Jorene, I'm copying and pasting this too :) Good stuff.
Also, I dunno if you all have talked about it here, but our team has created a Facebook profile. Your team, or even the list might consider doing something similar! Good way to spread the "word" of SAR.
Dana
LESAR (Southern Illinois)
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1. Re: [SAR-L] Transport decision tree / Helo Decision trees and guides (Una Smith) 2. Re: [SAR-L] Transport decision tree / Helo Decision trees and guides
(Jorene Downs)
On another list today, in a thread about deciding when to use a helicopter for SAR subject transport, there was the following contribution offering horses as an alternative.
Una Smith New Mexico
On Thu, Jul 02, 2009 at 06:24:54PM -0700, Jorene Downs wrote: >As Tim mentioned earlier, we in SAR - particularly management - need to >remember there are "other" resources that may be a viable option, or perhaps >a better alternative. For those developing a decision tree for transporting >a patient, there may be local alternatives to the helicopter or litter >carry. Helicopters are expensive to operate, have inherent hazards, and may >not be available or able to fly. Litter carry can be very labor intensive >and you may need time to acquire a large number of personnel to accomplish >the task. > >Another option for transport - in appropriate terrain - may be use of >all-terrain quads rigged for litter carry. If you're near water, a boat may >be a good option. > >IF you have Mounted SAR available and IF they are
*trained* to do a >rescue/evacuation in the saddle, you have another alternative to consider. >Assuming an injury and situation that qualifies (some are not suitable for >transport in the saddle), 3-4 Mounted SAR can normally travel the trail >about twice as fast as SAR personnel hiking in - faster, if the terrain >allows riding in faster than a walk - are mobile in most weather conditions >if access is suitable for equine, and can return faster (at the horse's >walk) than a litter carry team if MSAR brought a spare saddled mount to >carry the patient. > >For "speed examples" of expedited access in appropriate terrain, consider >the ridden horse might travel 8-10 mph at the trot, and where a canter is >feasible that terrain might be traveled at 10-17 mph. The hustling ground >SAR hiking at 2-3 mph might take 20-30 minutes to travel 1 mile. That same 1 >mile moving out
with the horse might be performed in 5-10 minutes. The >litter carry return at perhaps 2 mph would compare to the horse walking at >3-4 mph ... or faster if the riders are all on gaited (particularly smooth) >or naturally long-strided horses. > >If horse trailer parking is a space issue, consider doing a "drop off" of >the horses and riders and parking the truck and trailer elsewhere until >needed to pick up the riders and mounts. > >Or, it may be advantageous to use a combination of resources. For example, >the technical team gets the patient up (or down) to less technical terrain >and hands off to the [trained for this process] Mounted SAR team with an >extra mount to transport the rest of the way in about half the time ... who >then transports to meet an ambulance, to a safe helicopter LZ, etc. > >For those not aware, the "transport in the saddle" capability and
training >has historic origins, including in the mounted military, and is still in use >in NPS. This process is also taught to US Marines who attend the mule >packing training course at the USMC Mountain Warfare Training Center near >Bridgeport, CA. (Earlier this year a Marine packing instructor sat through >one of my classes and confirmed the same processes and methods are used, and >even demonstrated how to rig a pack saddle to be more like a riding saddle >for transport.) There are some in MSAR who already have the basic "transport >in the saddle" training. I've also been teaching the class to some >backcountry riders and packers around CA so they can self-help if/when the >situation is appropriate, and the modified class (non-deployable resource) >also teaches how to coordinate with other responding resources.
------------------------------
Message:
2 Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:23:52 -0700 From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com> Subject: Re: [MSAR] [SAR-L] Transport decision tree / Helo Decision trees and guides To: "'Mounted search and rescue'" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org> Message-ID: <008b01c9fb8d$b0baea50$1230bef0$@com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Thanks, Una. Your copying my post saved me the time to rewrite a bit and post the same information here. :-)
-----Original Message----- From: Una Smith On another list today, in a thread about
deciding when to use a helicopter for SAR subject transport, there was the following contribution offering horses as an alternative.
Una Smith New Mexico
On Thu, Jul 02, 2009 at 06:24:54PM -0700, Jorene Downs wrote: >As Tim mentioned earlier, we in SAR - particularly management - need to >remember there are "other" resources that may be a viable option, or perhaps >a better alternative. For those developing a decision tree for transporting >a patient, there may be local alternatives to the helicopter or litter >carry. Helicopters are expensive to operate, have inherent hazards, and may >not be available or able to fly. Litter carry can be very labor intensive >and you may need time to acquire a large number of personnel to accomplish >the task. > >Another option for transport - in appropriate terrain - may be use
of >all-terrain quads rigged for litter carry. If you're near water, a boat may >be a good option. > >IF you have Mounted SAR available and IF they are *trained* to do a >rescue/evacuation in the saddle, you have another alternative to consider. >Assuming an injury and situation that qualifies (some are not suitable for >transport in the saddle), 3-4 Mounted SAR can normally travel the trail >about twice as fast as SAR personnel hiking in - faster, if the terrain >allows riding in faster than a walk - are mobile in most weather conditions >if access is suitable for equine, and can return faster (at the horse's >walk) than a litter carry team if MSAR brought a spare saddled mount to >carry the patient. > >For "speed examples" of expedited access in appropriate terrain, consider >the ridden horse might travel 8-10 mph at the trot, and where a canter
is >feasible that terrain might be traveled at 10-17 mph. The hustling ground >SAR hiking at 2-3 mph might take 20-30 minutes to travel 1 mile. That same 1 >mile moving out with the horse might be performed in 5-10 minutes. The >litter carry return at perhaps 2 mph would compare to the horse walking at >3-4 mph ... or faster if the riders are all on gaited (particularly smooth) >or naturally long-strided horses. > >If horse trailer parking is a space issue, consider doing a "drop off" of >the horses and riders and parking the truck and trailer elsewhere until >needed to pick up the riders and mounts. > >Or, it may be advantageous to use a combination of resources. For example, >the technical team gets the patient up (or down) to less technical terrain >and hands off to the [trained for this process] Mounted SAR team with an >extra mount to transport the rest of
the way in about half the time ... who >then transports to meet an ambulance, to a safe helicopter LZ, etc. > >For those not aware, the "transport in the saddle" capability and training >has historic origins, including in the mounted military, and is still in use >in NPS. This process is also taught to US Marines who attend the mule >packing training course at the USMC Mountain Warfare Training Center near >Bridgeport, CA. (Earlier this year a Marine packing instructor sat through >one of my classes and confirmed the same processes and methods are used, and >even demonstrated how to rig a pack saddle to be more like a riding saddle >for transport.) There are some in MSAR who already have the basic "transport >in the saddle" training. I've also been teaching the class to some >backcountry riders and packers around CA so they can self-help if/when the >situation is
appropriate, and the modified class (non-deployable resource) >also teaches how to coordinate with other responding resources.