Mounted search and rescue

[Lois Guyon <laguyon2@yahoo.com>]

 Sorry all if you got the first post of this message. I managed to ship it off prior to correcting the spelling.  Below is a corrected version.  

 

Lois

 

In Illinois the roadsides are littered with broken glass from beer bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, plastic bags, and paper trash from fast food establishments. Most roadsides are mowed which adds to the crushing of the glass and shredding of the cans and other trash. An aluminum can, once crushed or torn, can attach to a horse's hoof.  In spite of programs where volunteers clean the ditches, there is always a fresh supply of trash.  Although there is a prevalence of  trash, horses are seldom hurt by it.  When searching in ditches the rider not only looks for the object of the search, but also watches for trash that will harm the mounts.  Recreational riders are vigilant and look for trash knowing that it does present a danger.  We seldom use extra protection for the horses' feet.  It is imperative that we train the horses not to fear the blowing and flapping pieces of plastic and occasional feed sack that are in the ditches.

 

Old farmsteads have glass and metal working up through the soil.  Prior to rural garbage pickup services, farmers burned and buried trash. Years later we are living with that heritage. I did have a horse cut just above the hoof by a piece of this glass which worked up in a field where he was kept.  After years of picking up trash that worked up out of the soil, the farm is now relatively safe, although there is still some glass and and some metal working out of the soil.

 

 Occasionally we see "dump sites" in timber areas where people burned and dumped junk over a long period of years.  These areas are difficult to clean and glass can be seen on the surface.  I try to avoid riding through these dumps, but they can not always be avoided. 

 

Lois Guyon

LaSalle County, IL

Sheriff's Mounted SAR Posse

 

 

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