Mounted search and rescue

["Kevin Stokes" <klstokes@qwest.net>]

 There has been discussion recently about air scenting horses - again.  
This is worthy of discussion.
 I met Terry Nowacki about two and a half years ago.  I talked to him 
about a minute before I mentally filed him in the category of friend.  
We had been working on learning our horses' alerts.  This was a new idea 
to us - something we had heard about and had been noticing.  When I saw 
Terry's demonstration I was amazed, but somehow not surprized.
 Our horses' senses have been honed by millions of years of being a 
prey species.  They know a lot more about what is going on in the world 
than this city boy.
 I'm not working on training my horse for air scenting.  My sweetheart 
is 25.  My young on is kind of a ....well, lets move on.  I am a big 
supporter and cheerleader for air scenting horses.
 As most horse in my group are "pet" horses, a big concern is sensory 
training.  By pet horses I mean horses who are not working horses, ones 
who don't get ridden every day.
 Our horses' instincts are honed by millions of years of not 
particularly wanting to be a prey species.
   So we try to take the edge off their instincts with sensory 
training.  I won't use the terms "despooking", or "desensitizing".  If 
something were to happen, imaging what a lawyer would say if your horse 
were despooked, or desensitized!  It is a terminology thing which bugs me.
 If I were less tired, I would remember the point all this was headed 
to.  I'd better stop rambling.
Kevin Stokes
Washington Co Sheriff's Mounted Patrol (MN)