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General News: Learning to Rescue Large Animals
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| Karma the horse was raised up on this A-frame. |
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| The hands-on participants pulled the ropes to raise the horse. |
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| Rebecca Gimenez tried to coax the llama onto the A-frame strap. |
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| The horse was secured on a glide before bandaging its leg in the night rescue. |
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| Inflated hoses were used to get the horse out of the water. |
July 14, 2008
Animal rescue experts were in Cornwall this past weekend, teaching emergency responders what to do if they are faced with removing large animals from a fire or accident.
Ivy Rock Farms sponsored a three-day session led by Tomas and Rebecca Gimenez, of Clemson, S.C., who travel the country to present their specialized training.
Jennifer Migdal, who helps run Ivy Rock Farms, says they brought in the trainers because they know that accidents involving large animals are fairly common and often emergency rescue teams don’t know how to handle them.
“We have 70 horses that we care for here,” Migdal said. “If our barn burned down, you can’t just open the doors and let the horses out because they will turn around and go back in. You have to get them haltered and into the field.”
The rescue training on Saturday afternoon involved learning how to lift the large animals using an A-frame, ropes and pulleys.
Twenty-two participants – 13 of them hands-on – were given an opportunity to haul up a horse named Karma and gently guide it back down. In a real emergency the animal would first be anesthetized to keep it from flailing around.
Later that night, the group held a night rescue with the victim hidden in the woods. Once located, the group secured the horse to a stretcher and bandaged its leg.
In a water rescue, the team learned how to guide a horse out of the water using air-filled hoses as a flotation device. Horses and similar animals have a hard time keeping their heads above water and attempts to lead them out by their heads can often fail, according to trainers.
The participants in the weekend program came from throughout the area, with the largest group from Rockland County fire departments, mounted police and rescue units. Only two people attended from Orange County -- Stacy Conley of the New Windsor police department’s animal control unit, and a representative of the City of Newburgh police department. Conley is also a lieutenant in the Cornwall fire department and believes that her knowledge will be an important resource for the department.
Jennifer Migdal, who noted that the staff of Ivy Rock Farms had been trained by the same team last year, said she had expected more local emergency responders to attend the workshop. “It’s not just about protecting the animal,” she said. “It’s about public safety because animals can respond crazily and people need to know how to handle them.”
She recalled a photo she saw in the newspaper after a horse was injured in an accident on the New York State Thruway in April. “Nothing was containing the horse or protecting the people who were sitting, squatting and leaning over the horse,” Migdal recalled. “The horse would still kick and those people were in danger.”
Ivy Rock Farms subsidized the large animal rescue training because Migdal and the farm’s owners, Roger and Shelley Gray, are experimenting with ways that the 185-acre farm off Route 94 can be a resource for the entire community.
CLICK ON ANY PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW.
Comments:
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As former dog control officer for Cornwall, I requested permission from my supervisor, Chief Hazard, who denied my request stating it was unnecessary for me to attend this training as a DOG control officer. I guess this means there are no large animals in Cornwall that I would be asked for assistance with? It may be a rare situation to be called for but the training was locally available at a reasonable price
posted by ABC123 on 07/14/08 at 6:04 PM
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Orange County has the second largest horse population in New York State. In Cornwall alone we have hundreds of horses, cow, alpacas, goats, llamas and other large animals. Just a few months back we had several cows loose on Route 94 and no one knew what to do. This is not about animals, this is about public safety. People and passers-by want to help animals in need .but have no idea the dangers involved. Before any animal incident turns into a human accident, our emergency responders should know or be aware of how they can help and protect the community.
posted by juniper17 on 07/15/08 at 11:56 AM
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I was the "DOG" Control Officer for the now defunct Putnam Valley Poice Department for 5 years -- and it amazes me how townships will conviently NOT train DCOs but expect us to "handle" the other calls -- I responded to calls involving squirrels, cats, rabbits, quail, ducks, geese, swans, hawks, parrots, horses, goats, sheep, snakes, turtles, parakeets, guinea hens, chickens, raccoons, skunks, possum, wood chucks, deer, coyotes, pigeons --- MY POINT IS --- EVERY TOWN NEEDS SOMEONE TO ADDRESS THESE CALLS -- The Police department doesn't want to and shouldn't have to.
posted by Scrooge on 07/15/08 at 1:03 PM
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