Mounted search and rescue

["irvin lichtenstein" <ilichten1@verizon.net>]

You are not teaching the horse a trick. He/she/it air scents naturally as part of its self preservation.

What you are trying to do is read the horse’s reaction to its environment. Unlike a dog which primarily relies on its nose a horse fuses all its senses to detect threats all the time, even when not guarding the herd.

You should not need to re-enforce this behavior unless the horse has been so “desensitized” or “bombproofed” that he is a danger to himself or his rider by ignoring possible threats.

You do not train a horse the way you train a K-9 because the dog needs training but the horse doesn’t. The rider needs training in how to track, what is a clue, certain organizational skills, and how to read the horse.

And horses detect targets downwind as well as upwind, because they use all their senses.

 

Irv Lichtenstein

www.sepasar.net

 

From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Sharon Kenney
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2013 12:52 PM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Airscent training