Mounted search and rescue

[Yvette Rollins <hoosierhorsemen@yahoo.com>]

Thank you Mike. 

 

Yvette

‘Tread Lightly upon the Land and Leave No Trace!’

From: Mike & Robin <mikerobin@colton.com>
To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>; Mounted search and rescue in Illinois USA. <msar-il@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2011 7:56 PM
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Search for Lauren Spierer

Oregon law vests SAR mission responsibility to the Sheriff of the county that the mission is in. Further,NO ONE participates in a search unless they are state certified!

This eliminates people running amuck.  Liability issues are also covered under state law. 

 

Mike Hattan, SAR Coordinator

Clackamas County Sheriff's Posse

(Posse is an all volunteer unit)

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

From: Karen Nesbitt

To: MSAR ; Mounted search and rescue in Illinois USA.

Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2011 2:45 PM

Subject: Re: [MSAR] Search for Lauren Spierer

Message: 1Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:17:36 -0700 (PDT)From: Yvette Rollins <hoosierhorsemen@yahoo.com>Subject: [MSAR] Search for Lauren SpiererTo: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>Message-ID: <119728.127.qm@web125505.mail.ne1.yahoo.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:119728.127.qm@web125505.mail.ne1.yahoo.com">119728.127.qm@web125505.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"Hello All,?We have been searching in the Bloomington area for Lauren Spierer, missing IU student. So far not successful. We have another search scheduled for tomorrow. Saturday morning June 18th. ?Question: We have a lot of horseback riders joining in the search that have no experience. What is the best advice you can give me for preparing these people for the search. We had a search on Tuesday and fortunately only 19 riders showed up and it was easy to work in teams but we had one team that went off like they were going to the races. I tried to emphasis caution and care for the horses as well as the riders and preserving the scene but I do think in their excitement that did not happen. Yvette?Tread Lightly upon the Land and Leave No Trace!? (... balast of message truncated for space..)

-------------->

 

Yvette,

 

Were not the volunteers instructed and given assignments?  You were lucky to have the manpower and horsepower, but if they were not given some initial instruction at the gate which I find hard to beleive... then yes perhaps they were acting upon impulse and adrenaline, hard to say form the information..but rejoice that you had them.  

 

Whatever the case, if their names were received, which they should have been at the gate, perhaps before passing judgement, take the time to invite those people to come to formal training.  You cannot prepare them for the past search, only guide them to a future one.   Im guessing some might be interested and others will not be interested at all.  If you want people more formally trained you have to solicite to them without turning them off. 

 

When you volunteer you are putting yourself out, your equipment, you are giving an extra hand, you are literally taking money out of your own pocket and time.  You may or may not know exactly what is expected.. if you dont, you should ask and then proceed.  Coming to a search is not a ride in the park event. Common sense would tell that.   It is with purpose and not to say you were there.  Volunteering to help is just that, you need to ask as to what needs to be done then act accordingly.   Where some of those horse noses might not have been experienced, they surely could have had some purpose.  And surely no horse should have been left idle. 

 

It works both ways as sometimes the "pros" do not know exactly what to do first and getting organized quickly is paramount, and often difficult at best and quickly learning who is able for what is part of the responsibility of the leaders of the teams so if the volunteers did not act according to how perhaps the leadership wanted.. there seems to me to be then a failure to communicate.  Just my 2c.  What could have prevented that?  Hello, leaders.. your turn!  You need to break the barrier of communication and get with it too.  Even the leaders assume that anyone with a horse might have experience or they might not.

 

The other thing is, is volunteers are reactors, they are not responders. They do not have the same mentality as a pro, but may be skilled none the less and you dont know unless you ask.  They do not get paid for their work, they do not expect anything in return not even a pat on the back.  I think you were very lucky to have that many hands.  I would never underestimate the power of any volunteer even if they showed up  in short shorts and riding bareback. Anyone willing to volunteer to jump into poision ivy or maybe a lake riding that way is either crazy or willing to go above and beyond to save someones six.  My guess is the later.. so what seems silly might not be. So never underestimate the power of your voulunteers. Where paid MSAR listen to protocol, the volunteers however skilled or unskilled are valuable people. That extra hand you have in them just might save your six.  Its up to the team(s) to work so as not to get in each others way and to work together.  Coming to something where you do not know people and getting something laid upon you that you might not know how to can get to be an experience, but extra eyes and ears, noses and such looking for socks in bushes is a good thing to have.  Been there and done it.

 

Getting foreign animals to team up quickly, getting the ones that might not be compatible to ride side by side  etc quickly sorted and positioned will be learned  only through acting to see who can ride near each other.. while I would trust the mounts not to kick, you never know so if yours is not wanting to ride near the others.. space it. You still have a rider up and two extra eyes and ears etc coverign territory tha tmight not otherwise get covered so USE it. 

 

You also cannot expect these people to be trianed to your protocol if you are the leaders. But I would question, is it far better to have more than less?  Maturity of those riders.. would make a difference.... Obvioulsy you could weed the younger folks to other tasks but I would not underestimate  even the skills in those riders.  Their bones are young!

 

Question now, is this seach still a search mode or is it leaning more towards a recovery?  Some horses are more adept to searching a live subject vs the latter even on a volunteer basis and even the basic trail riders horse can discern decomp.  Question is - does the rider know it and know his mounts reaction... knowing your horse had how it reacts to decomp is a plus especially in searches that have lingered for days with no results.

 

Could it be you are also tagging volunteers as amatuers?  Just because they are volunteers do not make all of them ametuers.  Sometiems the difference between an amatuer and a pro is simply  the fact that one is paid.  You also cannot lump 19 or whatever the number of volunteers into the same bag when each rider is aobviously of a different skill.

 

I think you were really lucky to have that many hands when in the past, getting half that skilled or not was an issue!

 

If you want to convert some of those volunteers to more formal training, you cannot turn them off or you will get no one.  If you dont want people to volunteer, then do not make it an open call out.

 

One thing it is evident, the pros are always concerned on insurance...    the more I read on this the more we start hearing no one jumped in a lake to save anyone.. so folks, guess its the call of the times.  Doing the humanitary thing either voluntary or is it coming too a point where the hireds are not going to do the job?   Its becoming apparent that in some cases only  the budget and mindset will tell for sure.

 

Hope your search ends well and she is found.  In this heat you have your work cut out and I woudl say quickly.

 

Sorry to ramble on here.. but these are the pros and cons we see and just some points to ponder..

 

We would join this search, but do not have a mount prepared far enough along and common sense says she does not have enough saddle time.

 

        Karen Nesbitt - VMSAR - Iroquois County - Illinois.

 

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