Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una@lanl.gov>]

A month ago, Chris Pennington wrote:
>One concern I have to share- I KNOW that crossing a blue tarp is de
>rigeur training for many groups but I have strong aversions to it. I
>have seen many potentially serious accidents when the unexpected happens
>while crossing a tarp. I have seen horses catch a shoe edge and drag the
>tarp after them- meanwhile dumping their rider. (imagine your horse
>suddenly having a large noisy flapping object nipping at their heels no
>matter how fast they run....)  I have seen the wind tear it up and flop
>it over the horses side with similar results as above. The list goes on.
>I can't justify in my mind what it is supposed to simulate as far as
>field situations go. Maybe we could have a discussion here on whether it
>is a legitimate and valuable exercise (and why) or whether its a
>practice that should be discontinued.

I have also seen potential accidents involving blue tarps on the
ground.  A common one is the horse steps forward onto one, then
tries to back off, and catches the tarp on the heel of its shoe.
(The tarp should be well attached to the ground with tent stakes,
so it rips rather than the horse bolting in a panic with tarp
still attached to its foot.)  For what it's worth, although this
is a scary moment, it does simulate a common real-world problem:  
crossing a downed fence, or just stepping in a tangle of fence
wire on the ground.  A horse wearing shoes is almost certain to
get hung up, if it tries to back out of the wire.

The other benefit of training with a ground tarp is that horses
are naturally suspicious of stepping on strange ground.  The blue
tarp simulates the challenge that many horses face, in stepping
on (eg) painted crosswalks on paved roads, or outdoor carpeting,
or patches of ice or snow (for horses that grow up without ever
experiencing snow and ice, this can be a very big deal), or into
shallow puddles.  My amazing SAR mare, who stands calmly while I
unfold and flap a huge blue tarp from her back in a stiff wind,
nonetheless refused to cross a blue tarp on the ground (in a 
place she knows is safe) until she had first carefully looked at
it, sniffed it, and pawed it.

So, crossing a ground tarp simulates two types of field problem:  
(1) stepping on ground that looks strange and (2) stepping on
something that is trappy.

Perhaps we should make a list of steps we can take to make this
training safer?

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