Mounted search and rescue

["wwfarm" <wwfarm@wiktel.com>]

Lois

 

Air Scenting Horses for MSAR works better than words can describe.

Having spent time researching mustangs by personal observation and from previous studies I have found that some of the same natural abilities that the mustang uses to survive in the wild can also used in search and rescue. The most important of these are air scenting, use of silent alert signals and curiosity. It will be necessary that you develop an awareness of these abilities, learn to recognize them and encourage your horse to utilize them in order to find people. 

The following is a lesson that I learned while studying mustangs in the bad lands of western Dakota . Just last summer in a effort to increase my knowledge on equine silent alert signals and air scenting, I was trying to get as close as possible to a herd of wild mustangs. The small herd was on top of a rocky hill trying to catch what little breeze there was on a hot summer day. As I approached the hill I could see that the side that faced me looked like horizontal sheer rock cliff which gave me a false sense of security. As I approached closer I kept a eye on the herd stallion with my binoculars. All of a sudden I noticed a silent signal from the stallion that I knew meant he had spotted me, which alone did not bother me. Than another signal, this one was a unmistakable shake of his head which from prior experience told me the wild stallion was very disturbed with my presence so close to his herd which included two young foals. Instantly the stallion spun around and dove for the rock cliff at a lope. He half slid down the rock wall veering to the right and left with out stopping in order to avoid jagged rocks with the ease of a down hill skier. I knew I was in trouble and had to retreat to a safe place as quick as possible. The stallions difficult journey down the rock hill gave enough time for myself retreat to a safe observation point behind another hill. As I watched the stallion through my binoculars it was very clear that he used his air scenting ability to try to locate me and he even followed my tracks for a quarter of a mile to be sure I was out of his immediate territory.

 Really people using the horses scenting ability is nothing new.

While reading history there are examples on how the horses scenting ability helped early pioneers find water, warn them when danger was near by and  for hunting. An example this can be found in the book The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. In this book they describe how Roosevelt used his horses air scenting abilities to help hunt buffalo. Other examples of  how the horses scenting abilities were used in hunting can be found in a book written by J. Frank Dobie. This information tells us that in the days when horses were used for mans survival their natural air scenting abilities played a more important role than most people are aware of.

  What is new is that I have developed a program for training horses to use their natural  scenting abilities for MSAR.

For more information please look back in the archives of this list or contact me through my web site which is http://www.airscentinghorse.com

 

TER