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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] Important: institutional memory

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: "Kerry Savee" <kdsavee@att.net>
  • To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Important: institutional memory
  • Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 08:13:08 -0800

Hello All,

I am a member of the Kern County Sheriff's Dept. Mounted Search and Rescue Unit in Kern County, California. We are a volunteer organization within the Sheriff's Dept. and our mounts are all member owned. Insurance is covered by the Sheriff's Dept. on call-outs and special events, plus we have tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service so we may take tax deductible donations to help fund our needs.

Doug, some police agencies with mounted units in California use rescue horses or mustangs from the BLM or even lease the horses from the members for $1.00 per year. There are many innovative ways for an agency to utilize horses without incurring huge expense. The most common, however, is for the member to provide the horse and pay for the upkeep which is mitigated somewhat at taxtime.

On a side note, regarding internet information, many MSAR units are using a MySpace page in lieu of a website to get their information out. Ours is:

http://www.myspace.com/kernmountedrescue.

Best regards to all,
Kerry Savee



--------------------------------------------------
From: "Una Smith" <una.smith@att.net>
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 7:23 AM
To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Important: institutional memory

Doug Reynaud wrote:
are there any agency msar and or mounted patrols that allow the use of
rider owned mounts.

Hi Doug!

Most volunteer MSAR and mounted patrol groups require riders to provide
their own mounts and tack. Hence, many of these units require a basic
test of horse and rider fitness for duty. The test can be an ordinary
arena obstacle course (often using AQHA trail class competition rules),
or a judged or competitive trail ride, or a cross-country ride, or a
checklist that can be completed on an ad hoc basis. Generally, riders
must qualify each mount before they use it.

New Mexico SAR has medical and insurance coverage for volunteers and a
small fund for replacing equipment losses, but no coverage for animals.
A couple of years ago a horse was killed in a fall down a canyon wall
during a search. The loss was the rider's own responsibility. A few
units represented on MSAR-Riders do provide insurance on their horses.

Una Smith
New Mexico
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