONE FOR THE HORSE!!
I talked to one lady from California who told me that she does alot of mock
searches and all she does is watch her horse and her horse will tell her
where the victim is.

Speaking from experience I can tell you that horses are not being used to
their full potential as a search tool they are alot more than a mode of
transportation or a observation deck. At my clinics I show people how to
play search games with their horses where you do not even need a victim.
These search games make the rider aware of their horses silent alert
signals. The search games are fun for both rider and horse. SAR is serious,
just a little extra effort on your part could
make the difference between life and death. . It could very well be the
most important challenge you as a horse person will ever take on. As the
saying, goes "This ain't no dog and pony show." This is the real thing.
Some day you may have the chance to save a life! That is what it's all
about and that would make it all more than worth while.


TERRY

ne Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 10:56 PM
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Re: air scenting


>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "wwfarm" <wwfarm@wiktel.com>
> > You asked - 1. How do horses compare to dogs - Last winter I contacted
> > four experts in the field of how humans and animals smell. I asked them
> to
> > compare a dog to a horse. First they all said that there has been very
> > little study done on mammals. How they smell has a lot to do with
> olfactory
> > receptors and space where they are located. Second - Three out of four
> > experts said
> > that in their estimation the dog and horse should be equal in their
> > smelling ability. The fourth came back and said that the horse could
have
> a
> > advantage over the dog.
>
> Thanks for sharing, Terry. I find the responses from experts interesting.
> The horse as a prey animal would presumably have a good nose to assist in
> survival. The dog as a predator might have a good nose for hunting ...
again
> a survival issue. Obviously some dog breeds/types have better noses than
> others, with some specifically bred to encourage that nose.
>
> The horse's ability to scent isn't something most people worry about, and
> certainly haven't bred to encourage. Yet the better nose could be related
to
> survival. That got me wondering if perhaps the horse breeds that are
closer
> in their roots to living and surviving in the wild might have better
> scenting potential than those that have been domesticated longer.
Developing
> that thought, the domesticated mustangs would presumably be better as SAR
> air scent types, and something like a warmblood or draft breed would have
> more limited abilities since the "need" hasn't been there to encourage the
> use. Since the QH / Paint horse history includes crossing with mustangs
100
> years ago, plus many are still used for gathering range cattle which would
> encourage the nose, that might give the stockhorse type an air scent
> advantage over the non-stockhorse breeds that have been established and
> domesticated longer. Do you have any experience through your Air Scenting
> Horse clinics that would suggest this speculation has some potential to be
> true?
>
> > As a rule on almost every search a variety of search tools are needed
> > for a successful search. [...]
>
> Yep. Particularly in more remote SAR having more cross-training and
> versatility can make a huge difference to potentially saving someone's
life.
>
> > Comparing the Air Scenting Horse to the Air Scenting Dog - Speaking from
> > personal experience they both are excellent search tools under different
> > conditions. But if you have a large area to search in a short time I'll
> take
> > the horse and leave my certified air scenting dog at my trailer until I
> get
> > into terrain where my horse can not go.
>
> >From the SAR Management perspective, I see the Air Scenting Horse - a
proven
> search tool - being a valuable addition to the MSAR skill sets.
Particularly
> in a night search - or another situation with more limited visibility -
> having a horse trained to communicate with the rider (and the rider
trained
> to listen to the horse!) can greatly improve the odds of finding the
missing
> person if in your search area.
>
> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
> Jorene Downs
> Tulare Co, CA
> SAR, MSAR, Swiftwater Rescue, US&R,
> Technical Rescue, Cave Rescue,
> Hasty Team, ICP
> www.CEOates.com/sar
> Tulare-Kings CERT Program Coordinator
> www.tk-cert.org
>
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