Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una@lanl.gov>]

Sandra in Taos <Artstone@aol.com> wrote:
>Una, I did attend your class and your presentation was thorough
>and concise. 

Thanks, Sandy.  I was asked to design the class with NM field
coordinators in mind.  Field coordinators are the pool of SAR
volunteers from which incident commanders are selected.  There
is general agreement in the New Mexico SAR community, MSAR and
non-MSAR alike, that MSAR resources are valuable but are not
being used well.  Hence the focus of my class.

Ian Vowles came down from Pagosa Springs, Colorado for ESCAPE;  
it was great to meet him in person, and a pity our opportunity
to talk was so short!


>Maybe next year, we can discuss gear, packing, equipment list
>for truck vs. on hand, etc.

Maybe.  I don't know if I will be asked to give the class again.
One person on the NMESC board (NMESC puts on ESCAPE) attended my
class, was disappointed, and reported that I didn't know much.
If you want more MSAR training at ESCAPE, tell NMESC that, and
also recommend someone to provide the training.

We can certainly discuss all these things here, though.  Now
that you are PACE-certified, Sandy, I hope you will never leave
base camp without the gear that was in your pack for the PACE
exam!  I carry all that stuff on my person, in a backpack.  My
horse carries extras:  extra water, extra clothes (in winter,
the #1 thing most SAR subjects need is warm, dry clothes) and
food.

My trailer has a walk-in tack.  In it, I keep all the horse SAR
gear ready to go, also spare foul-weather riding clothes for me.  
I even have a tub of laundry detergent and a stack of quarters,
so I'm prepared to wash and dry filthy wet saddle blankets etc.
in any available coin-op washing machine or carwash.

My tow vehicle is a Suburban.  In it, I keep a full set of car
camping equipment.  2 camp stoves (no fuel;  do not store fuel
in your vehicle!), pot and frypan, cup and bowl, utensils.  A
sleeping bag and self-inflating pad, big tarp (usable as a tent).
Still more extra water and food.  Maps.  First Aid manuals.  
Spare compass, etc.  Truck stuff:  extra coolant, wheel blocks,
spare lug nuts, heavy duty jack, monkey wrench, jumper cable,
tow rope, manual, extra high-powered flashlight, DC-AC power
converter, etc.

I treated ESCAPE like a long mission.  I slept in my vehicle,
fed my horse hay that I brought along, mostly ate my own SAR
rations and drank my own SAR water.  It worked well;  I was
comfortable.  But I will invest in a larger, warmer sleeping
bag, and in an adapter to run my laptop off the truck's power
without doing a wasteful DC-AC conversion.  Also, I will get
a short hose to keep in the trailer, so I don't have as far
to carry full 6-gallon water cans.

I have mentioned before a major problem with my horse was she
would not drink from streams nor unfamiliar buckets nor funny
water.  Well, on this trip she got over it, and began to drink
whenever she had the opportunity.  Yes!  Doping the horse's
water with drink mixes may be do-able on pleasure trail rides,
but it is not adequate for SAR.


>Missed your ride on sunday

It wasn't much of a training, as it turned out.  The morning 
started off cold, windy, and slightly threatening.  Turnout
was small (there were a lot of no-show, no-excuse folks).
One person who came thought it was just a pleasure ride (?).  
Another, on a green horse, was overfaced by crossing water
and the whole green horse thing.  A third was worried about
her truck.

Anyway, I learned a lot there too.  Most important of all,
I realized that some volunteers understand the crucial idea
"risk a lot to save a lot, risk nothing to save nothing",
but then they further interpret it to mean that they should
pass on any training they perceive as risky, *saving the
risky experience for actual SAR missions*.  This is a very
dangerous philosophy, and I am still thinking about how to
approach it.

        Una Smith
        Santa Fe County Sheriff's Posse, in New Mexico