Coast Guard horse rescue

transport, conducted actual transports, and conducted veterinary medical examinations. Rescue efforts were complicated by the frightened reaction of the horses to the helicopter noise and the fact that they were not halter-broken. Consequently, veterinarians anesthetized the horses before putting them on the barge and oversaw their subsequent recoveries. Airlifted horses were sedated and blindfolded. The rescue lift served as a trial experience for LSU’s Equine Health Studies Program, as well as for Coast Guard personnel. None of the horses sustained injuries during the rescue operation. CONTACT: Melissa H. Edmonston (225) 578-9922.

COAST GUARD HORSE RESCUE Veterinarians from Louisiana State University (LSU) joined forces with the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies to rescue twelve horses stranded in a flood in Pineville on March 7. The horses were rescued from a two-acre patch of land completely surrounded by waters rising from Bayou Rigolette, which empties into the Red River. Two horses were airlifted 50 feet above power lines for one mile in equine rescue slings by US Coast Guard helicopters. Remaining animals were transported to dry land on a barge. Rescue and support teams were comprised of LSU veterinarians, two veterinary technicians and five students, as well as staff from the Montgomery Animal Hospital, the Rapides Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness and the U.S. Coast Guard. Select teams recovered animals, prepared them for Volume 21, Number 6, 2001

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