Mounted search and rescue

["Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Una Smith" <una@lanl.gov>
> Jorene Downs wrote:
> >I think I startled a few IC-types - mostly Fire Dept - today
> >when I mentioned that trained MSAR can be effective contributors
> >at some disaster situations.
>
> I know what you mean.  It always amazes me how much respect
> a person in uniform on horseback gets, even from people in
> vehicles.  At a minimum, (trained!) mounted volunteers can be
> a big asset in traffic management during disaster evacuations.
> Plus, the horse can travel 3-5 mph for many hours on end, in
> terrain where a vehicle cannot go (due to tree falls, steep
> ditches, and other barriers).  That is far more distance and
> speed than a person on foot can manage.

During a break in training today I had a nice off-line chat with a rep from
OES (CA Office of Emergency Svcs.) on using MSAR personnel in disasters. He
was scribbling notes, kept muttering "This is great!", and made sure I gave
him my business card. We'll see if he does any follow-up, but at least the
concept has been mentioned. ;)

> The fact that horses can be taught to air-scent is nice but
> not very useful if your horse hasn't been taught.

There are MSAR units around the country bringing in Terry to provide clinics
to train their horses to air scent. Over time I expect more and more MSAR
teams will have that capability. http://www.airscentinghorse.com

> Read up
> on air-scenting in SAR dog training books.

Or read Terry's manual on the air scenting horse. ;)

> In my area, it seems the IC folks have no idea horses have
> great night vision.

There are a bunch of things about MSAR capabilities that the generic IC
won't know ... unless someone makes a point of educating. ;)

[...]
> MSAR resources often are called out
> for searches at night.

>From the IC perspective I'll share the obvious that not all search terrain
is suitable for horse night searches, and some not even suitable for day
search. So when in doubt - with safety first in mind - the horses may not be
called. The IC has to look at the big picture, sending in certain
capabilities/resources to different areas based on PLS, search area POD,
terrain, weather, training levels, etc.

> Our callout last week was mission number 7 for 2003 in our
> area, so our average for this year is currently 2/7 = 29%.
> Pretty bad.  But pretty good, considering we aren't called
> for hasty searches and/or night searches.

Mounted locally has been called on all lost person call-outs this year ...
but so far we have found the lost person before the MSAR teams even arrive
at the ICP. Response time is a serious issue around here for Wilderness
MSAR, but there isn't much you can do to straighten out the very steep and
very winding mountain roads we have for those pulling horse in trailers.
Where the Hasty Team can be at the staging area in 2-3 hours charging up the
mountain at speed ... it might take 6 hours hauling a trailer.  Add the
"load the horse and gear" time and the MSAR response might be 4+ hours
behind the rest. So we often "plan" for a late arrival by MSAR in the
Wilderness SAR mission assignments.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare Co, CA
SAR, MSAR, Swiftwater Rescue, US&R,
Hasty Team, ICP
www.CEOates.com/sar