Mounted search and rescue

[Richard Lynch <cavalrycpt@hailstorm.org>]

Una:

Congratulations on your efforts to serve your community and State.  I know the feeling as I am in the same situation.  When we haul horses we assume all the gas expense.  All hours are unpaid, but we do it for many reasons:  The possibility of saving a life, (be it horse or human) the love of riding and serving our community and state.  We are mostly involved in some sort of event on holidays and weekends, which means we are not home getting yard work done. We also pay for most of our uniforms.  In addition to our mounted search unit we also have another organization know locally as the Equine Search Group made up of civilian volunteers who will respond to barn fires or search for lost horses.  We will provide housing and care of horses involved in an MV accident (trailer accident) until the owners can recover them.  We will also transport cattle and hold them until the owner can respond.  We also have another organization called the Trail Drivers Assoc.  This is why we can handle cattle as we participate in two cattle drives a year.  I have had calls from all over the state for missing horses, but we only operate locally.  Who knows the woods better then the people who ride the trails out there all the time?   I would recommend that local riders offer their services or better yet start their own equine search team when a horse goes missing.  The Police have no idea what to do and cannot leave their vehicles.  We always notify the local police that we will be out and about, since sometimes we show up in people's back yards.  I am an instructor in Large Animal Rescue (certified by the California Fire Marshall's Office, aka - CalFire) and on-call for Rescue Inc. Technical Rescue Team out of Brattleboro, VT.  The interstate passes through there with trailers and horses on their way to Equine Affaire or the Eastern State Expo as well as local shows in both NH, VT & MA.

We only started the equine search group about 4 years ago and have been called upon 5-6 times.  Each time it has ended in tragedy.  Sorry to say…no horses saved!  Every one…strangely was found in a swamp or river (fell through ice).

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We did not start the NHGHG Search Unit until 2011, but had already been involved in a search for homicide victims (mother & daughter).  Unfortunately they have never been found.  Unfortunately our second search was also for a homicide victim…also never found!  I think what I'm telling you will show the diversity of some SAR units.  We do not all operate in the same manner as Jorene pointed out.   

Dick

On May 29, 2013, at 9:38 AM, Una Smith wrote:

Good point, T'mi.

Allow me to disclose my own financial interests, or rather lack thereof.

New Mexico SAR volunteers are eligible for reimbursement of some expenses
in connection with official NM SAR missions and training events.  Expenses
that may be reimbursed are gasoline/diesel/aircraft fuel purchased, or
mileage and per diem.

None of my national and international service has ever been reimbursed by
New Mexico state or anyone.  It has all been paid directly out of my pocket.
During the years I was a voting member of ASTM F32 and attended meetings,
I was not reimbursed by anyone for any part of that involvement.  Nor do
I get any money for the thousands (!) of hours I have devoted in the past
10 years to developing and running MSAR-Riders and its derivative lists.

For several years my employer authorized me to respond for SAR missions
during work hours and treated those hours as paid work (community service)
rather than vacation or personal leave without pay.

In a typical year I have about $5000 in out of pocket expenses related to
SAR, and I am reimbursed about $500.

Una Smith
New Mexico
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