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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] Air Support

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Una Smith <una.smith@att.net>
  • To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Air Support
  • Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:46:37 -0600

Dana Snyder wrote:
>Is it realistic for air support to be aware there are horses or
>dogs searching and to give us warning

No. If a warning is needed, it would be SAR *management's* job
to give it to you. And it would be your job in briefing SAR
management before starting your field task assignment, that your
team is not prepared to cope with loud and/or close aircraft,
and what accomodations you require.

An aside re spooking...

Here in New Mexico, my experience has been that most horses, if
they are working horses, are not bothered by unfamiliar loud noise
or large moving objects, in the air or on the ground. Not only
helicopters are the concern. One common (sub)urban major spook
potential for MSAR is those garbage collection trucks that lift
dumpsters overhead to empty them. A great de-spooking training
is to follow along after one as it goes down the street. It is
important to follow one going away: the scary object going away
("fleeing") tends to give any horse courage.

Back to SAR...

It may be helpful to write up in advance (ie now) some notes to
prompt yourself re what issues to bring up in briefings. Safety
and other. Such as how long you *can* stay in the field vs how
long you expect to stay. Eg, novive MSAR responders sometimes
assume their task assignment should take no longer than 2 hours,
as that is the length of their own normal "long" pleasure rides.
Some SAR managment assume the same; others cannot believe you
would bother to respond to a mission, only to return home just 2
hours later.

My own field SAR assignments have tended to run between 4 and 7
hours. I don't spend the whole time mounted; sometimes I get
down and walk. I have come prepared to stay overnight, only to
be sent home at dark and then called out again the next morning.
Argh! Some SAR managers wouldn't recognize a living quarters
trailer even if you *told* them there's a toilet on board. They
would assume camp toilet. You may have to give them a personal
tour.

Bottom line is, we all really, really need to talk more to each
other. So that we better understand one another, and can work
more smoothly together.

Una




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