Mounted search and rescue

[Karen Nesbitt <spanishequines@yahoo.com>]

Yes Laurie,

 

 I probably can elaborate on this subject for you.  First of all, horses are flight or fight animals relying on thier instincts to survive.  Something I think man has forgot.  But anyway, I personally find in training that it is not so much having to modify the horses behavior, it is more of modifying our own.  It is learning your animal and knowing  how it reacts to certain scenarios for the betterment of how you ride it.   By this I mean, most horses will want to flee when endangered, so when your mount is in this type of situation, its brain usually has a tendency to be one directional, quick to react and act accordingly. 

 

The majority of horses that I have worked with when they do spook, they have a tendency to jump in one direction and are consistant in it time after time. ..Most people are like that too.  Pay attention to yourself the next times you get startled and how you react and what direction you have a NATURAL tendency to go.  This may sound stupid, but where are your eyes looking at the time and where are your shoulders and feet leading?

 

When you can read your horse and know his "direction quirk"  You will be better able to ride and stay with him.  Your horse reads you too and knows much of how you are going to react, but he is the quicker partner.

 

Let me elaborate on this and more.  If you have ever riden a onesided or stiff horse, you will get a better feel for what I am saying.  Those horses seem to move better in a particular direction.and spook in the direction their body will allow them to move the swiftest.  Chances are if you are on a stiff left sided horse, he will go off to the right leading with his shoulder and viceversa so you can anticipate his behavior and act on it thus modifying your riding ability you can learn better how to stay on him. Whether or not you are on him, the animal will have a certain direction he prefers and is ABLE to lead out with.  Learn it. If they spook on the ground, you may just be in his way.

 

I suggest first start out and observe your horse seriously at pasture.  Learn its particular body language.  Body language, like scent can be everything to a horse.  If your horse is in a group, you will notice the leaders and the way they will move about and boss the other more submissive herdmates around.  You can tell a lot by how they make their getaways.  Learn that and then you can then apply it to your riding to ride more safely to stay with your horse as opposed to hitting the ground.  I can manipulate the direction of my entire herd with a toss of my head or a point of a finger to a whistle.  They know me and my language like a book.  I will work several horses at a time in a round pen and pretty much all will take heed to me.  I can also at the same time get one individual in that group to change speed, direction or other while the rest continue what they were asked to do by my body language.

 

I, for one would not want to be grounded if I was in the vicinity of a bear or any other large predator.  I stand a better chance of surviving if staying ON the horse.  Consider this. your 900 lb (plus or minus) horse is stronger than you and for that matter so can a 300 lb pony, and if it decides it is going to leave you, you stand no chance of holding the animal if it is in fear of its own life and hell bent to flee and you are grounded.  So then  you are stranded dealing with a potential killer.  You are far better to stay on him. If you do find though you are on foot and able to maintain your mount, keep the horse between you and the attacker.  At that point, it wil be your safety that is all that matters.  In as much as we love our horses and may try to opt to defend them instead, a new mount can be had..

 

With scenting, you need to pay particular attention to wind direction too.  I once had a sherrifs deputy tell me that the oder from a decomp was coming from something that had to be within fifty feet nearby.  He was dead wrong in that the odor was coming from something dead nearly a half a mile away.   His comments, he did not think a scent could carry that far. I said well, guess again.. you see those buzzards...your carcass is right under them  right about where that tree is and look how high up they are.. and the wind was in our direction making it seem like the carcass was within a short distance and it was very very strong and yeah, you would have sworn just like he did up and down the dead was right under our noses.  So bear that in mind.

 

So ok, getting back to your question of will the scents cause a horse to be more jittery in the home or familiar environment.  All I can say is that really depends.  1) if you are working to desensatize your mount so he does not spook or 2) if you are trying to enhance his reactions so you can learn to track with him relying on his instincts. And 3) depends much on the horse and its particular natural fear level and if the scent is a natural startle. (Ie: bear, cougar etc...).  it can go either way.

 

As you have mentioned, riding alert is a key.  Harnessing your awareness to how your horse reacts in fear or on certain scents is a plus. 

 

I personally rely on the horses natural ability and body language because to me, all things natural and in nature tell me alot more on my surroundings and what is there. One of the great advantages I have riding a Paso is that I can always tell when something is amiss.

There is just something about the gait not being quite right when the horse alerts.  I am sure trotters are the same, but the gaited breeds break gait, where a trotter always has a broken bouncy gait and sometimes it can be hard to tell and most trotter riders pay little attention.  Most trotting horse riders I know have a tendency to also ride very stiff.  A gaited horse rider is more relaxed and comforable.

 

Ok, now you can take different scents and put them on rags to present them to your horse to see what he is capable of handling and his reactions to each.  That is where you learning his body language will come in very handy.  If you train too often on a particular scent, the horse can become immune to the oder and lesson his reacti