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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] Hasty Mounted Team?

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  • From: "T'mi Fi" <tfinkle@erols.com>
  • To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Hasty Mounted Team?
  • Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:56:27 -0400

Good job on you training ride!  Your exercise sounds like a great way for validating a horse and rider's endurance level.  We have hasty teams too, but for our team we identified the need to find the right balance of performance with thoroughness when conducting a Hasty Search.   I am sure most folks will agree that in a SAR operation we need to find the victim as quickly as possible. A thorough search has a higher Probability of Detection (POD), but takes longer (assuming you're looking for a live victim this time can mean the difference between a rescue and a recovery).  A Hasty Search is light and fast- we send out a smaller team to scour the area for obvious clues (NASAR training has taught our team members to look for clues not people).

Studies have shown at speeds above 5 mph the effects of tunnel vision occurs, which generally means clues just off the trail begin to get missed.  A Hasty Search is effective because it's designed to maximize speed while finding anything obvious (on the trail) in critical situations, but if performed too fast, a reduction in effectiveness will occur and is why we perform this task at a working walk or a slow trot.  The are times when MSAR responders would need to travel at a fast (at a canter or above).  When going from point A to point B to set up a radio rely, responding to a call for help, or to respond to take an assigned at a overlook or collection point.  However an AHJ/IC would not consider that a hasty search, but identify it as a specialized task.  I agree that, MSAR responders need to have the skills and experience to travel at speeds above a TROT, should those skills ever be called upon.  SAR studies have also shown that most subjects are located just off the traveled path or trail. 

If you visit our website you will see that we have several seasoned Endurance Riders.  If an AHJ were to task us with an assignment covering 25 miles of trails in a very short span, we have MSAR responders with kind of KSA.  I agree that having team members who are active endurance riders are an exceptional asset to any MSAR team.

How do other teams address Hasty Search speeds?

T'mi
www.trotsar.org

QUINCYDEW@aol.com wrote:
We did a 10 mile endurance qualification ride today. We went out in 3 team, slow, gaited fast, and holy cow watch out for those girls fast. Our requirements are 10 miles in 2.5 hours. Not hard for the slow group even. But I wanted to see if my fast group could cover it in an hour an a half so that we could tell our call out people that we have horses that can cover that area in a fraction of the time as long as we are just checking trails, ya know a hasty team.
 
Please be assured that we didn't do anything I would deem unsafe, the lead horse (mine) is great at changing gaits quickly and dependably. It went something like trot, trot, trot, canter, "Rocks" walk, trot, trot, gallop, "mud" trot, etc....
 
It was great to know that I have a group that can make it in 1 hour and 20 mins, we could cut it down to 1 hour I think, we had 3, 5 minute pauses for various reasons.
 
Anyone else have hasty teams in place? How are they received in your area?
 
Ann Taylor
Clark County Mounted Search and Rescue
Vancouver, WA




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