Mounted search and rescue

[Karen Nesbitt <spanishequines@yahoo.com>]

In response to:Message: 9
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:26:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lauri <kd7psi@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Transport via horse
To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <21748.19801.qm@web30608.mail.mud.yahoo.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank>21748.19801.qm@web30608.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
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Thank you Jorene. I met a man who had been?transported out via horse. He had never ridden a horse before and had a broken?lower leg.?Once the leg was?stablized he said the ride was not uncomfortable and was very impressed with the care taken by the mounted team (inlcuding the horses). He knew his options and was very thankful for the ride.
?Lauri
Whatcom County Search & Rescue
KD7PSI

 

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Laurie -

 

Having suffered a severely busted up knee in my younger days, an injury I acquired while mounting up on a horse, by no fault of the horse or myself, my knee, due to bone degereration hyperextended in mid mount knee cap rolling around like a cue ball in and out of the socket  and I had the choice of finishing getting into the saddle screaming in pain or taking a roll to the ground.  I chose the later and did a shoulder roll and was very fortunate not to get my foot caught in the stirrup and more fortuneate not to hurt myself to an further degree..  My split second initiative thought it was safer to get to the place were I would be quickest in IMMOBILITY and being on the horse with such an injury was out of the question.   To give you all a clue as to my rehab and recovery time of that injury, well, it was permanant damage for life later earning me permanant priveledged parking in the blue"zone".

 

I was told by the surgeon that worked on it that he woud have me back in the saddle within a month. Well, so as not to let him down, I mounted up on his scedule, but there was no flipping way I was going to be doing any serious riding or was I ever again able to ride like I used to.  I faced a very long miserable recovery, or should I say rehab. . Sorry to say that doc was very wrong in saying I would be riding in a month..  Um, that month lasted quite a few years.  Oh, I tried getting back aboard on my trusted mare the projected date the surgeon said I could ride.  Hmmm the shear weight of my leg dangling in the saddle with the stirrup was extreme pain not registering on any scale of 1 to ten. But the problem was I could not even position my leg thus or anywheres near how it should be to ride and so the dangling without a stirrup was pushing the pain far off the scale to a  15 or 18 maybe more depending on if the horse moved, but no less.    And topping that during my rehab it was discovered I suffered other issues one being an old whiplash which was from an incident of a car accident many years prior and so also had issues with my neck errupting along with the leg and did not know it at the time of injury that the neck injury was present first before hitting the ground when the knee gave.  (Funny how you can have an injury without even knowing it and live with it for years as it may or may not present pain.  I once had a rib out of place which was misaligned for years and finally my chiropractor years later fixed that, but it was that way for so long and the pain I had from it, the pain I was living in my brain just figured that that was normal anymore. )

 

After going through such an injury, there aint no way in Gods green earth am I recomending the transport of such a freshly injured subject on horseback.  And I dont care how smooth the horse is and remember, I ride a Pasos.  And such an injury would only be further complicated by ANYONE doing so and not just the knee being involved.  You best be thinking neck, back, limbs and life. 

 

Would I even recommend a horse rigged travois? (I am talking the type similiar in what the Indians would fashion to transport their wounded or possessions when they were on the move....)  No, I would not recommend it.  But if it was the last resort, that might be then the time.  But not a first choice.  Not in this day and age when other transportaion modes may be far better and much safer.  The slightest of movement in just the wrong way from any horse or conveyance and you just might end up with a subject paralized.

 

I must say though for faith in my mare.  Once I was more recovered and back riding, she knew I was hurt and she did take very good care of me when I started back on her.

 

Oddly enough it was a mounted search ride that really got me back into the saddle after that injury and was my first real ride for several years after the incident damaging my knee. 

All I can say about the gentlemen above, he was very fortunate to have a far less of an extent in injury.  Sounds to me it was nothing permanant or at least maybe at the time nothing became so.

 

And then all this pushes the envelope to another range in this topic...Do I recommend therapuetic horsemanship.... YES.  But then, that for sure is not without the supervision of a good therapuetic team that includes a medical doctor, a chiropractor and the other physical therapists that are paramont in getting there. Thereapuetic horses are worth their weight in gold.  And God bless those great chiroguys!  You help put us back together...

 

I have only one question for those tranporting injured subjects by horse....where do you pack your spare helmet? I am assuming your patient would ultimateley be wearing one?  Also a leg immobilizer is a sizable peice of equipment that does not fold to easily.. most assuredly very difficult to pack unless you also have a pack animal as well as the horse you ride to take such things.  Well, thats just a couple of peices of equipment...what about the reat of the goods?

 

But for what its worth, thats my 2c!

 

Ride safe everyone. 

 

 

        Karen