Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una.smith@att.net>]

I understood Irv's remark "I have been doing this for close to 20
years and I still think of myself and my mount as green" to reflect
a state of mind.  As in, both of them are still learning, and at
a satisfactory rate too.  Which may be why Irv still is into MSAR,
after so many years.


Claudia Labbe' wrote:
>I have not even been able to yet produce a quality SOG manual

Good standard operating guidelines (SOGs) are next to impossible
to write, in the absence of actual operations.  SOGs should reflect
the best of what you actually do, how, and why;  not dictate that.
The best SOGs derive from deep experience and wisdom, not the other
way around.

So, one way to start from scratch, as many MSAR units do, is to
borrow another unit's SOGs and try them on for size, expecting that
your unit will make changes as it discovers its own best practices.
Just be sure to borrow SOGs only from units that have relevant
experience and collective wisdom, and have written *real* SOGs to
reflect the most effective elements of their actual operations.

That approach is precisely my purpose for starting MSAR-Riders.
When I first started to search for SOGs, what I found was just
what many MSAR units already have:  SOGs copied from posse and
mounted patrol groups, with little or no relevance to MSAR.  I
decided to gather and distill your collective wisdom relevant to
MSAR, for my own use and to share with you.


>least of all consider my horses, myself or any other
>potential volunteers to qualify for our yet to exist regional unit.

This is a common problem, created in part by MSAR-Riders!  From
MSAR-Riders, many of us now have gained a clear image of a mature
and highly functional MSAR unit.  However, very few of us have
any personal experience of being *in* such a unit, much less of
developing such a unit from scratch.


>I wonder if we can offer anything more than knowing our ends
>from our horses!

Claudia, *everyone* is a beginner, when they begin.  The trick
is simply to muster the courage and energy to begin!  And, know
that by participating in MSAR-Riders, you have obtained a huge
boost up the learning curve.


Next question:  is "green" relative or absolute?  That is, is a
green MSAR horse just a green horse, or does (should) green here
mean an otherwise finished riding horse that has still more to
learn about its new MSAR job?

        Una Smith
        New Mexico