{"id":62258,"date":"2026-02-10T21:11:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T01:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=62258"},"modified":"2026-02-10T21:11:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T01:11:38","slug":"firefighters-get-hands-on-training-dealing-with-horses-in-case-of-an-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=62258","title":{"rendered":"Firefighters get hands-on training dealing with horses in case of an emergency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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BELNAN:<\/strong> When Nine Mile River Volunteer Fire Department members get called to an emergency, they\u2019re trained for a lot, but not every call involves people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why the department spent Wednesday night Feb. 4 at Sunnyridge Equestrian, getting hands-on training in how to safely handle horses in the event of a barn fire or emergency evacuation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visit gave firefighters a chance to learn the layout of the facility, see the barn set-up they could be dealing with in a real call, and most importantly understand how horses think, react, and move under stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horses read your energy \u2014 fast<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two coaches at Sunnyridge explained that horses can react quickly to stress, often shifting into what was described as a \u201cfight, flight, or freeze\u201d response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firefighters were told that staying calm isn\u2019t just good practice, it\u2019s essential around horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA horse can feel your heart from 10 metres away,\u201d Jessica Glassford, one of the coaches at Sunnyridge explained, noting that horses pick up on human stress and may mirror it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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NMR Chief Tyler Dauphinee becomes a friend with one of the horses. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A Nine Mile River firefighter puts on the standard halter and lead line. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Knowing where a horse can\u2019t<\/em> see<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major safety lesson focused on horse blind spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glassford and another coach, Gracie Walker, said that while horses have strong side vision, they cannot see directly in front of them or directly behind them, which is why firefighters were told to avoid standing behind a horse, and to keep a hand on the animal when moving around its side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPressure\u201d matters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firefighters also took part in an exercise meant to help them understand \u201cpressure\u201d or in other terms how a horse feels when someone gets too close, moves too quickly, or forces an interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group was taught to watch for signs like ears back, head turning away, showing the whites of the eyes, or bared teeth, all signs the horse may be uncomfortable or stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Some more loving for this horse. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tools: halters, lead lines \u2014 and improvising<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The training included how to properly use a standard halter and lead line, along with what to do if firefighters encounter a loose horse without equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glassford noted that even a rope or something like a dog leash can be used carefully around the horse\u2019s neck once the animal has calmed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also demonstrated how to make an \u201cemergency halter\u201d using a rope, giving responders more control over the horse\u2019s head during evacuation.<\/p>\n\n\n

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(Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Even the pony got some attention and practice putting on the lead line. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In a fire, the plan isn\u2019t just \u201copen the door\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key part of the night, and the main reason the full complement of firefighters from NMR were there, was discussing how horses may react to smoke, flames, sirens, turnout gear, flashing lights, confined spaces, and slippery footing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walker said the best approach depends on where the fire is, but stressed that horses need to be moved to a safe enclosed area and away from roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The facility\u2019s fire safety plan is to move horses into a paddock if possible, bringing out only a couple at a time and securing gates behind them so they don\u2019t bolt into traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rodger was getting lots of loves from the firefighters, and even tried to snack on Pat’s camera bag. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Learning personalities \u2014 before an emergency<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The firefighters were also encouraged to observe each horse\u2019s personality and behaviour, learning which animals were calm, curious, nervous, or reactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That kind of knowledge, Sunnyridge\u2019s Glassford and Walker explained, can make all the difference if firefighters ever have to enter the barn in a real emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The firefighters in attendance seemed to enjoy the night of learn, as informative and fun as it was getting to hang with and even walk some of the horses.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Dave Daborn gives some pets to a horse. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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BELNAN: When Nine Mile River Volunteer Fire Department members get called to an emergency, they\u2019re trained for a lot, but not every call involves people. That\u2019s why the department spent Wednesday night Feb. 4 at Sunnyridge Equestrian, getting hands-on training in how to safely handle horses in the event of a barn fire or emergency […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62262,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[965,12,957],"tags":[1139,184,181,32,1947,1420,10304,7699],"class_list":["post-62258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-hants","category-featured","category-news","tag-belnan","tag-fire","tag-fire-safety","tag-firefighters","tag-horses","tag-nine-mile-river","tag-nine-mile-river-fire-department","tag-sunnyridge-equestrian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}