Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una@lanl.gov>]

A subscriber wrote [heavily edited by Una for anonymity]:
>A rider came to our last training on a stallion.  This caused
>a few problems.  One mare in particular did not like the
>stallion and a couple of other horses seemed generally uneasy
>around him.  He did not make any aggressive moves toward any
>of the other horses, only slight nickering.  The stallion's
>rider sometimes did ride too close behind the other riders
>whose horses were uneasy with the stallion.  I know our
>horses must be ready for every encounter in the field, even
>with aggressive animals.  I also read that some teams do not
>allow stallions.  Any thought you might have on this would
>be greatly appreciated.

This is one of the most complex policy issues for mounted SAR.

Okay...

Some teams allow only geldings.  Many teams allow geldings or
mares, specifically disallowing stallions.  My personal take is
that any such policy is not on target:  the policy should be
that the horse must be well mannered in company with any other 
horses.  No matter what.   

The most common problem with stallions, I am told, is not the
stallion at all, but rather mares who react to his presence.  
If mares react at all, usually they take offense.  Some riders
think this is normal (it is) and acceptable (it is not).  Good
horsemen do not permit in their presence many kinds of normal
horse behavior.  For example, we do not permit our horses to
kick us or bite us, or threaten to do it.  If we're smart, we
don't permit our horses to even *think* of such bad behavior.  
Should we then permit our horses to show similar disrespect to
other people or to other horses?  Not in my book.  Nasty mare
behavior equals rider error.

My own experience in dealing with social interactions between
mares and stallions bears this out.  And for what it's worth,
I have introduced my mare to stallions in various situations
(eg, stallion under saddle, stallion in his own pipe corral),
as a training exercise.  I routinely turn her out in an arena
with mares and geldings she does not know, and watch closely,
to see how she interacts with them and be ready to step in to
break up any fussing before it escalates beyond a point where
I can stop it.  This takes a lot of careful advance thought
and judgement, and discussion with other owners, to minimize
risk and maximize safety, but it pays off in that our unit can
operate more as a unit in the field, especially on overnight
trips.

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