In which I discuss some strategies to know regarding lost horses

At the ride last weekend, some dogs scared a horse who then ran off into the wilderness with her saddle and bridle but without her rider.

If that happens to you (and I hope that it never does!), I want you to know some stuff.

And yes, I learned most of this stuff the hard way, when a horse I took to an endurance ride in Prineville Oregon got scared in the middle of the night, blew through his electric pen, and was lost for 4 days.  

The Toad took his gelding buddy with him when he ran, so we couldn't use his buddy as "bait" to lure him home.  However, if you lose a horse and NOT your horse's buddy, take the buddy with you when you search. With any luck, the buddy horse will holler and your horse will come a-running.

We wasted valuable time searching the creek bottoms and canyon floors for our horses, because knowledgeable people told us that horses are lazy and will head downhill instead of uphill.  Our horses were Arab geldings fit for 50-mile rides; they were also adrenaline fiends.  They ran uphill.  If your horse gets lost, think about where s/he is most likely to run, and go there first.

Toad was never food-motivated, and neither was his buddy.  If I go hunting for a food-motivated horse, I take a "shaker can" with me--either a can with grain in it, or something that sounds like a grain can that I've cobbled together from stuff I can find quickly.  I've experimented with teaching Fee to respond to a whistle I keep on my zipper pull (I can't do that loud whistle with two fingers in my mouth, but I wish I could...) but she isn't consistant about coming to it.  Yet.

Toad was a distinctively-marked bay gelding with a ride number written on his butt when he left camp; I could describe him easily to other searchers.  If your horse is a plain brown wrapper:

I recommend that you add some kind of identification so that people can tell that the horse they've found is yours.  

The photo (above) is Fiddle.  The photo (below) is her cousin, Ryan's standardbred mare Whiskey.  

Could you tell these mares apart easily without tack?  You see my point.

Whenever we leave home for a trip longer than a single day, I braid a dog tag into each horse's mane with a pipecleaner.  The tag is shaped like a skull+crossed bones, and engraved on it is the horse's name and a cellphone number.  Since there are pirate flags all over my camper and trailer, I figure just the shape of the tag alone might bring my horse back home if she wanders and is captured.

Of course, Fiddle has a very distinguishing mark:  her freeze brand, which shows her USTA registration number.

 I take photos of the horses each summer around July 4th, and each winter around Xmas so that I have recent pictures showing their conformation and markings with a seasonally appropriate haircoat.  I hope I never have to put these photos on a "LOST HORSE" poster...but if I need them, I've got them.

The photos also have ME in them:  proof that I had possession when the picture was taken, which a sheriff will appreciate.  I also had a livestock brand inspection done for each of the horses, and the laminated ID card issued by the state is kept in a secure location in the horse trailer.

Who do you call if your horse is lost?

Here's a starter list:

• Contact everyone within shouting distance, including neighbors, riding partners, other riders, and other people riding their bikes, walking their dogs, and hiking with their kids.
• If your horse is lost in the wilderness, contact the local chapter(s) of the BackCountry Horsemen.  Many of these people will also be members of the local Search and Rescue, if there is one--and if they aren't, they will know how to contact S&R.
• Call law enforcement, including city cops and sheriffs.  If you're near a state road or highway, call the state police also.  If you're in a park, call the rangers.
• Contact animal control offices.  Ask the cops--some areas have multiple animal control agencies, and you want to talk to them all.
• Stop and talk to construction crews, if any are working nearby.
• Visit local auction yards.  If somebody finds your horse and wants to sell it because they haven't seen your posters, you will want the auction staff watching for it so it doesn't get sold to a kill buyer.
• File a report on NetPosse.com, which operates a nationwide alert system for lost and stolen horses.
• If the horse is in an open area, consider enlisting a local airplane or helicopter pilot in the search.
• TALK TO KIDS.  Kids will keep looking long after the adults have lost hope and interest.

Make up a simple poster with this information:

LOST HORSE

breed, gender, color + markings

last known location of the horse, and date that it was lost

PHOTO

your contact info (tearaway strips are good)

Make a billion color copies of the poster.  Post it everywhere.  Send it to everyone.  Gas stations, feed stores, gear shops, grocery stores.  Send it to the local newspaper.  Send the poster via email to everyone also.

Then grab your shaker-can and put on your sturdiest walking shoes, and get out there and look.

Most of the lost horse cases I know of are found, usually within a week.

Sometimes lost horses are gone for a month or more.  Keep looking.  It's hard, I know.  Keep looking.

And know that all of our thoughts are with Misty and her missing mare Sophie.  I'll let y'all know the progress on that one.