The Horses

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The Ideal Search Horse

Horses in the Mounted Section ideally need to fit the following criteria:

Breed – Horse accepted into the Unit need to be sure-footed and capable (and willing) of putting in a full days work. The Unit’s string consists of, or has consisted of, Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, Morgans, Arabians, Appaloosas, Stockhorses, Warmbloods and Quarterhorses. Purebred heavy draughts such as Clydesdales however are less suitable due to their sheer size, their huge feet making them less nimble in steep, rocky terrain. Cross-breeds however have proven their worth on many searches in the past. 

Age – Horses must be over four years old, the rigours of a full day’s search in rough terrain quite taxing on young stock, and the level of education and tractability required comes with experienced, older horses that have been out and about a good part of their working life. Aged horses also make good mounts for search work – having seen out their competition days, mounted search could be an enjoyable natural progression to see out their working years.  Maximum age however should be 25 years. 

Gender -  Mares and geldings are accepted into the Unit. Both genders have excelled in the work and proven their tractability in all circumstances. The acceptance of a stallion is at the Local Manager’s discretion and is gauged on the nature of the animal and the experience of the rider/handler. 

Height – Horses accepted into the Unit range from 17+ hands to a minimum 14.2 hands. Horses under 14.2 find it difficult keeping up with the larger horses when trooping to search areas and in line abreast searches and tend to jog or rush, making it difficult for the rider to adequately search the ground by eye. A team evenly matched in height and stride length makes for a more thorough search of the ground by all concerned.

Education/Temperament:

The following Essential and Desirable requirements are listed below:

Traits / Skills
Tie up

Easily loads on float

Works well in company

Good in traffic

Obedient and trained

Accept items carried

Willing to work alone

Easy to mount

Work on an easy rein

Other Considerations:

Condition

Fitness

Reason
During team briefings, lunch breaks, rest periods and when tending to the injured, horses must remain calmly tied to enable searchers to complete their task without distraction.

Often loading onto the trailer occurs in darkness to enable searching to commence at dawn. Also, reloading to move to a new location is required and time is of the essence.

Horses must accept horses working on either side of them and in close proximity. Often they are worked in pairs or held in groups and sometimes it is necessary to be ponied by another horse, or pony a horse alongside.  Horses that kick have no place in the Unit. 

Vehicles are always moving through the search area, and often road verges, drains and railway lines are part of the search area.

Often the terrain is rough and varied. Crossing creeks, bridges, narrow ridges, riding down steep drops and scaling rocky slopes should all be done without a fuss. The horse must remain controllable when helicopters fly overhead or land nearby as sometimes occurs on a search and allowing gates to be opened and closed while mounted are a bonus to the rider. The better educated the horse the more efficiently the rider can search the ground. 

Searchers carry backpacks, first aid kits, tape marker bags, water bottles, blankets, raincoats and sometimes two-way radios as an essential part of the task.

Sometimes horses split from the team to search an area out of sight or are separated by thick bush. A willingness to work out of sight of others is preferred.

Much mounting and dismounting occurs on a search as clues are found and investigated. A horse that is difficult to mount slows down the search team.

All the work of the search horse should be achieved on an easy rein.  Having to constantly hold a horse to stand still or maintain its pace in the search line wears out both the horse and rider. Horses need to be tractable enough to calmly follow their line in all terrains and situations.

Horses must be shod or booted for search work. Protecting the feet during long hours in the hill or on the road will ensure the horse remains sound for further work

Horses must be sound and in good condition when working with the Section. An unsound or horse in poor condition will be unable to meet the rigours of a full day’s search and therefore will not be accepted until it is healthy and fit enough for duty.   

Mounted Section members are expected to maintain the health and fitness of their mounts with proper daily care and exercise, and be ever-ready for the call to duty.

All horses in the Mounted Section should bring pride to the rest of the team by their behaviour and appearance.

Helen Isles