Large Animal Rescue

When folks have an emergency, they call 0-1-1 and they expect that someone will be sent to help them with their problem. The fire service has evolved into an emergency services organization which, in addition to putting out fires, deals with everything from motorists stranded on a flooded bridge, to a horse who has fallen off a ledge and finds himself wedged in on his back.

There are an estimated 9.2 million horses in the United States, and the number of horses on the roads and trails is increasing every year. Not surprisingly there has been an increase in the number of emergency incidents involving large animals. Large Animal Rescue incidents can be resolved with technical skills applied with an understanding of horse behavior and characteristics, and these skills are not trivial. Working around a panicked horse in a possibly life threatening situation requires training to avoid injuring either the horse orthe rescuers. Large animals are dynamic and unpredictable. In stressful situations they act and react differently. Rescuers need to be prepared for these unpredictable reactions. The equipment and systems used need to be adaptable to these changes.

It has only been in the past few years that fully articulated horse sized mannequins have become available. These mannequins, are named "Lucky" by the manufacturer Rescue Critters. Lucky is life-size, and The feel and articulation of Lucky closely simulates a sedated horse. Lucky weighs only 400 pounds, compared with 1,000 to 1,200 pounds for an average horse. Still,it allows firefighters to train for equine rescue scenarios: an overturned trailer, a horse in a sinkhole or a steed that wanders into a swimming pool.

Students are taught the safety and danger zones around the animals. Lucky allows students to recreate real-life large animal rescues, on-road or off-road. Students learn positioning and the use of rescue equipment in a safe manner.