To The Rescue Basic Equine Rescue Course on May 5, 2009 at Shelby Farms By Tommy Brannon Its 1:00 am when the trailer is finally loaded after the last class at the horse show and everyone is tired, as the long drive home commences. About a half hour later, the driver falls asleep at the wheel. The truck and trailer hauling three horses rolls over into the ditch and on to its side. The sheriff’s deputies and rescue teams arrive on the scene promptly. The EMTs have extensive training on extracting the driver from the cab of the truck and administering to his injuries, what about the horses? Are the Firemen and Deputies, perhaps, horse owners, or is their only horse experience hiring someone to give pony rides at their children’s birthday party? Thanks to the Shelby Farms Equestrian Alliance (SFEA), the Emergency First Responders and animal control personnel in Shelby County can get practical, hands-on training in how to deal with horses in emergency situations. A Basic Equine Rescue Course for first responders was conducted by Peggy Hart and a SFEA group of volunteers with their horses on May 5, 2009 at Shelby Farms. Each SFEA volunteer with a horse was assigned to one or two rescue personnel, so that the first responders could touch, feel, handle, pick up feet, put on a halter and catch a horse. Halters were thrown in a pile just as one might find them in the bed of a truck or in a tack trunk after a night of showing. The first responders had to pick one out and put it on a horse no matter the size or type. They also had to improvise a halter from a belt, an extension cord, bungee cord, or whatever was handy. The horses ranged in size from a 16.3 hand Tennessee Walking Horse to a miniature horse. The rescue personnel learned to respect the strength of horses no matter what the size. Peggy informed them that the horse has more strength in his head and neck than a human has in his whole body. She taught them how to lead a frightened horse by shaking a dressage whip with a plastic grocery sack attached to the end, while the horse was lead across the arena. “Circle, circle, circle. Look where you’re going. Don’t look down. Don’t look at the horse,” she told them. Only one person was knocked to the ground in the process, and only because she tripped in the soft sand. Peggy explained the anatomy of the horse, especially the eyes and how they see on both sides of their body all the way back to the tail, with a blind spot directly in front of their head and in the center of the tail. This, she explained, is one of the reasons they spook so easily when people walk up to them from the front and directly from behind. “Approach from the side, talk gently and don’t make sudden moves,” she told them. Catching a horse is another matter. “You can’t chase a loose horse even with a squad car. Get on the radio and have someone come up from ahead. Make a barrier, and herd the horse into a confined area, such as someone’s back yard. It’s better to have hoof prints in a backyard than a horse out in traffic. Horse’s eyes do not reflect headlights as a deer’s do. The car will hit the horse before the driver ever sees him. Neither the horse nor the driver will survive,” Peggy explained. From the nods of acknowledgement, rescuers understood this practical advice. The responders got to examine several types of trailers: slant load, front load, ramps, step ups, stock trailers, goosenecks, bumper pulls, etc. They had the opportunity to load and unload horses, as well as see where tack is stored in a trailer. They were told that no matter what the cost of a horse, compared to the cost of a trailer, the horse is more valuable to the owner. “Cut the trailer off of the horse. The first thing the owner will ask about in the hospital is the welfare of his horse,” Peggy said. Gill Newbell with the University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service demonstrated the service’s fully equipped animal rescue trailer that can be used in case of natural disasters such as floods, tornados and earthquakes. Purchased with funds supplied by the Department of Homeland Security, the trailer comes equipped with a portable corral, a 4- wheeler, a winch, a generator, and veterinary supplies. Fortunately, the biggest problem with the trailer’s equipment is that it is used so seldom used that it is hard to keep the batteries charged.