Mounted search and rescue

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

Hasty search is a skill set.  To do it well requires above average
knowledge of search theory and practice, and the ability to navigate
in the field at speed.

Hasty search task assignments are used most often at the start of
the first operational period of a mission.  Generally MSAR teams are
not used for hasty search because their response time is longer than
the response time of groundpounder teams, and by the time MSAR
resources arrive, hasty search tasks have been completed.  MSAR
responders have to first hook up and load trailers;  dedicated
groundpounders keep their primary vehicle stuffed with gear so they
can leave at a moment's notice from home or work.  Hasty searching
on horseback comes in when an initial hasty search does not locate
the subject, and it becomes necessary to search more widely and/or
re-search trails near the point last seen.

Re tunnel vision and traveling trails at speed, this is a serious
limitation of hasty searching on foot and bicycle, and why when a
hasty search is conducted from a vehicle there should be at least
two and preferably three people in the vehicle:  one to drive and
two to look and listen for clues off the road.  I find the horse
is a huge asset in a hasty search, *if* the rider can let the horse
watch the trail.  To train for this, I highly recommend certain
drills used to train beginning polo players.  Polo players must
have confidence in their horse, to be able to ride at race speeds
while not looking where they are going.  That is the horse's job.
An MSAR rider who can with full confidence trot or canter without
looking ahead, leaving the driving to the horse, can be extremely
effective in a hasty search.

What drills are these?  To look behind the horse for more than an
instant requires the rider to be able to stand in the saddle.  So
the first skill is to stand at a trot, canter, and hand gallop.
The second skill is to stand and rotate the rider's body so that
the pelvis is sideways to the saddle.  I learned to do this while
riding in a large arena, on experienced polo ponies who did not
expect to be micromanaged by their riders.  All we had to do was
give the pony a general direction, and let them go.  A calm horse
that is allowed to practice thinking for itself will never run
into a wall or tree, nor off a cliff.  There are polo clubs all
over the world, and many have lesson programs on lesson horses.

Ranchers and others who work livestock on horseback also know how
to let the horse do most of the driving.  A good ranch horse knows
how to do a kind of "half halt" to alert you that the horse needs
your attention:  to ask you which way to go, or to inform you of
an obstacle on the trail ahead, or to show you something.

Trust building drills are very useful.  One I did, at a clinic,
was to ride a circle in and out of a steep arroyo (gully, ditch),
first in the usual cautious manner, then fast, then fast with the
reins dropped, then at speed with the reins dropped and my eyes
closed.

        Una Smith
        New Mexico