Wow. I'm all for ATV use in SAR work, but including them in Mounted SAR?
This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. And maybe I'm just not understanding
how someone would want to include them in mounted SAR work. Besides having
distinctly separate training and safety issues, ATVs and equines have their
own sets of advantages and my experience says those advantages are very
different. Using them both on the same search may work out great, but when
considering using them together in a unit as Jorene described, I think
you're cancelling out each team's strong points.
We use ATVs for road searches and for the road parts of general searches.
When we use them, we frequently have to radio coordinate sound blasts as the
noise of other searchers' motors get in the way. ATVers can search large
amounts of road or developed trails quite quickly with very little fatigue.
They also can haul supplies with ease.
Horses may not clear roads quicker than the ATVs, but the riders do not have
to deal with the noise pollution factor. [...]
So...ATVs in mounted SAR? Well, the ATV riders do 'ride', so I suppose thery
'mount' their machines, but I think this is where the including ATVs in
Mounted SAR really ends...
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