Safety and Accident Protocols

[Beau_Soleil]

Do any of your hunts have a safety and/or accident protocols? If yes, could you share them? Thank you.

[xeroxchick]

When I first started hunting it was one person stayed with the injured party and the rest kept hunting. Hopefully there was a doctor in the field. When Mr. Hardaway stopped riding and would follow in his jeep someone was put in his car, I think they had a broken leg. That was a mistake.

[Foxglove]

There are four MDs, one EMT, three first responders, and two veterinarians who ride out regularly on the hunt where I am a member. If someone needs medical assistance, it’s there. Personally, I prefer the EMT if I’m hurt (cracked some ribs on a hunt, and she was very helpful). Usually the EMT stays with the fallen rider —sometimes one of the MDs. It’s been many years since the helicopter was called in to med-flight someone out —at least 20 --but the MDs can do that. In the time I’ve been hunting 50 years or so, I’ve seen few, if any, serious injuries. In all but one case, the rider remounted --although he/she may have gone to the hospital ER after riding back to the hunt club. Only twice did a rider need to be taken back in the hound wagon --one had a broken elbow --the other --well, it’s a long story . . .gets better every time it’s told at the hunt club bar —let me know if you’d like a retelling of the Fox Hunter Who Came Back From the Grave . . .

[Willesdon]

@Foxglove

–well, it’s a long story . . .gets better every time it’s told at the hunt club bar —let me know if you’d like a retelling of the Fox Hunter Who Came Back From the Grave . . .

It is snowing. I will not be out hunting this weekend. Yes please, tell the story. I’m sitting comfortably…

[Foxglove]

The cast of characters --first, the handsome man who loved to hunt, more because he loved coming to the hunt with his sister and riding out on one of her fabulous horses! But horseman, he was not. One comment I heard as I saddled in the hunt club stable, was the handsome man asking his sister, “Which is the bridle and which is the girth?” But he was handsome, and witty, if not a horseman. Off we went on the hunt --did I say it was Halloween? Oh, yes --and a bit warm for October so there was fog, dense, dense fog. Through the fog we could hear the hounds and the huntsman’s horn. About an hour, maybe two into the hunt, the handsome man separate from his sister’s fine chestnut mare. He fell and slid through mud, covering his hands, arms and much of his face.

As the sister was whipping-in, and the hounds were on a line, the somewhat disoriented handsome, now mud covered fox hunter was asked to sit down and rest while a staff member went to the hunt club to alert the hounds-man to bring the hound trailer and truck to give him a ride home. The horse was pony-ed to the hunt club by the staff member. The young handsome fox hunter waited awhile, then, thinking he heard the truck stood up, only to fall over a headstone. He’d been seated leaning against a marker in the middle of an old cemetery that is near the road. Because of the fog, he hadn’t noticed until then. He walked toward the road, now limping a bit, moving this way and that and flapping his arms --one of which held his stock-tie to flag down the hounds-man in the truck pulling the hound trailer.

The hounds-man is from New Orleans --and you must imagine his accent as he recounted, “Just as a came to the cemetery, a haint (haunt?) appeared weaving back and forth and it had a shredded shroud (stock-tie?) -I didn’t wait but I floored that truck before that haint could catch me!” Eventually, the staff member riding with the hounds-man convinced him to go back, that the haint was actually the member. Even so the hounds-man asked the staff member to seat the muddy fox hunter in the back of the pick up truck pulling the hound trailer.

And that is the tail of the Fox Hunter Who Came Back from the Grave --one can only imagine the wailing of the hounds though the dense fog, the mournful horn, the disembodied sound of horses in the heavy covert and the whispers of the riders --and then, the shadowy form of a fox hunter staggering out of a graveyard . . .

The handsome fox hunter still rides out and just last season saved another rider from certain death (she was being dragged by a run-away horse when he leaped on the horse’s head and stopped it in its tracks) --come to think of it, that handsome fox hunter is the basis of many of our bar stories . . .

[Willesdon]

Thank you, I can see why that story has become a legend. I’m still laughing.

[Polydor]

@Foxglove that is an awesome story! Love it!

P.

[Foxglove]

I do think it’s the one I like most --but the same handsome fox hunter had an accident in the hunt stable 3-4 years ago involving a lead rope and a fractious horse. After the considerable dust settled, he’d pealed off the palm of his hand! It hunt like a torn glove from his wrist. Did I mention that his sister who whips is also a doctor? Sitting brother on a bucket and putting his torn hand on his knee, placing herself on the dirt floor of the stable, she numbed his hand, cleaned it, and sewed his palm back on. Then we all went into the bar. Of course, the other three MDs had to have a look --then bets were made as to if the stitching would hold, if infection would set in . . . blah blah blah. But we fox hunters are tough. The handsome fox hunter kept his hand, and we all lived to tell the tale.

[SLW]

We now ask/require that each rider have on them a form of ID which has emergency contact phone numbers and any medical condition that an EMT/doctor would need to know. This came about when one hunt member was injured and unable to communicate and all his contact info was inside his locked cell phone. Now members need something on their wrist or a card in their pocket. It is nothing the hunt is going to keep track of via a master sheet at the kennels. It’s the members responsibility.

If you are knocked out, you are not getting back on your horse. If you fall off and say you are okay but other members say “your head took a hard hit” you are not getting back on your horse.

We learned from one incident which required having a rider medically transported out of a cow field that it is critical to place hunt members- in autos or on horseback- out on the road where turns are required to get the help there fast. On that day the ambulance did an extra lap around the area trying to find us. Lesson learned and time lost for a person who was having a critical medical emergency.

We are fortunate to have doctors that routinely hunt but it’s not a guarantee so somebody needs to know how to do CPR. That skill saved a hunt members life when she fell off her horse and had no pulse, no heartbeat. The stints the doctors put in saved her life but it was the CPR done for 20 minutes until the ambulance arrived (see above) that made that possible.

Bottom line, our approach is that 1. we are not doctors and 2. you need to provide contact info because 3. we will call for help.

Foxglove, the Halloween story was a hoot!

[Foxglove]

Oh --and one other thing our hunt club does --because I asked one time —if a fox hunter is unable to drive himself/herself home with the horse trailer --the hunt club will transport the horse home or put it up at the stable until the rider is able to take the horse home.

I had broken my wrist-bone (fell off the mounting block because I was talking to someone and walked up it, then walked off the end --boom). I didn’t know I’d broken it --thought it was a sprain and rode out anyway. But at the next hunt when I was riding with a cast (painted black, I might add with a white cuff to match my other sleeve) --I asked what would have happened to my horse had I not been able to drive home (which I did one-handed). The staff told me that someone would have cared for my horse, then arranged to drive horse and rig back to my farm (90 min away) or kept the horse at the hunt stable until husband or I could drive him home. That was comforting to know.

[ecileh]

I like the idea of members carrying a card with emergency contacts in the field.

I have one with emergency info on me and my horse that’s stuck to the tack room door of my trailer, but it wouldn’t help if I were knocked out in the field…(I do carry my phone in the field, but it’s locked). We’re a small enough hunt that everyone knows everyone else and would eventually be able to get in touch with emergency contacts, but it would be nice if it were easier.

[BeeHoney]

It’s quite difficult to focus on the topic at hand after the recounting of the story of the Fox Hunter Who Came Back From The Grave.

I am not aware of any formal hunt safety protocols but here are my suggestions should anyone be looking to formulate one. A culture of safety comes down from the top. If the Masters express the importance of showing up to hunt on suitable horses, respecting the personal space of other horses/riders, and demonstrating a spirit of camaraderie in watching out for one another, then that is what will happen. If the Masters promote a culture of galloping recklessly on even if someone near you is struggling or falls, that’s how it is going to be.

A few easy things: Members should be encouraged to wear medical/sports ID bracelets with emergency phone numbers and emergency medical information. Check out RoadID.com, but there are many versions of this type of thing. People should be encouraged to carry a few miscellaneous medical items–epi-pens, inhalers, benadryl, a couple pieces of gauze and a wad of vetrap. Riders who have had a nasty fall should be encouraged to go in early and be supported in that decision. While it may feel reassuring to have doctors in the hunt field, a doctor without equipment or drugs can do very little towards diagnosing or treating a serious injury beyond basic first aid and CPR. (Sorry, but stock ties do not replace the accouterments of an emergency room.) In the event of a serious injury, getting the injured party to the hospital quickly is the most important thing, so the hunt needs to have a certain number of people who carry cell phones, can dial 911, and know the territory well enough to get an emergency vehicle or helicopter to the injured party.

[Foxglove]

BeeHoney --at the last brunch two of the younger members and I were discussing what you wrote --“If the Masters express the importance of . . .” but here our topic diverged slightly. At our hunt there are 10 staff --huntsman, field masters, whippers’ in. All very nice people, highly educated in fox hunting and riding. But, none of them have every assumed the role of “hall monitor.” --at one point we did have an elderly, long time member who would tell a rider, “wear a hairnet.” Or, “Don’t wear your hunt coat in the club house, tweeds only.” At the time, I was myself a younger member, and I though poorly of her as I was frequently the object of her attention --she did seem to single out lady members for “correction” far more often than gentlemen members.

Now that she no longer attends regularly, there is no one to “enforce” the various traditions. Sadly, this spoils the view for some of us —a young rider with long blonde hair wears it loose under her helmet; a gentleman member who can well afford a Melton wears a black parka, another member consistently wears black breeches . . .and so on. Some excuse might be because it is cold --attire rules are relaxed at below 20 degrees —but these riders make such non-traditional attire regular.

As the three of us chatted (quietly checking that we were each appropriately turned out --and yes, my boots were muddy from the last hunt), we thought it would be ideal if “someone” assumed the role of “Hall Monitor.” But no one wants THAT job. About all that can be done, I think, is ask the President to send an attachment or email out at the start of next season that includes appropriate turn out. Perhaps she could say, “Toward the end of last season, it seemed the standards had slipped —please review the appropriate attire for fox hunting. Correct turn out is part of our tradition.” Then hope for the best.

Oh, and someone did speak to rider-with-the-long-blond hair; and that was the last time she rode out. That’s the concern --make it un-fun and people won’t come.

[Kodiak]

I’m going to copy and paste from a Word document. Yes, this does sound very fussy, but we’d have a couple of dead members if they hadn’t been injured in easily accessible locations and a bystander hadn’t gotten worried and called the squad over the injured members’ objections. As it was, almost too much time passed because internal bleeding isn’t very obvious. On other occasions, people with serious injuries (including bad concussion) got back on, rode, and tried to drive their rig home. Embarrassment and adrenaline can easily kill people, so it’s important for everyone else to be a little uncomfortably bossy and make sure they are really okay.

A couple of the lessons learned I’ll point out is how important it becomes to have a street address to tell the squad (really, for every driveway in the fixture if possible), and also to have some way of getting emergency personnel and equipment to the injured person that’s better/faster than walking it in and manhandling the injured person to the ambulance or helicopter (remember that a stretcher or back board is long and hard to get around trees on a UTV). People also get excited and want to rush around ‘helping’, which is a splendid way to have a second accident.

It’s also a really good idea for other people to know where your keys and wallet are located. Someone will need to bring the latter to the hospital, and typically someone else can use the former to get your horse and rig home.

And, finally, our club paramedic reminded us that, when in doubt, go ahead and call 911. A squad call can be canceled, but if they’re needed time will be of the essence. Oh, and when thinking about injured humans, don’t forget to have a list of on-call equine vets…

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Protocols for Accidents and Incidents in the Hunt Field
AKA, what to do following an unplanned dismount

Only a few people will initially respond to an incident. The huntsman and the majority of staff and field members will continue with their duties, but maintaining a safe distance from the scene of the incident and related activities. Huntsman, kennel men, and whippers-in are responsible for the hounds. Field masters are responsible for keeping their fields moving in a safe and controlled manner as an extended check is dangerous to both horses and riders.
Immediately upon recognizing that an incident has taken place, the nearest staff member will take control of the situation. Immediate steps to take:

• organize nearby volunteers to render the scene safe (catch any loose horses, move all horses well away from unmounted individuals)
• quickly determine if the person who has fallen seems to have suffered a major or minor fall

[B]In the case of a minor fall[/B] (rider appears uninjured and wishes to continue):

• encourage the person who has fallen to wait 5 to 10 minutes before remounting, to allow the adrenaline to wear off and any injuries to be noticed
• request a volunteer to stay with the person who has fallen. He or she should have a cell phone containing the field master's phone number and be familiar with the fixture
• the remainder of the field should move off (at a walk until well clear) and continue
• the individual assisting the person who fell will call and inform the field master of whether they will be rejoining the field, are ending their hunt and returning to the trailers, or if it appears supplies from the hound truck or medical assistance will be needed

[B]In the case of a major fall[/B] (any of the 'danger signs' on the next page are observed or the rider may have serious injuries), the staff member in control of the scene should:

• request one or two volunteers to immediately go to the injured person until relieved by someone with more training (see do's and don'ts, next page)
• detail volunteers to handle the riderless horses, either holding them well away from the scene or taking them back to the trailers, as needed
• call for radio silence, report on the injury, and request that any first-aid trained hunt members come to the scene [B](Note:[/B] Responders should proceed at a controlled and safe pace—no mad gallops to the rescue—generally with a staff escort.)
• if squad *may* be needed, immediately make the call to 911 (we can always cancel), give an address, and put them in contact with the person assisting the fallen rider
• give instructions to quickly remove unnecessary people and horses from the scene, including sending the remainder of the field away under the control of either a field master or a senior member who has a cell phone and is familiar with the fixture. Riders should walk until well clear of the area.
• coordinate bringing resources (including the squad) to the incident location, enlisting the aid of additional volunteers as needed
• keep all staff informed of incident progress and status via radio, so the huntsman can determine whether to continue and other riders can stay out of the way
• ensure the injured person's horse, rig, etc. is taken care of if he/she is transported or is in no condition to safely operate a vehicle

[B]Specifically for whippers-in:[/B] Pair up with a 'buddy' for each hunt. Listen for your buddy on the radio to make sure he or she is okay throughout the hunt. Check with your buddy by cell phone if you suspect a problem, and make sure he or she is safely back to the trailers at the end of the hunt.

DANGER SIGNS: CALL 911

• Loss of consciousness
• Profuse bleeding
• Obvious deformity of body part
• Compound fracture (i.e. broken bone sticking through the skin)
• Confusion, inability to answer simple questions
• Incoherent or slurred speech
• Trouble breathing
• Radiating chest pain
• Loss of feeling in extremities
• Loss of vision

HELPER “DO NOTS”

• DO NOT MOVE THE PERSON. Encourage them not to move.
• Do not remove their helmet, or loosen or remove clothes to make them more comfortable.
• Do not apply a tourniquet. Do not apply splints or wrap bandages on serious injuries where the squad has been called.
• Do not give anything to eat or drink, especially alcohol.

HELPER “DOS”

• If possible, remove hazards to you and the injured person, such as horses. Remove bystanders.
• Maintain their body temperature (for example, drape hunt coats over them).
• Relay pertinent information to the person who is on the phone with the squad.
• Talk. Help keep the person calm and still. Inform him or her of what is going on.
• Monitor breathing and maintain airway.
• Control bleeding with direct pressure.
• Stay with the injured person until relieved by someone with more training.

HUNT MEMBER “DOS”

• Carry any medications you might need in an emergency (epi-pen, heart meds, etc).
• Carry identification and medical information, including allergies, insurance, and special instructions, on your body when riding. (Such as an eventing armband or RoadID.)
• Put instructions regarding your horse and rig in your trailer's tack compartment or other obvious location in case someone else has to care for your horse.

If you have an unplanned dismount, don't try to cowboy up. Stay still for a few minutes, allow the adrenaline to wear off, and assess yourself for injuries you may not have noticed in the heat of the moment.