msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Mounted search and rescue
List archive
- From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
- To: "'Mounted search and rescue'" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [MSAR] walking home?
- Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:25:24 -0700
It sounds like you’ve built a pretty good relationship
with your horse. I’ve trusted many a horse in the backcountry over the
years to carry me safely on trails I would have hesitated to try on foot without
a safety line. I also understand that they need to trust me as herd boss. I’ve
spent over 50 years with horses and there are currently 15 on the property. I
was building positive relationships with my horses long before “natural
horsemanship” got that much more marketable name 15+ years ago. (I
recall buying a horse about 20 years ago and being warned by his 2 prior owners
you couldn’t catch him without grain, yet 3 days later he was meeting me
at the gate.) Herd behavior, horse body language, quiet leadership in the
herd, etc., has been a fascinating topic for me for decades –
particularly since I can always learn more just looking out my window - and
very useful in building positive relationships with the many horses I’ve
owned and known. ;-) Back in the 1990s I was active online on an equestrian discussion
group and, by request, some of the posts I made then are posted on my web
site. One in particular relates to this discussion: http://www.ceoates.com/info/herd_leadership.html
The one time I was bucked off – many years ago, my error -
the horse stayed within a few yards and I was back in the saddle a few minutes
later, continuing down the trail. However, even those few yards may seem like
miles if the person on the ground is injured and unable to stand to reach the
first aid kit or survival supplies still attached to the saddle or buried in
saddlebags, etc. I know of other horses that eventually returned to the
trailer, many miles away. Some were startled by a predator nearby and ran off –
flight in survival mode. I’ve also been in camp and had tacked horses run
through to join our own stock (herd instinct), then gone to find the dismounted
riders. We had a SAR a few years ago where the rider was down and
injured in the backcountry – litter carry required – and his horse
and pack mule remained with him. His first aid and survival gear was in his
saddlebags. He couldn’t get to it other than the bandana around his neck.
Luckily he was on a relatively main trail only about 5 miles from the closest
trailhead, and other riders came by a few hours later who then rode out
to call 911. The gear the rider invests in for survival isn’t very
useful if you are down, incapacitated, and don’t have it within arm’s
reach. This is why I am a proponent of keeping the survival gear on the rider. If you spread out the bandages and such, and use some of the
softer gear to pad from the body side anything more solid, you avoid having a
larger bulge to land on and also soften and distribute potential problems to
reduce possible impact. - - - - - - Jorene Downs SAR & CERT Mounted SAR From: IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN Maybe it
is your horse. Like they say there are two kinds of riders, those that
have been throwed and those that will be. I have been separated from my
ride a few times but
neither ran home and left me stranded. Generally they went less than a
quarter mile, came back when called by name. Part of the trust you build
with your mount is that he doesn’t want to leave you alone. And he
does know when I am sick or injured and acts differently. We went
unexpectedly into a creek from the bank one day and when we got out he very
carefully took me home on verbal command, using a route that avoided trail
obstacles, steep grades, etc. Not the usual direct run home, but a walk trot
without stopping to graze at the usual spots or being distracted by others in
the park. I have seen otherwise docile trail horses run miles after
dumping a rider, so it is you and your horse relationship that make the
difference. Let the
horse do the thinking—he is sometimes smarter. Irv
Lichtenstein |
-
Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.
, (continued)
-
Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.,
IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN, 07/20/2009
- Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc., wwaynebare, 07/20/2009
-
Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.,
E.S., 07/20/2009
-
Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.,
Andrew Hennell, 07/20/2009
-
Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.,
E.S., 07/20/2009
- Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.--skipole, IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN, 07/20/2009
- Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.--skipole, Jorene Downs, 07/21/2009
- Re: [MSAR] walking home?, IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN, 07/21/2009
- Re: [MSAR] walking home?, no name name none, 07/21/2009
- Re: [MSAR] walking home?, Laurie Hanahan, 07/21/2009
- Re: [MSAR] walking home?, Jorene Downs, 07/22/2009
-
Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.,
E.S., 07/20/2009
- Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.--skipole, E.S., 07/21/2009
-
Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.,
Andrew Hennell, 07/20/2009
-
Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc.,
IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN, 07/20/2009
-
Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc. DUCT Tape,
IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN, 07/20/2009
- Re: [MSAR] First Aid Gear-splints, etc. DUCT Tape, Jorene Downs, 07/20/2009
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