Mounted search and rescue
Encyclopedia
Mounted search and rescue (MSAR) is a specialty within search and rescue
(SAR), using horse
s as search partners and for transportation to search for missing person
s. SAR responders on horseback are primarily a search resource, but also can provide off-road logistics support and transportation. Mounted SAR responders can in some terrain
s move faster on the ground than a human on foot, can transport more equipment, and may be physically less exhausted than a SAR responder performing the same task on foot. Mounted SAR responders typically have longer initial response times than groundpounder SAR resources, due to the time required to pick up trailer, horse(s), and perhaps also water, feed, and equipment.
, Canada
, Australia
, Germany
, and Iceland
.
In the United States, many counties have specially deputized, usually volunteer, mounted search and rescue groups. Some of these groups date from World War II
. Across the United States, SAR groups are in the process of organizing themselves into associations, usually within states. Formal guidelines for MSAR have been established in several states: California
, New Mexico
, Maine
, Maryland
, and Virginia
. International standards for the mounted searcher have been developed through the ASTM F32 committee for Search and Rescue.
In Germany, the voluntary
humanitarian
association Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe
(JUH) recently has begun establishing local and regional groups that provide first responder services on horseback. These are modeled after the road-based first aid
service of the JUH, except that the horse provides for off-road travel. The first group, established in March 2001 in Harburg
, adopted standards of the Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung e.V. (FN) for first responders at equestrian field sporting events. In 2008, there were 8 groups. Around the same time the German Red Cross
briefly recognized a group with a similar function.
The horse or mule exhibits behavior to indicate noting "something" as part of that animal's natural behavior, and the rider determines if the equine may have noted the presence of a person who may be the missing person, or a clue that might help lead to that person.
.
As an example of a typical MSAR rapid response, a deployment
in northern Germany
proceeded as follows.
Transport in the saddle is used, but has more limited application than a hand carried or animal mounted litter. In the United States transport in the saddle is a method taught and used within the National Park Service
in Yosemite National Park
and some Mounted SAR personnel have this training.
Mules for medical evacuation is also specialized training for combat soldiers in the Animal Packing Course at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center
. "Mountain Medicine instructors have developed special saddles for transporting patients who can sit up and stretchers for patients lying down," and these "saddles" are created from materials readily available even in third world countries, according to Olive-Drab. Mounted SAR training uses a traditional saddle. A western saddle
is shown in the photo.
Equine used as pack animals may also carry medical supplies to support a rescue. Some Mounted SAR units also have pack animals used as resources, but this is more common in more vast wilderness or mountain regions where it is more common to find riders experienced in the use of pack animals. In America, often those members are drawn from professional packers or members of a local unit of Backcountry Horsemen.
Historically, there were few alternatives to horses for subject transport. Several books and reports have been published, describing transport of sick or injured persons using horses. The equipment described in these publications included a wide variety of special-purpose carts, wagons, and litters. Litters were used to carry passengers between two horses, or on the back of a pack horse or mule (or camel; see Light horse field ambulance
).
(*) Note: The “litter” in the picture is not really a litter, designed to protect the patient and to be moved by horses, but a carriage, used in Hippotherapy;
The patient, often multiple disabled, is positioned on a cloth over the back of the horses; the patient will feel all movements and warmth of the horses; this improves (amongst others) blood circulation and health in general.
to transport wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Similar litters, and training manual
s for using them, were produced for the United States Army
circa World War I
. These litters included the 2-person Carlisle cacolet and the 1-person 1st Division cacolet.
The travois
is very stable (difficult to capsize). Apparently not used in Europe, it was widely used in North America
from before the Colonial period. After the 1877 Battle of the Clearwater
in Idaho
, George Miller Sternberg
used travois
to move wounded soldiers from the battlefield to a hospital 25 miles away. In very rough field conditions, travois
are sometimes used even today.
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
(SAR), using horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s as search partners and for transportation to search for missing person
Missing person
A missing person is a person who has disappeared for usually unknown reasons.Missing persons' photographs may be posted on bulletin boards, milk cartons, postcards, and websites, along with a phone number to be contacted if a sighting has been made....
s. SAR responders on horseback are primarily a search resource, but also can provide off-road logistics support and transportation. Mounted SAR responders can in some terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
s move faster on the ground than a human on foot, can transport more equipment, and may be physically less exhausted than a SAR responder performing the same task on foot. Mounted SAR responders typically have longer initial response times than groundpounder SAR resources, due to the time required to pick up trailer, horse(s), and perhaps also water, feed, and equipment.
Organization
Principally volunteer units exist in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
.
In the United States, many counties have specially deputized, usually volunteer, mounted search and rescue groups. Some of these groups date from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Across the United States, SAR groups are in the process of organizing themselves into associations, usually within states. Formal guidelines for MSAR have been established in several states: California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. International standards for the mounted searcher have been developed through the ASTM F32 committee for Search and Rescue.
In Germany, the voluntary
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
humanitarian
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
association Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe
Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe
Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V. , commonly referred to as Die Johanniter, is a voluntary humanitarian organisation affiliated with the Brandenburg Bailiwick of the Order of St John, the German Protestant descendant of the Knights Hospitaller...
(JUH) recently has begun establishing local and regional groups that provide first responder services on horseback. These are modeled after the road-based first aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
service of the JUH, except that the horse provides for off-road travel. The first group, established in March 2001 in Harburg
Harburg
Harburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It takes its name from the town of Harburg upon Elbe, which used to be the capital of the district but is now part of Hamburg...
, adopted standards of the Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung e.V. (FN) for first responders at equestrian field sporting events. In 2008, there were 8 groups. Around the same time the German Red Cross
German Red Cross
The German Red Cross , or the DRK, is the national Red Cross Society in Germany.With over 4.5 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services within and outside Germany...
briefly recognized a group with a similar function.
Search and rescue animals
A search and rescue horse is a horse trained and used to perform mounted search and rescue. In many cases, the horse is simply a means of transportation for a SAR responder. In other cases, the horse is a full member of the SAR field team. Like a SAR dog, a SAR horse can be trained to search for lost persons, using its keen senses of hearing, scenting, and vision. In addition, some mounted SAR responders work a SAR dog from horseback.Search
The primary role of Mounted SAR is in the "search" capacity. Riders and horses are normally trained to safely and effectively perform the search function. Riders have training as searchers that includes the detection and protection of clues that may lead to locating the missing person. The mounts used are expected to be calm and reliable."Look Where the Horse Looks"
A common training for searchers mounted on equine is "Look where the horse looks." While there is training available to have the horse or mule perform similarly to a SAR Dog, the majority of Mounted SAR equine and their riders do not have this training. However, the equine's natural senses and behavior are valuable during a search, without particular training, making that animal a viable search partner for clue detection.The horse or mule exhibits behavior to indicate noting "something" as part of that animal's natural behavior, and the rider determines if the equine may have noted the presence of a person who may be the missing person, or a clue that might help lead to that person.
Tracking from the Saddle
Some Mounted SAR riders have additional training specific to searching for clues from the saddle. This valuable skill allows the mounted searcher to move more quickly riding when the clues, such as shoe prints, are visible from the saddle. Riders dismount as needed when a closer view or tracking while walking is more advantageous.Rescue
In a rescue situation today, horses have two main uses: rapid response and subject transport. Both uses occur primarily in areas inaccessible to road-based emergency vehicles: in coastal areas where heavier vehicles tend to become stuck in wet ground or deep sand, and in wilderness areas. In these areas, horses may be used to patrol and in some cases transport people needing assistance. Examples include a volunteer horse patrol at Hampton Beach, New HampshireHampton Beach, New Hampshire
Hampton Beach is a village district, census-designated place, and beach resort within the town of Hampton, in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located on the Atlantic Ocean. Its population at the 2010 census was 2,275. Hampton Beach is located in Rockingham County, approximately south of Portsmouth...
.
As an example of a typical MSAR rapid response, a deployment
Deployment
Deployment may refer to:* Deployment flowchart, a process mapping tool used to articulate the steps and stakeholders of a given process* System deployment, transforming a mechanical, electrical, or computer system from a packaged form to an operational state* Software deployment, all of the...
in northern Germany
Northern Germany
- Geography :The key terrain features of North Germany are the marshes along the coastline of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and the geest and heaths inland. Also prominent are the low hills of the Baltic Uplands, the ground moraines, end moraines, sandur, glacial valleys, bogs, and Luch...
proceeded as follows.
A deployment on the Lüneburg Heath: At noon on 16 August 2008, a Saturday, on the heath near Undeloh a female tourist experienced anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction, due to several insect stings. The emergency dispatcher called the Johanniter horse team and the police in Undeloh, both of which patrol the heath regularly. The horse team galloped 5km to the subject's location. There, a Johanniter rescue assistant and police officers stabilized the unconscious subject well enough that, by the time the ambulance and rescue helicopter arrived, the subject was again conscious and could be transported.
In areas where ground based transport is especially difficult or slow (both urban areas and wilderness), people in need of urgent medical care often are transported by helicopter. In these areas, MSAR teams train in working with helicopters. Training involves identification of suitable landing spots, accustoming horses to helicopters operating in close proximity, and helicopter safety.
Transport in the saddle is used, but has more limited application than a hand carried or animal mounted litter. In the United States transport in the saddle is a method taught and used within the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
and some Mounted SAR personnel have this training.
Mules for medical evacuation is also specialized training for combat soldiers in the Animal Packing Course at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center
Mountain Warfare Training Center
The Mountain Warfare Training Center is a United States Marine Corps installation located in Pickel Meadows on California State Route 108 in the Toiyabe National Forest, 21 miles northwest of Bridgeport, California...
. "Mountain Medicine instructors have developed special saddles for transporting patients who can sit up and stretchers for patients lying down," and these "saddles" are created from materials readily available even in third world countries, according to Olive-Drab. Mounted SAR training uses a traditional saddle. A western saddle
Western saddle
Western saddles are used for western riding and are the saddles used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States, particularly in the west. They are the "cowboy" saddles familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who have gone on trail rides at guest ranches...
is shown in the photo.
Equine used as pack animals may also carry medical supplies to support a rescue. Some Mounted SAR units also have pack animals used as resources, but this is more common in more vast wilderness or mountain regions where it is more common to find riders experienced in the use of pack animals. In America, often those members are drawn from professional packers or members of a local unit of Backcountry Horsemen.
History
Light horse field ambulance
A light horse field ambulance was an Australian World War I military unit whose purpose was to provide medical transport and aid to the wounded and sick soldiers of an Australian Light Horse brigade....
).
(*) Note: The “litter” in the picture is not really a litter, designed to protect the patient and to be moved by horses, but a carriage, used in Hippotherapy;
The patient, often multiple disabled, is positioned on a cloth over the back of the horses; the patient will feel all movements and warmth of the horses; this improves (amongst others) blood circulation and health in general.
Pack litter
In India a pack litter was known as a dhooley. In Europe, and sometimes in the United States, it was known as a cacolet. The pack litter had two major variants: one carried a single person above the pack animal's back; the other carried two persons, one on each side. In the United States Civil War, horses were fitted with littersLitter (rescue basket)
A litter is a stretcher or basket designed to be used where there are obstacles to movement or other hazards: for example, in confined spaces, on slopes, in wooded terrain. Typically it is shaped to accommodate an adult in a face up position and it is used in search and rescue operations. The...
to transport wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Similar litters, and training manual
Training manual
A training manual is a book or booklet of instructions, designed to improve the quality of a performed task. Training manuals are widely used, including in business and the military.A training manual may be particularly useful as:...
s for using them, were produced for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
circa World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. These litters included the 2-person Carlisle cacolet and the 1-person 1st Division cacolet.
Travois
Travois
A travois is a frame used by indigenous peoples, notably the Plains Indians of North America, to drag loads over land...
is very stable (difficult to capsize). Apparently not used in Europe, it was widely used in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
from before the Colonial period. After the 1877 Battle of the Clearwater
Battle of the Clearwater
The Battle of the Clearwater was a battle between the Nez Perce and the United States army. Retreating from the battlefield, the Nez Percé began the long trek across Idaho and Montana before surrendering to Oliver Otis Howard near the Canadian border.-Background:After the defeat of United States...
in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, George Miller Sternberg
George Miller Sternberg
Brigadier General George Miller Sternberg was a U.S. Army physician who is considered the first U.S. bacteriologist, having written Manual of Bacteriology...
used travois
Travois
A travois is a frame used by indigenous peoples, notably the Plains Indians of North America, to drag loads over land...
to move wounded soldiers from the battlefield to a hospital 25 miles away. In very rough field conditions, travois
Travois
A travois is a frame used by indigenous peoples, notably the Plains Indians of North America, to drag loads over land...
are sometimes used even today.
See also
- Mounted policeMounted policeMounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. They continue to serve in remote areas and in metropolitan areas where their day-to-day function may be picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and...
, usually career (paid) officers - Horses in warfareHorses in warfareThe first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of horses ridden in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons...
- Night visionNight visionNight vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
- Texas EquuSearchTexas EquuSearchTexas EquuSearch is a search and rescue organization dedicated to searching for missing persons. It has increasingly become involved in high-profile abduction cases, including that of Natalee Holloway, working through local law enforcement agencies...
- First responder
- St. John AmbulanceSt. John AmbulanceSt John Ambulance, branded as St John in some territories, is a common name used by a number of affiliated organisations in different countries dedicated to the teaching and practice of medical first aid and the provision of ambulance services, all of which derive their origins from the St John...
External links
- Mounted SAR community portal hosted on ibiblioIbiblioibiblio is a "collection of collections," and hosts a diverse range of publicly available information and open source software, including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies. As an "Internet librarianship," ibiblio is a digital library and archive...
- MSAR standards task group hosted by ASTM InternationalASTM InternationalASTM International, known until 2001 as the American Society for Testing and Materials , is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services...
under Committee F32 on Search and Rescue
- MSAR standards task group hosted by ASTM International