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msar-riders - [MSAR] MSAR: Home on the Range

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
  • To: "SAR-L" <SAR-L@ml.islandnet.com>, "MSAR-L" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc:
  • Subject: [MSAR] MSAR: Home on the Range
  • Date: Sun, 3 Oct 2004 14:09:22 -0700

I thought some of you might enjoy a glimpse into my area of CA and an observation on how it relates to Mounted SAR. The link will take you to a fluff newspaper article about a local cattle drive. (Their home ranch is about 15 minutes drive north from my place.) One of the participants in that cattle drive is very active in local SAR and a friend of mine. Bob is in Mounted SAR, also active as a groundpounder and well prepared for Technical Rescue (he likes those chopper inserts <g> ), and a member of the Hasty Team.
 
I live low in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Among other things, I'm a Paint horse breeder. ( www.CEOates.com ) Local mountain foothills tend to be cattle grazing land - a couple of the largest cattle ranches in CA have cattle grazing 5 minutes from me - and the local valley area focuses on dairy cattle, oranges and other tree crops, and various other agricultural crops. Not what most people envision when they think of CA. ;)
 
Surrounded by many with a cowboy lifestyle, and related to very active backcountry horsemen/packers, that offers me a more historic perspective on what can be done with the horse. What was considered common in daily life regarding horses and their capabilities 100+ years ago is a great source for expanding contemporary MSAR capabilities. Mounted SAR can learn from history, particularly from the Old West. ;)
 
The article on the cattle drive mentions "The horses aren't tied. They stand in a circle behind the folding chair circle, and the cattle circle behind the horses." Don't let anyone in MSAR tell you you can't teach a horse to "ground tie" ... obviously it can be done. It is a training expectation still common in the world of the working cowboy. ;) 
 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare SAR - Hasty Team ICP Team
www.ceoates.com/sar
Tulare-Kings CERT
www.tk-cert.org



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