Articles

MERS FUNDRAISER ON SUNDAY, JUNE 3rd, 2012

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:27:31 GMT

PLEASE COME JOIN US FOR OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISER. It's just around the corner, and MERS could certainly use your support, and would really appreciate it very much!

HERE IS AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT THE DAY OF THE EVENT:

SUNDAY, JUNE 3rd 7:30am---NOON.

GREENSFELDER PARK (Allenton Road behind 6 Flags)

This truly is an event that you do not want to miss, even if you don't have a horse. MERS is very fortunate, once again, to have Fox Creek Veterinary Hospital www.foxcreekveterinaryhospital.com to be organizing and hosting this annual event.

FOR THE HORSEBACK RIDERS--there will be a 'Just For Fun' Poker Ride and Obstacle Course. If any horse and/or rider does not feel comfortable with any of the 5 'Just For Fun' obstacles, you can simply get your Poker Card at the station, bypass the obstacle, and move on down the trail without penalty.

7:30am--REGISTRATION BEGINS

8:00AM--1st RIDER OUT

9:00-9:30am--LAST RIDER TO LEAVE

ALL HORSES MUST HAVE A CURRENT NEGATIVE COGGINS UPON REGISTRATION.

VERY NICE PRIZES FOR 1st, 2nd & 3rd PLACE.

$25.00 TO RIDE THE COURSE--INCLUDES ALL YOU CAN EAT LUNCH.

$8.00 LUNCH ONLY FOR NON-RIDERS.

LUNCH STARTS AT 10:30am UNTIL NOON.

EARLY BIRDS: We will have available a FULL BREAKFAST BAR from 7:30am--NOON. This is supported/funded/hosted by THE HAPPY TRAILS RIDING CLUB, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting MERS. The BREAKFAST BAR is exclusive and not related to the lunch.

ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT THE BREAKFAST BAR:

HOMEMADE TO ORDER BELGIAN WAFFLES

HOMEMADE FRESH BAKED GOODS

DONUTS

COFFEE AND OTHER BEVERAGES

ENTERTAINMENT: Roadhouse www.theroadhouseband.net (The Stovall Fiddlers). We are very fortunate to have these true professionals musicians back by popular demand. MERS would like to thank the business that is sponsoring/hosting this group to make this all happen: THE STOVALL GROVE BAR & GRILL-GROVER, MO. www.stovallsgrove.com . Thank You So Much!!

We are very fortunate to have EARTH and WHEEL POTTERY, Sandy Schulz, to have her booth set up to demonstrate the unique technique of making Horse Hair Pottery. www.earthandwheel.com

On Saturday, June 2nd, the day before the event, many people have already reserved camping sites for the event. Plans have already been made to have a Bon Fire that evening, and various musicians will be on hand picking their guitars around the fire. Bring your own lawn chairs and provisions for a fun night around the camp fire. If you wish to reserve a camp site, there are still sites available. You can reserve a camp site by calling the St. Louis County Parks Department @ 314-615-4386.

Pre-registration for the riding event is available by calling Fox Creek @ 636-458-6569. ALL major credit cards are accepted for this and on the day of the event. Pre-registration will earn you one extra Poker Card.

READY FOR WHAT SOME CONSIDER THE BEST!!! HUGE SILENT AUCTION!!!

The Silent Auction will run from 7:30am until around NOON. The Silent Auction ALWAYS has something for everyone. All major credit cards are accepted.

This event truly is coming together through a community effort from Fox Creek Veterinary Hospital's sponsorship, Homestead Veterinary Hospital inserting our flyers into all of their mailings, The Happy Trails Riding Club, The Ozark Ridge Riders Riding Club volunteering manpower, and the other booths and entertainment entities previously mentioned. This event would never ever happen if it weren't for the large outpouring of the local businesses that donated thousands of dollars worth of auction items and food products.

All of the stars have now lined up. We are now counting on you, once again, to come out and help show support for MERS. MERS does provide a very valuable and much needed service to the entire state of Missouri and Southwest Illinois.

MERS is a 501c3 non profit organization that relies 100% on donations to operate.

HERE IS A PARTIAL LIST OF SOME OF SILENT AUCTION ITEMS:

CAROL HOUSE FURNITURE--GIFT CARD $500.00

INNSBROOK and CRESCENT FARMS GOLF PACKAGES

2 DIFFERENT LARGE PREMIUM CAMPING TENTS---1 LARGE PREMIUM SLEEPING BAG

VARIOUS GIFT BASKETS INCLUDING WINE GIFT BASKETS

6 MONTHS OF DOG OBEDIENCE TRAINING-PETROPOLIS--$450.00

CORDILLEARA LODGE & SPA-VAIL. COLORADO--3 NIGHTS--$1,200.00

CHASE PARK PLAZA-WEENDEND STAY + BREAKFAST+ 4 MOVIE PASSES-$300.00

THE WESTIN--ONE NIGHT STAY

HOLIDAY INN-6 FLAGS-ONE NIGHT STAY

5 SETS OF CARDINAL BASEBALL TICKETS-SOME INCLUDE PARKING!!!

WEBER Q120 GAS GRILL-$200.00

CERAMEC OUTDOOR ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAIN-$260.00

ORIGINAL 6' TEXAS LONG HORNS--GRINGO JONES-$260.00

3 LAWN CHAIRS-BYERLY'S RV--$230.00

EMBASSEY SUITES -WEEKEND STAY-$200.00

COACH PURSE-$400.00

This is less than half of what has come in so far.

Many additional items are still coming in.

MERS Large Animal Rescue Short Summary & History

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:40:11 GMT

MERS Large Animal Rescue has a core group of 8 Members that have been together uninterrupted as a team since 2002. On January 21st, 2006, MERS was founded and born out of a desire to be in a position to go out and seek the highest level of training, professionalism, and to put ourselves in a position to acquire the best, professional technical equipment that could be found for Large Animal Rescue.

Since 2006, that original core group has grown to a much higher number with some long term members. MERS currently has 23 dedicated, loyal, commited, and highly trained professional volunteers that are willing to drop whatever it is that they are doing, day or night, and respond to an emergency to make a difference in an animal that is truly in a life or death situation. All MERS members make huge personal sacrifices to belong to this organization , and even pay for their own fuel to respond to these call outs.

Since January 21st, 2006, MERS has responded to 192 call outs for service. Many of these call outs come into us from veterinarians, or other 1st Responders, such as Police Agencies or Fire Districts. We have responded to 9 call outs thus far in 2012 (as of 05-18-2012). MERS has responded to literally every corner within the state of Missouri, and have responded into Illinois 11 times.

DATE CITY ROUND TRIP MILES

01/19/07 Springfield, Mo. 376

12/13/07 Kansas City, Mo. 500

06/25/09 Knox County(N. of Hannibal) 300

07/08/09 Mt. Vernon, Illinois 240

04/26/11 Caruthersville, Mo. 475

06/24-26/11 Joplin, Mo. 474

TOTAL MILES ON THE ABOVE 6 CALL OUTS 2,365

With responding to 192 Call Outs, Training on a regular basis, and going to various locations to perform demonstrations, we have currently started the process of replacing worn equipment, as well as worn and weathered uniforms. MERS provides a very valuable and much needed service to the entire state of Missouri, and Southwest Illinois.

MERS is a 501c3 non profit organization that relies 100% on donations to operate. We are not affiliated with any other group or organization, agency, or government entity.

PLEASE help support MERS by attending our upcoming annual Fundraiser on Sunday, June 3rd. If you are unable to attend, a donation in any amount would be very much appreciated.

Donations may be sent to:

MERS

4420 Allenton Road

Wildwood, Mo. 63069

or you may make a SECURE donation via PAYPAL by simply going to our website www.mersteam.org and clicking PAYPAL.

Hope to see you at the Fundraiser!

MERS Responds to a Horse Down under low Trees-Dittmer, Mo. 04-30-2012

Tue, 01 May 2012 15:22:01 GMT

MERS received a call at 9:31pm from the owner of a horse that was down. This was our 8th call for 2012. The frantic owner described that the horse had been unaccounted for for some time. When the horse was located, it was down and under some low lying cedar trees, wedged inbetween branches and limbs. Due to the circumstances and how long the horse had been down, MERS requested that the owner have her Veterinarian respond as well. MERS had 18 members that responded. Upon our arrival, we were notified that the veterinarian was on the scene. We had to offload our ATV with the necessary equipment needed, and drive approximately 1/2 mile through a field to a tree line to where the horse was located. Our 1st observation was the horse was somewhat wedged into some low lying cedar trees, both front and back legs were stuck inbetween trees, and there was no overhead heighth for the horse to get sternal or get up. There was evidence where the horse had scooted approximately 10' on its side while under the trees before getting wedged into this spot. We immediately put our MERS Head Protector on the recumbent horse. We then were able to get our Bill Hook under the horse, and was then able to pull two long webbings underneath the horse, working from the dorsal side. We then placed two narrow webbings around the legs in order to tuck the legs up once we could get them away from the tree. Once the two long webbings were in place, we 1st pulled the back of the horse out a short distance performing the backward drag, then using both webbings, we were able to perform the horizontal drag to pull the horse out from underneath the trees. While we were performing this procedure, other MERS members were on the two webbings on the legs keeping the legs tucked in. Once the horse was approximately 12' away from the trees, we then immediately rolled the horse over onto its opposite side, largely in part because the horse had been on the one side the entire time. Once the horse was rolled, it made no effort to want to stand. Using our two long webbings, and with equal number of members on each side, we then got the horse into a sternal position, and lifted the horse up manually. Once we lifted the horse up, the horse began to stand on its own immediately, although the horse was very unstable and was listing. After we held the horse up for a few moments, it was then checked again by the Veterinarian. After a few moments of massaging the horses leg muscles, we then walked the horse approximately 1/4 of a mile into the barn. Once in the barn, the horse received further evaluations and Meds from the Veterinarian. After standing by for approximately 20 minutes, we were then released to leave by the Veterinarian. We then traveled 1/4 of a mile back to the MERS Rescue Truck/ Trailer, loaded all of our equipment back into the trailer, and then debriefed.

From the time that we arrived onto the scene until we had the horse up was approximately 20 minutes.

Prior to us departing, we were told that the prognosis was very good for this horse. Rocky, this beautiful Appaloosa weighed in at approximately 1, 200 lbs., and has a birthday coming up in just 2 days!

MERS members returned home at 1:00am.

MERS members spend day at local school to educate students

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 02:59:24 GMT

MERS members Lori Julius and Billy Pointer braved the rainy weather on Saturday April 14th, 2012 and traveled to an elementary school in Ballwin with the MERS Mascot Frankie.

Frankie, is a survivor of the I-44 Tractor Trailer accident on September 27th, 2006 that involved 42 horses in a rollover accident on I-44. Frankie will always remember that terrible night when she was trapped waiting for MERS to arrive on the scene. After months of rehabilitation for Frankie, MERS member Lori Julius adopted Frankie, and Frankie then became the MERS Mascot!

This particular school that Lori and Billy traveled to just recently completed the book TWIST OF FATE, which is a book describing what took place that night , and where some of the survivors ended up going, and where they are now. The students were very excited to meet Frankie on this day!

Photo Gallery

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:42:42 GMT

MERS Responds to Fenton, Mo. on April 1st.

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:36:13 GMT

MERS received a call at 4:47pm from a Veterinarian who was on the scene of a horse down in a pasture. The horse had been down for 2 1/2 hours, and it was unclear, at the time, why the horse had gone down.

When MERS arrived on the scene we immediately place the MERS Head Protector on the recumbent horse. The horse was thrashing around violently in an effort to get up, but he could not get into a sternal position to get up. It required several members to hold the horse down for it's own protection against injuring itself. We quickly got our special webbing under the horse, by rolling the horse over, and made one attempt to manually raise the horse. Although we were able to get the horse sternal, the horse made no effort to want to stand. We then got our MERS A-Frame out, set it up within a few minutes, and raised the horse up into a horizontal postion. The horse began standing on it's own immediately. After several minutes, we released the horse from our equipment, walked it out for several minutes, and then placed the horse into it's stall.

The Veterinarian reported a good prognosis for the horse. We debriefed a short distance from the scene, and departed. Our MERS Rescue Truck/Trailer traveled 75.5 miles round trip on this call, and one member responded from a relatives house, north of Alton, Illinois. MERS had 11 members that were willing to drop what they were doing, take time out from their personal lives, and save this horse. ALL dedicated members......

MERS Responds to Wright City, Mo. on March 24th, 2012

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 03:11:56 GMT

MERS received a call from Central County Alarm at 1:29pm to assist Wright City Fire Department for a horse that was down in a gulley. As we were responding, it was reported that the horse was out of the gulley, but was laying lifeless on the ground. A veterinarian had just arrived on the scene, and was administering medications to the lifeless horse.

Upon our arrival, we immediately placed our MERS Head Protector on the recumbent horse, and placed 2 short webbings on the dorsal side of the horse. We rolled the horse over onto the 2 short webbings, and then hooked the webbings up to our spreader bar for lifting. While we were responding to the scene, we had requested a boom truck that we were aware of in the area, and he was on the scene when we arrived. We lifted the horse up to a horizontal position and began massaging the horses leg muscles. After a few minutes, the horse began to stand on it's own. After a few more minutes, we released the horse from our equipment and walked the horse out. We then walked the horse up and into a barn, where the veterinarian continued to give the horse medications. From the time that we had arrived on the scene and had the horse up was approximately 8 minutes. We were told that the prognosis for the horse was excellent.

MERS would like to thank the Wright City Fire Department for their assistance.

Round trip mileage from St. Clair, Mo. : 90.5

MERS Responds on February 10th for Horse Down in Pasture in Wildwood.

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 04:09:26 GMT

MERS received a call at 12:09pm for a horse that was down in a pasture. It was unknown why it was down, or for how long it had been down. It was 36 degrees outside, with dropping temperatures throughout the day, and it was raining and sleeting, mixed with snow. The owner told us that she had the horse blanketed. Upon our arrival, we were shown the location of the horse. The horse was approximately 1/4 mile from the house and barn, out on a somewhat hilly pasture clearly out of site from the house. The horse appeared to have been rolling, and ended up in a small gulley, with all four of it's legs through the fence that ran along the property line. The initial observations revealed a horse that appeared to be lifeless. As the team was loading up the ATV with the equipment, our Techs. checked the basic vitals: Temperature, Capillary Refill, Mucus Membrane Color, and Borborygmus. All came back way below anything considered normal. We immediately requested that the owner call her veterinarian, and get him started in our direction. The veterinarian responded, and was approximately one hour away.

We needed to get the horse out of the weather immediately. We placed our MERS Head Protector on the horse. We placed our 2 long webbings on the dorsal side of the recumbent horse, and using Prussik Webbings around the horse's legs, we rolled the horse over onto the 2 long webbings. We had to have 2 MERS members hold the fence up that the horse was under. Using the webbing, we then performed a forward assist to get the horse a safe distance from the fence. With both webbings still under the horse, we then made one attempt the lift the horse up. With us manually holding the horse up, the horse gave us no response, and was suspended with a lifeless disposition. With a zero result on the Borborygmus, the horse was showing a classic sign for advanced Colic. We immediately rolled the the lifeless horse over onto our Rescue Glide. We securely and safely packaged the horse for transportation to the owner's barn. Using our MERS John Deere Gator, we transported the horse the approximate 1/4 mile to the barn. The last 50' was through a muddy turn out area, and it is now pouring down rain. Approximately half way through the turn out area, we unhooked the John Deere Gator, backed it into the barn, and proceeded to use the winch on the front of the Gator to pull the Rescue Glide through the thick mud, and into the barn. Once in the barn, we quickly set up our MERS A-Frame for lifting. This barn is typical of most, in that, there were no acceptable rafters for lifting a horse. Once we had the A-Frame set up, we then set up our 9:1 mechanical rope system for lifting. Setting up the A-Frame and the 9:1 took approximately 12-14 minutes. We now hooked our MERS spreader bar up to the recumbent horse, and using the 9:1 lifted the horse up into an upright/ horizontal position. The horse remained lifeless, and his temperature had dropped. We then brought in our Torpedo Heater, trained that on the horse and closed the barn doors. We also placed the MERS heated blanket on the horse. The heated blanket is a piece of equipment that we had specially made for these situation. With the heater on the horse, along with the heated blanket, and us rubbing the horse's muscles, he started to respond and started to get some color back, and he then started standing on his own. His temperature began to go up, and although it was very compacted, he did relieve himself. By now the veterinarian had arrived. After consulting with him with our previous evaluations, he immediately went to work. After various evaluations and medicines administered to the horse by the veterinarian, we then released the horse from our equipment and walked the horse outside of the barn to a pasture. The horse appeared a little unstable initially, but began to regain some composure. After about 10 minutes, we walked the horse back in and put him in a stall. The horse was drinking 'warm' water, and was now eating hay. After approximately 20 more minutes, the veterinarian felt comfortable enough to release us. We spent the next 15 minutes breaking all of our equipment down. We were told that the prognosis for the horse is very good. We departed and drove back to Greensfelder Park where we conducted a lengthy debriefing in the HEATED Women's restroom.

MERS was posed with a variety of challenges on this call out, and required a 'Never Quit' determination to end up with this end result. We had 13 MERS members (8 Women, 5 Men) that were able to put themselves in a postion to respond to this mid day call out, in less than favorable conditions.

Responded at 12:09pm

Completed at 5:05pm

Round Trip Mileage From St. Clair: 70.3 Miles

MERS Responds on 3rd Call Out for 2012 to Franklin County, Mo.

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:37:40 GMT

MERS received a call from a veterinarian at 1:50pm for a horse that was down in a stall. This was a 2,000 Lb. Percheron/ Irish Thoroughbred. Although the horse is an extremely active and healthy horse, it does have some arthritis. It is thought that possibly the horse simply layed down on it's own, layed too long on the arthitic leg, the leg 'fell to sleep', which caused the horse to struggle to get back up.

Upon our arrival we immediately placed the MERS Head Protector on the recumbent horse. Because of the size and the horse being 'very active and highly spirited', this created some real challenges. After we successfully got the horse onto our Rescue Glide, we transported the horse outside where we set up our piece of equipment for raising horses. After the horse was successfully hooked up to the spreader bar for lifting, we then set up our 9:1 mechanical rope system for lifting. The 9:1 is 150' of rope that is set up specifically though a series of carabiners and pulleys (7 carabiners & 4 pulleys) that comes together through a gathering plate, which then allows a minimal amount of manpower to safely lift the horse up. Once we had the horse into an upright horizontal postion, he began to stand immediately on his own. After several minutes of the veterinarian evaluating the horse, we then released the horse from our equipment and walked the horse for approximately 15 minutes. The horse began walking 100% normal immediately. As we were departing, the veterinarian was still on site continuing evaluations and giving the horse very important fluids.

A footnote to this story: We have only responded one other time to this address and this horse, and it happened to be exactly one year to the date of this event. It was February 9th, 2011.

MERS has an extremely dedicated group of well trained members. At 1:50pm, we had 12 of our members that put themselves in a position to be available to respond to this call out. As difficult and as active as this horse was, all MERS members had to be in sync at all times with the rest of the group to perform this rescue as efficiently as possible, and as safe as possible for the horse, as well as all of the members.

MERS Responds to 2nd Call of the year on Friday, January 13th, 2012--Elsberry, Mo.

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:50:04 GMT

MERS received a call on Friday, January 13th, 2012 for a horse down in a pasture, just outside the barn. We received the call @ 8:50pm. MERS traveled over 83 miles to get to the scene, in Elsberry, Mo. Upon our arrival, the last mile was on an ice covered road, and the outside temperature was 9 degrees.We had 13 highly dedicated members that were available to respond.

When MERS had received the initial call, we immediately requested that the owner call a Veterinarian to respond as well, factoring in what the owner had told us and combining that with the outside temperature. When we arrived, the Veterinarian had just arrived, as well, and had already completed some initial evaluations. Although the vitals came back normal, and the horse was full of energy, the Veterinarian was very concerned about the horse's left front leg, and in order to do a complete evaluation on that, we needed to get the horse up. The horse had been blanketed from the time that the owner had made the initial call to MERS.

We immediately placed our MERS Head Protector on the recumbent horse, rolled the horse over onto our long webbings, and attempted to manually lift the horse up in the frozen pasture. We had to physically hold the horse up, as the horse would not put any weight on the one particular leg. We then put the horse back down and blanketed the horse. We then resorted to putting together the MERS A-Frame specifically designed for lifting horses, and holding them in place. After we assembled this, we were required to place the downed horse onto our Rescue Glide, securely package the horse, and transported the horse approximately 100' to the A-Frame. With our lifting equipment hooked up to the horse, we successfully lifted the horse up and into a horizontal postion. With the horse suspended in the horizontal postion, the Veterinarian made an immediate evaluation that the horse's front left leg was broken. We slowly lowered the horse back down, and the horse had to be humanely euthanized by the Veterinarian. MERS stayed on the scene and offered whatever assistance and condolences that we could for this very sad outcome. This was certainly not the outcome that we were hoping for. After we packed all of our equipment up, we then traveled approximately 14 miles to Troy, Mo.(on the way home) stopped at a local Gas Station where we spent a good deal of time debriefing and evaluating what we had just experienced.

The majority of MERS members are horse owners, and the majority of our call outs have great outcomes. When we work this hard in an attempt to save an animals life, and have this result, it has an effect on all of us. MERS members are all professionals--we discuss the situation, and prepare for the next call out.

We arrived back home at 2:30am, 9 degrees outside, and drove 166 miles round trip.

MERS responds on the 32nd call for 2011 to Ballwin, Mo.

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:08:15 GMT

MERS received a call at 10:50am through a veterinarian for assistance with a horse down in a stall. MERS was able to have 12 members respond. The horse had been down for approximately 2 hours when we received the call. The horse was a Hanoverian, a little over 17 hands in height. It was not known why the horse was down, but for the veterinarian to do proper evaluations, MERS needed to get the horse upright. Upon our arrival we placed the MERS Head Protector on the horse. We then placed our specialized equipment under the downed horse, and were able to get the horse sternal. The horse was thrashing around but we stayed with it. This is part of the reason why it is so important that we have an OPERATIONS OFFICER and a SAFETY OFFICER on each and every call out. Using our equipment and with equal number of members on each side, we were able to quickly and safely lift the horse up into an upright and standing position. From the time that we arrived on the scene, we had the horse up and standing in less than 10 minutes.The veterinarian performed some evaluations and we then walked the horse out of the barn into a turn out area . We walked the horse for approximately 15 minutes. At that time, the veterinarian released us from our duty.

MERS Responds to their 1st Call out for 2012 to Robertsville, Mo.

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:01:48 GMT

MERS received their 1st Call out for 2012 on Thursday, January 05 @ 11:08am. We responded to an address for a horse that was down in an area right next to a barn. The veterinarian had already been called and was on the way, but was a couple of hours away. The Veterinarian gave the owner specific instructions.

Upon our arrival we placed the MERS Head Protector on the horse and took vitals. The basic vitals came back favorable. Using our Bill Hook, we were able to get our two long webbings under the horse. With equal amount of people on each side, we were able to lift the horse up into a standing position on our second attempt. We walked the horse out into a pasture for approximately 15 minutes. The veterinarian was still enroute as we left the scene.

MERS responds on 31st call out in 2011 for horse trapped between 2 stalls

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:21:46 GMT

MERS received a call @ 6:40pm through a veterinarian to respond to the Dittmer, Mo. area for a horse that became trapped inbetween two stalls. It was theorized that when the horse tried to get up, he kept hitting his head & body on the overhead board, and then gave up. When MERS arrived, we immediately put the MERS Head Protector on the horse. Using our special Bill Hook, we then placed one long webbing around the horse's girth area, and then one just in front of the hind legs. We then used two pieces of webbing to tuck the horses legs up. In order to get this horse out in a safe manner for the horse and the rescuers, we first performed the sideways drag to remove the hind legs from the post area. We then were able to remove the horse from under the boards. In order to do this, we had to keep 2 MERS members on the horses head the entire time to prevent the horse from getting up during this process, and injuring himself. Once we had the horse safely away from the boards, we were able to quickly get the horse up and standing.

We then performed vitals on the horse, and when they did not come back 100% positive, we contacted the veterinarian for his estimated time of arrival. We continued walking the horse awaiting for the veterinarians arrival. As we departed, the horse appeared to be recovering very well.

MERS RESPONDS ON 3rd CALL THIS WEEK on THURSDAY, AUGUST 04, 2011

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:35:23 GMT

MERS received a call on Thursday, August 4th @ 7:04am for a horse trapped in a stall in Wildwood, Mo. Upon our arrival, our initial observation was the horse was laying on it's side, had it's back left leg sticking through the lower wall of the stall, and it's back right leg was hyper-extended upward, and was stuck inbetween the bars of the stall. The horses front legs were jammed against the stall door, and had the bottom of the stall door jammed, making the door impossible to open. A veterinarian was immediately dispatched. The first 3 MERS members that arrived were able to work the door loose, and gain access to the horse. Our concern was that this mission had to be 100% correct to eliminate serious damage to either leg. Simply taking the leg out of the stall bars without a plan, would easily cause damage to the opposite leg that was through the wall. Some MERS members arrived prior to the MERS Rescue Truck/Trailer, and were able to comfort the horse, and lay wet towels on the horses head and neck while waiting for the MERS truck and the veterinarian. Prior to MERS getting inside the stall with the horse, the horse was flailing it's head up and down violently in an attempt to free itself. The MERS members that gained access to the horse, were able to get to the horse and comfort the horse with wet towels, and were able to constrict the horse from raising it's head. We were also able to place a saddle pad under the horses's head. Once the horse was sedated, we immediately placed the MERS Head Protector on the horse, and then worked our long webbings underneath the horse. We then were able to easily remove one bar to remove the right rear leg, and then immediately pulled the horse away from the wall using our webbing. Prior to this procedure, the veterinarian put some lube on the leg that was through the wall. After several minutes of letting the horse rest, we then moved the horse into a sternal position. After several more minutes, using our webbing, we manually lifted the horse up into an upright standing position. Because the horse was still under sedation, we had to physically hold the horse up for a few minutes. After some additional evaluations by the veterinarian, we then slowly walked the horse over to the wash station, where we were able to get cold water onto the legs. After approximately 20 more minutes, the horse was walked out, and appeared to be well on the way to a full recovery.

MERS RESPONDS TO DRAFT/MULE CAST IN STALL ON AUGUST 02, 2011

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:29:56 GMT

MERS RESPONDS ON THEIR 27th CALL OUT FOR 2011 ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 02, 2011.

MERS received a call @ 8:20pm for a Draft/Mule that was cast in a stall in the Gerald, Mo. area. The Large 10 year old Mule was under care for an abscess on one of her hind legs, and had been laying down to relieve pressure. She had layed down several times over the last couple of weeks, which is typical. This time, she got too close to the stall wall, became cast, and then totally exhausted herself thrashing to get away from the wall. MERS had to put in place 1/2 of our specialized piece of lifting equipment inside the stall, and we were then able to lift the downed Mule up after several minutes of planning and set up. After we had the Mule up and further evaluated, we then walked the Mule out of the barn. Per our request, the owner was on the phone talking to a veterinarian about additonal care for the animal.

MERS had 15 professional, dedicated members that have dropped what they were doing for 2 days in a row, and responded late at night in this extreme heat.

MERS arrived back home at 12:45am, after traveling 82 miles round trip.

MERS RESPONDS TO RIVER RESCUE ON AUGUST 1st, 2011--ST. CLAIR, MO.

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:27:43 GMT

MERS & THE ST. CLAIR FIRE DEPARTMENT joined forces and responded to a River Rescue on Monday, August 01, 2011. A call came in @ 8:35pm for a bull that had tumbled into the Meramec River near Red Horse Conservation area in rural St. Clair, Mo. 13 MERS members, along with 2 ST. CLAIR FIREFIGHTERS, and a veterinarian responded approximately one mile downstream in the MERS & ST. CLAIR FIRE DEPARTMENT Rescue Boats. 8 additional Firefighters stayed back at the boat ramp to provide additional support. This mission was completed at 1:30am. No additional information is available.

Camel Stuck in Mud in Desoto, Mo. July 05,2011

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:46:49 GMT

MERS received a call @ 12:06am from the owner of a camel that had become stuck in mud. The camel was estimated to wiegh between 1,000 to 1,200 Lbs.The owner found the camel, just outside of her barn, exhausted, with her back legs trapped, stuck in approximately 2 feet of mud. The camel was laying on her side, near death with her eyes rolled back. The owner was able to get the camel sternal, then called MERS. Upon our arrival, we quickly put our portable lights in place and evaulated the situation. We successfully used our Nikopolous Needle under the camel in order to get two pieces of webbing in place for lifting. The Nikopolous Needle is a specialized tool, similiar to a huge crochet hook, that allows us to 'needle' through the mud, and back out in order to get the webbing around the animals body. Once our webbing was in place, we then brought the owners tractor in, hooked our spreader bar up to the camel, then tractor, and safely lifted the camel into a horizontal postion. We then slowly drove the tractor into the barn away from the muddy area. We continued to evaluate the camel , who appeared to be doing OK, but was very upset. After a few minutes, we released the camel from our equipment, but not before we closed the back barn door. The owner had the veterinarian enroute as we departed. MERS traveled 88 miles round trip for this call, and we arrived back home @ 5:00am.

MERS Demonstration at the JCTR Horse Show--June 11th, 2011

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:40:45 GMT

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:40:51 GMT

MERS Responded with only 5 of 20 Members Available 05-05-11 (we stayed until the cows came home)

Thu, 05 May 2011 23:55:17 GMT

Because of the time of day, work schedules, vacation schedules, etc. MERS responded on a call on May 5th, 2011 @ 1:45pm with only 5 out of our 20 members available. It's amazing what you can accomplish with skilled professionals that know how to use the equipment available!

Cow Stuck in mud in Hawk Point, Mo. 04-30-11

Sun, 01 May 2011 02:44:03 GMT

On April 30TH, 2011-MERS responded to the Hawk Point, Mo. area for a cow that was stuck in mud. We had to cut the fence down to gain access to the cow, and we then quickly put the cow onto our Rescue Glide. The mud was approximately 12-15" deep. Once the incumbent cow was out of the area, we then transported the cow on our Rescue Glide approximately 500' to the owners barn. While we were transporting the cow, other MERS members had gone to the barn to set up the 9:1 system. Once in the barn, we then hooked the cow to our spreader bar, and lifted the cow up using the 9:1 Mechanical advantage system.

MERS traveled 122 miles round trip on this rescue.

MERS RESPONDS TO HORSE TRAPPED IN FLOOD WATERS ON APRIL 26, 2011

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 06:32:02 GMT

MERS received a call on April 26th, 2011, @ 8:40am from the Humane Society of Missouri to respond on a call for a horse trapped in flood waters. This was located 216 miles south of Wildwood, in Caruthersville, Mo. The horse ended up trapped on an island on the Mississippi River. This was in Pemiscot County. The island was located close to the river, with the state of Tennessee across the river, and Arkansas 12 miles to the south. This horse was located on the owners property. He was unaware that when the area had received over 10" of rain the prior day, that the Mississippi River would be rising as quickly as it was. Overnight the river had blocked his only way off his property, had risen one foot overnight, and was expected to rise 8 feet over the next 24 hours. The owners house by the next day was going to be 8 feet under water, and he had already missed his opportunity to even get his vehicles off the property.

The trapped horse was a 4 year old Quarterhorse. MERS arrived on the scene @ 1:30pm. We parked on top of a river levee, and we were able to access the water at a small boat ramp. In addition to 12 MERS members that responded, we were also assisted by one member of HSMO, as well as the owner, and 3 members of a local volunteer Fire Department. In addition to the MERS Rescue Boat, the local Fire Department assisted with their boat. To access the horse, we put the boats in at the boat ramp, and had to travel 1-1/2 miles to the horse. The water was approximately 8-10 feet deep, and was actually a corn field. Out in the field , there was a sustained wind of approximately 8-14 miles per hour, which created 2-3 foot white caps on the water, and the water temperature was approximately 57 degrees. The outside temperature was approximately 80 degrees, sunny to partly cloudy, and thunderstorms could be seen on the horizon. When we reached the horse, he was grazing on some very green grass, in an area approximately one acre in size. Prior to getting into the boats, we held a briefing and came up with a very precise game plan. When we arrived on the scene, and further evaluated, we decided to go back to the Rescue Trailer with one boat, and get the Anderson Sling. We placed the bottom half of the Anderson Sling securely on the horse. We then put our two long webbings under the horse in the front and back. With that, we then had members walk the horse into the water approximately 300 feet to where the water got approximately 4 feet deep. We then postioned a boat on each side of the horse, and all members got into the two boats. We placed two lead lines onto the halter, creating a cross tie, one rope going to each boat. We then placed 8-10 prussik loops onto the Anderson Sling to help us hold the horse up. We slowly moved the boats out into the open water. When the horse became bouyant in the deep water, the horse made no effort to swim, due to the fact that we were supporting the horse with the Anderson Sling. We were holding the horse up in the sling using the prussik loops attached to the sling, and our two long webbings. At any point in time, we could have released the horse from us and the boats, if the horse was to put us into a dangerous situation. The horse was never tied to any part of the boat. We began the 1-1/2 mile journey back to the levee. When we got into the open waters, the wind kicked up substancially and created huge white caps that created in challenge in holding the horses head up and out of the water. At one point, the boats were in neutral, and the wind and current were moving us at approximately 8 mph.As we continued to hold the horse up, and keep his head above water, we slowly went back into the slough leading back to the levee. The horse at no point attempted to swim. The horse just 'went along for the ride'. You could really sense that this horse knew that we were there to help. As we got to the shore, and the water quickly got shallow, the horse quickly reared up, we let go, and the horse slowly walked up to some people awaiting on the bank. We immediately removed all of our equipment from the horse, already had our generator running with the heated blanket ready. We quickly dried the horse off with towels and scapers, and checked the horses vitals. At the same time, we had a veterinarian on the telephone. The horse dried off immediately, and the horse's vitals all came back normal, and the horse looked alert. We then proceeded to walk the horse for approximately 20-25 minutes. At that time, a neighbor came over, who lived on higher ground, and walked the horse down to her property. We put all of our equipment away, debriefed, and left the scene @ 3:40pm, 2 hours and 10 minutes after we had arrived. We then drove up the road, where we refueled, had dinner, and arrived back home at approximately 9:45pm.

MERS Training on 04-16-11 Practice, Practice Practice

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 21:34:49 GMT

MERS held it's regular training on Saturday, April 16th, 2011. All members are required to know and be proficient with 8 specific Rescue Knots. In addition, all members must know how to set up the 9:1 mechanical advantage system, which is set up by running rescue rope through a series of carabiners & pulleys a specific way, to give the rescuers the mechanical advantage needed to lift a horse, or even trailer. It is very important that all members are familiar with this, because we have already been required to use the 9:1 four times already this year. We were excited to welcome 2 new members to MERS today.

MERS also had the opportunity to re-inventory our equipment in the rescue trailer. In addition to various types of pre-made Rescue Ropes, we also have 4 Bags of Rescue Rope that are used on a regular basis. We have a bag that contains 300', 200', 150', and 50' of hi-tech CMC Rescue rope. Although we inspect all of our equipment after each use, today we had the opportunity to take all of the Rescue Ropes out of their bags, and perform even closer inspections on all of them.

After responding on our 18th call out of the year just yesterday, it is always good to re-group and be able to train and have discussions in a non-rescue situation.

MERS Responds to Crawford County, Mo. Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:00:24 GMT

THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF ASSESSING THE SITUATION, ARTICULATING AND ANALYZING ALL OF THE FACTS, AND THEN DECIDING THE SIMPLEST, SAFEST WAY TO APPROACH A SITUATION FOR A POSTIVE AND SAFE OUTCOME FOR THE VICTIM AND RESCUERS. "FOOLS RUSH IN...."

On Tuesday, April 5th, 2011, MERS received a call at approximately 9:00am from The Humane Society of Missouri as well as The Crawford County Sheriff's Department for a horse that was running loose on and next to a major highway. As a general rule & policy, responding to calls for loose horses or livestock is against MERS policy unless the animals are putting the public in general danger. It was explained to us that The Crawford County Sheriff's Department had already received up to 2 different 911 calls for this horse being on heavily traveled Missouri State Highway 19, 2 miles south of I-44 in Cuba, Mo. From our experience, horses, in general, that are loose, will eventually go back to their home, but this scenerio was much different than any other that MERS had come across.

MERS immediately put the team on standby to possibly respond, and then 2 of the Board Members, who are also active responding members, began asking questions to the Sheriff's Department, and to the owner. This horse had never broken loose from the property previously. The horse was currently 1/2 mile from it's property. This horse broke loose 4 days prior, on Saturday, April 2nd, and had been 'chased' since Saturday. As our team was remaining on standby and had not been deployed, we found out, through the owner, that this horse was a 14 year old untamed Mustang Stallion, that had never had even a halter on it previously, and did not have a barn buddy. Essentially, this untamed, unbroke Mustang Stallion had never been out in the open, and had never had contact with another horse before. In addition, we were also told that this horse did not like men. We were told by The Crawford County Sheriff's Department that as early as 1:30am, on the morning of April 5th, that they had received a 911 call from a motorist indicating that this horse was actually on Highway 19. MERS concern, as well as everyone else's concern, was the danger of a person colliding with this horse, and the person being seriously injured, or worse. We were told by the owner that some 'good intended' private citizens, as well as some 'cowboys', along with some members of a local Mounted Rescue group had been there over the weekend 'chasing' the horse through the countryside. At one point, some Police cars attempted to 'corral' the horse with lights and sirens. All that this accomplished, was to get the horse more upset and agitated. Fortunately, no individual got hurt. Horses are prey animals. Fear is their main emotion , their first reaction is flight! The horse had now been in a neighbor's hay field grazing for at least 6 hours, and seemed content, as long as he was left alone. Having said that, the farmer who owned the hay field, is now justifiably getting upset that his hay field is beginning to get destroyed, and he has made it known through the Sheriff's Department that he is going to take his own action if the horse is not off of his property soon.

While our members are still on standby, we begin to compute all of this information to formulate the simplest and safest plan to capture this horse, without any individual, or the horse getting injured. MERS and the St. Louis Zoo are the ONLY two agencies within the area that own a Tranquilizer Gun. After we made several calls to various veterinarians, we came to the conclusion that although the drug that veterinarians use is very effective when it is introduced into the vein of a horse, but you must be close to the horse to administer the drug. Our Tranqualizer Gun has an accurate range of approximately 30', and that would be hitting the horse in the hind quarters, in the muscle area, not the vein. So, with any horse, when the tranqualizer gun would penetrate, the horse's immediate reaction would be to flee. The medication through the muscle would kick in in approximately 20 minutes. If you would be lucky enough to find the horse, by that time, the drug would be wearing off. In addition, from talking to experts, it was told to us that wild Mustang Stallions are a whole different breed, in that their resistance to a drug of this nature is much different. So, even though the owner was pleading to us to 'Tranq' the horse, this was not going to be a positive option. After much discussion, it was decided that the ONLY option, that would give us the highest percentage of success, was to send in the MERS Horse Whisperers. Almost all of our members own horses, and many of our members are very well educated on horses reactions to certain situations, etc. Our Board chose to keep all of our members at home, on standby if needed, and the fewer 'people' that the horse came in contact with would be better. A horse is a Prey animal, it's main emotion is fear, it's first reaction is flight. That is exactly why there was zero success capturing this horse over the weekend. Two of our members stand out within our group with their years of experience dealing with these situations. MERS had EARLENE COLE, and QUINTANA GARCIA respond to the scene. Earlene & Qunitana's years of experience of growing up with horses, training horses, and judging horses was a big plus. Earlene Cole also has 20+ years of being the past Director of Longmeadow Rescue Ranch. It was decided that the smartest approach to this was for them to wear clothing that would not bright in color. Earlene & Quintana took their 2 Mares to respond.

Upon their arrival, at 2:30pm, they saddled up the two Mares, and quietly rode over in the general direction of the Mustang. The Mustang's first reaction was to back away. With that, Earlene & Quintana rode a short distance away, and got off thier horses. After leaving the Mustang alone for awhile, they then slowly walked the two mares toward the Mustang. The Mustang did not seem interested in the two horses until one of the mares urinated. That got the Mustang's attention, the Mustang walked over and smelled around. With that, they began walking the two mares in the general direction back toward the owners property (1/2 mile away). The Mustang would walk behind them at a safe distance for awhile, then get spooked, and run away a short distance. Earlene & Quintana would regroup, and start the procedure all over again. When they got to one spot at the end of a field where the tree line was getting closer and 'closing in' on the Mustang, he felt threatened and ran a short distance away(keep in mind, grain was never interesting to this horse). After regrouping several times, and getting the horse to follow along at a distance, they then came to a barbed wire fence, that had to be cut done(and put back up later). They then were getting closer to home, but had to negotiate over a set of railroad tracks. The Mustang wanted no part of that. After attempting to cross in several locations, they finally found a spot that was 'acceptable' to the Mustang. They then attempted to negotiate through a couple of different narrow paths through brush and trees, and the Mustang wasn't going to budge. With Earlene & Quintana continuing to stay focused, and continuing to quetly comfort the horse, they finally led the horse the last several hundred yards back to the owners property with the Mustang pretty much pushing on the mares butt back home!

MERS received the call @ 9:00am. Earlene & Quintana arrived on the scene @ 2:30pm, and were able to safely get the horse back home @ 7:00pm. This was such a professional and well done job by the two MERS Horse Whisperers!

This is a perfect example of assessing the entire situation before you act. This well thought out plan is what brought this to a resolution as quickly as it did. With MERS spending the amount of time upfront assessing and ruling out the options, and then Earlene & Quintana having their own plan in place when they arrived on the scene at 2:30pm, this made for a very successful outcome for everyone!

CONGRATULATIONS TO EARLENE & QUINTANA!

(Photos are of the horse back home)

MERS responds on 15th call for 2011 to Bonne Terre, Mo.

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:25:50 GMT

MERS received their 15th call for 2011 to respond to Bonne Terre, Mo (10 miles north of Farmington). @ 4:10pm. The owner stated that the horse was in the pasture rough housing with his barn buddies, went down in some mud, spent some time trying to get up, and was now exhausted. The veterinarian had been on the scene, had completed evaluations, given the horse some medications, and told the owner that the horse did not appear to have any injuries. After negotiating through rush hour traffic, and driving 68 miles, MERS arrived on the scene @ 6:35pm. Upon arrival, we had to off load the equipment needed into our MERS ATV Gator, and drive approximately 1/4 mile to the scene. The horse was blanketed, and had been trying to get up. We immiedately placed our MERS Head Protector on the incumbent horse, and then proceeded to lay our two long webbings out on the dorsal side of the horse. We then placed two webbings around the horse's legs, and rolled the horse over onto the two long webbings. With that in place, we attempted 3 times to lift the horse up manually. When that failed, we implemented plan B. We placed the horse onto our Rescue Glide and prepared and packaged the horse to transport to an area where we could mechanically lift the horse. While we were packaging the horse for transportation, other MERS members were approximately 300' away constructing the 9:1 mechanical system up onto a tree. The 9:1 is a system that we build using 300' of rope that runs through a series of carabiners & pulleys to give us a 9:1 mechanical advantage to lift the horse. With the horse securely packaged on the Rescue Glide, we quickly moved the horse to the 9:1 area, using our MERS ATV Gator. To get the horse to this area, and in this area, the gound was saturated with approximately 4-6" of thick mud & water. Once the horse was under the tree, we were able to quickly lift the horse up into a horizontal position. Once the horse was horizontal, we physically straightend the horse up while suspended, slowly lowered the horse down, and the horse began to stand on its own immeidately. After a few moments of evaluating the horse, we then released the horse from our equipment, and walked the horse out. After walking the horse for approximately 5 minutes, we then walked the horse up to another pasture that was dry. We placed two bales of hay on the Rescue Glide, and transported the hay up to the horse. His barn buddies followed. We then hosed most of the mud off our equipment at the owners barn, having to clean the rest of the equipment this weekend. We drove a short distance down the road, where we stopped and debriefed, and then proceeded home. We arrived back home at 10:30pm, after driving 131 miles round trip.