Mounted search and rescue

["John-Faye Neff" <neffj@msn.com>]

As a person who does a lot of back country packing I can safely say that the horse (or mule) used to transport an injured subject needs to very well trained.  Most pack animals will know their sides and how to get around obstacles while packed.  BUT that getting around or over obstacles may not be the best for an injured person.  Very few animals are used to being led on foot and will create problems if they have not had recent experience in doing so.  When being led  from horseback most pack animals will occasionally trot to keep up. Again not the best.  Perhaps a goal for a horse being used to transport an injured person would be the dead broke dude horse that just follows the tail in front and can't be made to break out of the slow plodding walk.  I am willing to admit that I wouldn't have such an animal in my string, but it would be wonderful to have one in an emergency.

I agree with Una, how often will you be called upon to do this?  Are you willing to practice and train monthly for something that may occur rarely.  I find that even my experienced pack animals need a day to remember how to handle the trail, even a trail that they have been on before.  The first day on the trail always offers at least one interesting challenge. LOL

Faye

----- Original Message -----

From: Una Smith

To: Mounted search and rescue

Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 8:04 AM

Subject: [MSAR] Transport via horse

Transporting the subject in the saddle is something that requires
training and practice.  Training is a poor substitute for experience.
Horses don't read training manuals or listen to lectures, and it is
the horse that must take care of the subject.  I have read the US
Forest Service manual and old US Army manuals concerning patient
transport.  All of them begin with the premise that the horses used
for this are already trained and experienced in packing subjects.

In the late 19th century for a time it was all the rage among modern
armies to transport wounded and dead soldiers from the battlefield
ASAP.  It was the French in Angola who learned to do this best, by
great necessity, because their enemy would murder wounded French
soldiers and behead the dead.  (I gather the enemy thought it was
barbaric to leave the wounded and dead, so did this to force the
French be more civilized.)  Prior to that time, fallen soldiers
were left where they fell to wait for medical attention, sometimes
for days.  After that time, deployment of soldiers changed, motorized
ambulances came into use, and the general use of horses for transport
was abandoned.  (Field artillery uses continued through WWII).
During that time, however, other armies tried to copy the French and
even produced manuals about how to do it, but in practice had great
difficulties, primarily because they lacked horses trained for the
work.

Consider also this.  Where I know the Forest Service uses horses in
this manner, it is to transport subjects on trails that are maintained
to the highest level (wide, good tread, high clearance overhead, not
to steep, clear of obstructions).  And the trails are familiar to the
rangers and the horses being used.  Rarely are outside SAR resources
called for such an ideal situation.

Finally, and this is something Irv usually mentions first:  is there
a need in your area for horseback subject transport?  Will your own
agencies having jurisdiction find it acceptable?  Investigate this
by talking to forest rangers in your state, and large park managers.

In North Carolina, for experience and help with training like this,
I would contact Back Country Horsemen of North Carolina;  NC State
Parks, etc...

http://www.backcountryhorsemenofnc.com/home.htm
http://www.ncparks.gov (919) 733-4181
 
Una Smith
New Mexico
_______________________________________________
MSAR-Riders mailing list
MSAR-Riders@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/msar-riders