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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] California MSAR individual certs?

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
  • To: <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] California MSAR individual certs?
  • Date: Mon Dec 16 18:10:04 2002

From: "Una Smith" <una@lanl.gov>
> On http://www.ibiblio.org/msar/ there is this:
>
> >In the United States, some states provide individual certifications
> >for MSAR that qualify a rider/horse pair to be called out for SAR
> >outside their unit's regular service area (usually county or state).
> >For example, the California state MSAR certification program is
> >recognized by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES).

> Can anyone here direct us to more specific information? What is
> involved in certification, who does the certifying, and were can
> interested individuals get certified?

To my knowledge there are no nationally recognized standards for MSAR. If
they exist, I'd sure like to learn more about it! In CA we have state
guidelines for several SAR related training topics, and that includes MSAR.
Look at the manuals by Kathy Roberts, since she is the primary CA OES
mounted trainer. "Mounted Training" includes some suggested training and
equipment lists. (I would consider this manual adequate for day-ride
responders in an area with fairly close roads / smaller search areas -
assuming the human partner in the horse-rider team already has fundamental
SAR training and skill sets. A bunch more training and additional gear would
be necessary for remote Wilderness MSAR where you might be out for several
days and many miles from vehicle access roads.)

To have this kind of "certification" status available, each state's Office
of Emergency Services needs to define basic standards in training - and
minimum gear requirements - for MSAR. (Wouldn't it be nice if this was
nationwide?) This might be accomplished by representatives from each
county's MSAR program meeting and coming up with recommended joint
standards. Those standards should include basic required SAR training plus
MSAR-specific training with horse and rider both attending the class. You
could also define different training, gear, and experience for different
levels of certification. Get the recommended standards approved up the ranks
to make it official statewide as at least a "guideline" status - those who
follow the guidelines are eligible for state certification. If you're in a
small state or anticipate responding to another state, apply this concept to
creating multi-state joint standards ... so you're all talking the same
language when you define standards and certify.

Identify at least 1 "official" state trainer who can then provide your first
official local training and in the process train local instructors to carry
on with local training. There provides better course consistency in training
methods. Hopefully have official printed course material for distribution.
Anyone who passes the pass/fail course is then "certified" and that
human-horse team is put on a statewide call-out roster. The roster
(database) maintained by the state should indicate personnel who are willing
to travel to different regions in the state for Mutual Aid or statewide
response and certification level. (Counties with Mutual Aid agreements
should also maintain rosters of resources within their region.) Then when a
county needs more MSAR resources to assist at an incident, the appropriate
people in the database are contacted to respond. If you're not on the roster
as certified Level X, you don't get called to respond out of your county
when there is a request for Level X response.

~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare County, CA
SAR, MSAR, Swiftwater Rescue, USAR





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