Georgia Magazine - September 2022 - 8

GEORGIA News
Compiled by Jennifer J. Hewett
Milton first responders
ride to the rescue
T
he north Fulton County city of Milton has a
horse in its logo, an indication of the area's
abundance of horse owners and farms. And
just like people, those creatures often need help
getting out of a bind, be it a muddy ditch or a busy
intersection. Milton police Lt. Chris Ward says not a
month goes by without a call involving some sort of
equine crisis.
But while first responders may be experts in
CPR and triage for humans, not many are adept at
wrangling a 600-pound horse.
" A lot of people in the department weren't
experienced with horses, and we saw a need to train
them on how to be around horses, " fire battalion
Chief Roth Hutcheson says.
Above: Milton Police Officer Kelsea Graham guides a horse
during a training session. Below left: First responders practice how to
use an A-frame. The Milton Fire Department's TLAER (Technical Large
Animal Emergency Rescue) unit uses this specialized equipment to lift
animals that cannot stand up or to extricate them from hazards
such as sinkholes.
In 2008, a City Council member offered his horse farm as
a training ground, and police and firefighters were taught the
basics: how to gauge the animal's mood, how to put on a halter
and how to use peppermints or rustling potato-chip bags to lead
the horse to safety. Officers also were sent to a three-day course
in Gray to learn large-animal rescue techniques. Eventually, the
city raised the funds to purchase specialized equipment to help
in responses to such emergencies.
" We started with a trailer, but now we have a truck that
carries an A-frame to lift a horse off the ground and a sling to
put it in, " Hutcheson says. " We have herding equipment and
a hose that can get a horse out of the mud. And, yes, we have
candy on there, too. "
The city's 45 police officers have been through lessintensive
sessions on catching and corralling stray equines.
" It's basically feeling comfortable around a horse and
[knowing] how to put a halter on, " Ward says. " There's not much
to it, but we have some officers who do not like animals in
general, [much] less animals of that size. Typically, if we get a
call, we'll send out officers who feel more familiar with them.
And in a worst-case scenario, we knock on a farm's door and ask
for help. People will run out to help the horses. "
It's not just horses that the fire and police departments
have helped, says Officer Kelsea Graham, who has been around
horses most of her life and competes as a barrel racer.
" The horse calls are pretty frequent, but it might also be
City of Milton firefighters took part in specialized training in June
to learn how to help horses in case of emergencies or fires.
8 Georgia Magazine September 2022
goats or cows, " she says. " The cows will go where you direct
them, but the goats are a little harder to catch. "
-H.M. Cauley
COURTESY CITY OF MILTON
COURTESY CITY OF MILTON
COURTESY CITY OF MILTON
Georgia Magazine - September 2022

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