Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Training

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***THIS CLINIC IS FOR EQUINE OWNERS AND THEIR EQUINE*** 

Emergency responders typically perform rescues of humans and not equines; therefore equine anatomy, psychology and behavior under stress, handling and safety concerns are not foremost on their minds during a rescue operation. Think of how your equine partner would handle being trapped in a situation with no self-escape, only to be approached by vehicles with loud sirens and flashing lights then approached by multiple responders, or “predators”, wearing emergency gear, smelling of smoke, and making scary noises. Then those same people gather around your equine partner, who already is stressed and acting on instinct alone, and touch, push, and pull on sensitive parts of its body apply long lengths of rope and straps, start and use noisy equipment, deploy poles, ladders, hoses and heavy equipment in order to perform the rescue operation. 

Have you ever thought about what you would do or how you would react if you were in an emergency incident with your horse requiring him/her, or you both, to be rescued in order to survive… for example – a motor vehicle accident in which your trailer is overturned, a trail incident where your horse ends up upside down at the bottom of a ravine, an entrapment in your pasture where your horses legs are caught in fencing, a barn incident when your horse becomes cast in a stall, or you find your horse belly deep stuck in mud unable to free him/herself. As horse owners, we tend to remain steadfast in our comfort zone, thinking that we are as prepared as we can be for any emergency. One should be applauded for being prepared for an emergency, but it is difficult to be prepared for something that you never thought about happening… simply because we believe it won’t or can’t happen to us….or even have that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality as day to day operations have been occurring for years without incident. Don’t think you will never be exposed to these type of situations…because it can happen to you when you least expect it! 

THIS CLINIC IS CO-INSTRUCTED BY KELLY SIGLER-PATTERSON, PROFESSIONAL HORSEMANSHIP CLINICIAN AND HORSE TRAINER OF NAMASTE HORSEMANSHIP and HORSEMANSHIP FOR YOUR JOURNEY