Apple Valley Posse: Expanding the Role of the Horse

Apple Valley Sheriff’s Posse is paving the way for San Bernardino County MSAR with several upcoming training events [Click this link for a flyer-Ed.] specifically designed to demonstrate and exploit the significant advantages of the horse.  Following two months of heavy academics and bad weather, we initiated annual HARMS certifications for all members in March.  Also,  we kicked off our packing program with the certification and qualification of two pack teams and have more on the way.

The packing program is very exciting because it gives AVSP the distinct capability of direct support to County AEMTs in the field.  Our pack teams can deploy, transporting vital medical equipment to the field saving time and accelerating patient care.  Furthermore, as is the case in several neighboring states, pack teams are all weather and can transport SAR equipment of ground or mountain assets to a search segment, saving vital energy for crews.  One pack horse can carry the equipment of a four to six-man team (depending on the gear), and do it all day!

Our mounted training is expanding to include upper level topics such as precision land navigation while mounted.  Also, we are incorporating essential skill-sets such as wrangler duties, team-leader executional decision making, and stock management on the search as well as in the field.  When a team finds evidence, a crime scene, is called upon to track, or has to extricate a victim, someone has to do something safely with the stock.  It’s often talked about, but rarely practiced.  We’re making it SOP.  Moreover, the California Mutual Aid requirements for MSAR discuss several considerations regarding stock management in the field that should be common practice, but could easily be overlooked resulting at the worst in injury or fatality of a horse or handler, and at the least a very embarassing episode for the team or the county.

As the hosts of the upcoming 2011 All County MSAR event, we will be training and / or discussing many of these skill-sets to our county MSAR units.  In addition, we will be expanding on these skills during our April training exercise.  Anyone interested in attending our training is more than welcome to come along.  Feel free to contact Captain Roy Nuckols, rnuckols@sbsar.org, David Boychuck, dboychuck@sbsar.org, or Dean Mott, dmott@sbsar.org.