In this mock rescue at Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue, students first place safe webbing straps under a mare’s chest and abdomen to prepare her for a vertical lift, then lift her out safely.

It was a warm, sunny California afternoon. Christina and Pat were horseback riding a narrow, rugged backcountry horse trail in the mountains surrounded by steep ravines, and a thick forest of redwood and bay trees. Suddenly, a retaining wall at the trail’s edge gave way, and Pat’s horse, Rhemington, fell onto a narrow landing about halfway down the landslide.

A local equine-evacuation team, headed by local horseman Dave Shoen, responded to the call for help, bringing food and water to stabilize the horse, and shovels for the rescue. In addition, a Large Animal Rescue team responded from the nearby Felton Fire Station with rescue and utility trucks.

The rescuers packed equipment down a narrow trail to the accident site, arriving to find the horse calmly standing on a narrow landing to the side of the landslide, approximately halfway down the hill. Considering extrication options, the crew decided that lifting the horse back to the top of the landslide would be too difficult.

“The available natural anchors weren’t ideal and would’ve required complicated rope systems with changes of direction and remote haul teams,” said Responder Deb Fox, who owns the Large Animal Rescue Company with her husband, John Fox.

Retaining-wall remnants presented a huge obstacle, as well. “Removal of the twisted rebar, posts, and lumber would’ve been a big production with lots of activity and noise directly above the horse,” Deb said. Such a commotion might’ve caused the horse to panic. “A helicopter lift was a possibility, but precluded by the power lines strung over the lift point. It seemed like digging a trail out might be the only option.”

A Team Effort
Captain Greg Malloy contacted the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection dispatch to request a fire crew. He was told that a California Department of Corrections crew would be sent. Normally used for making wilderness fire breaks, these men are experts at clearing land, said Deb. While awaiting the CDC’s arrival, rescuers dug out the landing at the bottom of the landslide to make it as flat as possible.

“We still had to consider the safety of getting Rhemington down the slide to the landing,” Deb explained. “We wanted to hook him up to a rope system to prevent him from going over the edge, but Dave [Shoen] was afraid the ropes would scare the horse. Sedation was suggested, but we wanted Rhem to have full consciousness and coordination to navigate the trail. We compromised, and put a front harness on him that would allow free mobility but an easy attachment point if he should go over the side.”

A long lead line is attached to Rhemington and the horse is directed from a safe position as he moves out on the trail.

Angel DePui, DVM, takes X-rays on the scene to check Rhemington’s leg. She used the generator on the rescue truck, which also houses all the LAR equipment.

Get Trail-Rescue Trained

Ready to get involved? Several companies throughout the United States provide Large Animal Rescue training to firefighters, police, animal control offices, veterinarians, emergency medical technicians, and anyone interested in knowing more.  John and Deb Fox are firefighters and LAR instructors based in Felton, California. The couple gathers information from many sources to provide their students with new and creative rescue techniques. “Not only does our department schedule regular large animal rescue drills, we attend talks and classes given by experts in related fields,” Deb said. “When we teach classes, our students gain information from our constant learning.” If you attend a rescue-training session with the Foxes, you’ll work with life-size, weighted horse manikins that allow students to learn in real-life situations without stressing a live horse. The Foxes recommend attending a training session with your entire rescue team — or as many people as possible — as you’ll want to know how to work together in an emergency situation. Once your team is trained, you’ll want to attend future sessions and learn from a variety of sources to keep your rescue skills sharp and up-to-date. The Drs. Tomas and Rebecca Gimenez travel nationwide to teach their Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue training classes. Their courses, like others listed below, help emergency personnel respond quickly and safely when a horse or other large animal is injured or stuck. The couple uses well-trained horses to mimic tragic scenarios. “We welcome any opportunity to share education with trail riders and horse owners in general” Dr. Rebecca Gimenez explained. “Our horses are trained to demonstrate mud rescues and lifts without sedation so our students work in real-life scenarios.” The Gimenezes remind students that horses are heavy, fast-moving, confused, and terrified during accidents. In addition to teaching hands-on rescue techniques, they teach a bit of horse psychology — how to approach frightened animals so horse and handlers remain safe. To find a large animal-rescue course, ask your local extension agent for information on trainings in your area, or contact the organizations at right — Heidi Nyland

The Rescue Glide is the “back board” for horses that allows transport in a recumbent position. Here, Angel, a rescue-demonstrator mare, is lightly sedated so students can learn how to strap down an injured horse.

Using a rope system and harness, Felton Fire personnel lowered Deb to the site so she could transport equipment and assist Shoen and Pat’s riding buddy, Christina, with the rescue. When the CDC crew arrived, they set to carving a 175-foot trail into a near-vertical slope, completing it in 20 minutes. Rhemington remained calm throughout the process, but grew tense as the men cleared small trees and brush with a chainsaw. When they stopped, he calmed down. The next task was getting him down to the completed trail.

“Before moving Rhem out of the landing, we all chose escape routes and safety zones in case he panicked and did something unexpected,” Deb explained. The rescuers used handheld radios to communicate progress.

Shoen backed the horse out to the slide, but the horse wanted to go up the landslide and tried to turn. “Dave persisted in turning Rhem downhill and gave a big enough push to send him down to the landing,” Deb said. “Then he removed the lead line from the halter and sent Rhem out on the trail.” Rhem trotted out and was caught by people waiting at the trail’s end.

“Dave did a wonderful job of handling Rhem and directing him down the slide to the trailhead,” Deb said. “If he hadn’t used enough pressure, Rhem would’ve turned and gone uphill. If he’d used too much pressure pushing him down to the trailhead, he might’ve gone over the side.

“The beauty of this rescue was that with team effort, we were able to set things up so that Rhem could help himself. It’s ideal when you can just facilitate for the horse and tap into the tremendous power and ability that he has.”

Equine-Rescue Pioneers
In Santa Cruz, California, where the trails are narrow and steep, over-the-side falls (as Deb calls them) are common. “We’ve had horses run off, get tangled in the bridle and martingale and tumble over the side, or spook and go over the side,” Deb said. “We even heard about one well-trained horse that obediently turned with his rider when she turned to speak to a rider behind her, and went over the side. We had a horse spook and fall into a narrow gorge or hole, and one that fell through a rotting bridge, landing upside-down in a narrow creek.”

Deb’s husband, John, a long-time volunteer with the Felton Fire Protection District, initiated the LAR program in Santa Cruz County when a horse died several years ago for lack of an organized response system.

“John took on an abundance of ridicule and resistance to establish the LAR program in this county,” Deb explained. “Fire departments told them they don’t respond to animal calls. The animal-control agency here was only prepared to respond to small-animal calls, and law enforcement didn’t have a clue.”

After John became involved in LAR, Deb recognized how overwhelming it was for him, and joined the fire department as a photographer to document rescues, later becoming a firefighter/emergency medical technician so she could help at accident scenes.

“Our district averages five to six LAR incidents per year,” said John who, with Deb, developed a LAR curriculum later adopted by both the California State Fire Training and the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training. “These situations have always been there and, as the public learns that a response system is available, the number of calls is increasing. This allows the department to build experience, test new concepts, techniques, and equipment in the field.”

Must-Have Equipment

University researchers have developed new gear specifically for horse-rescue missions. The growing number of large-animal rescue and response teams has demanded specialized gear. Of course, standard ropes, leads, halters, and durable hooks are always handy. However, emergency technicians find high-tech gear is often necessary to pull a horse safely up and out of a ravine or other trail setting. John and Deb Fox of the Large Animal Rescue Company in Felton, California, train rescuers to help during large animal accidents. The Foxes recommend that rescue teams purchase a University of California-Davis Large Animal Lift and an Anderson Sling. UC-Davis’ new LAL is an affordable lifting tool similar to the familiar Anderson Sling — a widely used lift to support horses during airlifts or for long periods of rehabilitation. “The LAL is easily applied to a horse already lying down; it’s lightweight and it’s portable for remote rescues,” John said. “It’s ideal for trail rescue involving quick, low lifts.” When rescue centers are just starting out, the couple recommends they stock up on basics, then add the higher cost lifts and slings as budgets allow. Keep in mind you should be trained to use all gear before helping with rescues (see “Get Trail-Rescue Trained” on page 64). For a starter’s kit, outfit your rescue team with Collins Large Animal Rescue Straps, a rugged J-shaped hook to apply the straps from a safe position, a Rescue Glide, and various lengths of soft cotton rope or polyester web. Other options include a Liftex Large Animal Sling and the Large Animal Simple Vertical Lift developed by the Drs. Tomas and Rebecca Gimenez of Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue. “Versatility is a key,” John said. “Rescuers should consider equipment that’s multi-use, such as the Rescue Glide, which can be used for packaging and transport or as a shield to prevent further injury to an animal upon extrication. Also think about gear you can easily transport. In a trail situation, portability is a must. During trail rescues, we’ve had to haul all our equipment to the scene by hand — packing in backpacks.” In addition to the packable gear, your rescue team will probably need access to heavy equipment, such as cranes and trucks. Know in advance where you can secure this equipment, should you need it for a specific rescue. — Heidi Nyland

Fire Department Captain Greg Malloy developed techniques for adapting rope systems for off-road rescues, as well as techniques for positioning rolled trailers for safe extrication. Helicopters are used to lift horses out of remote areas, and slings are used in conjunction with rope systems for short, low lifts.

“Standard engine equipment can be adapted to mitigate 90 percent of all rescues,” John explained. 

Deb would like the United States to have a standardized educated response for LAR. There are small groups of rescuers that can be effective, she said, “but they need to know how to work effectively with agencies that have jurisdiction. In training, the critical need is for people to know how to stay safe on the scene and not pose a danger to others through inappropriate actions.”

Members of the Veterinary Emergency Response Team practicing rescues and helicopter lifts with the Anderson Sling and a dummy horse.

For instance, John warns that a rear gate or trailer ramp that has coiled springs should be opened cautiously with a heavy restraint system in place. “With the trailer in the rolled position, the coils can overload and explode with enough force to kill a bystander.” 

Due to the complexity of these technical rescues, Deb recommends that people wishing to learn LAR first take a class from a professionally recognized group.