For the fourth year in a row, a collaboration between The J.F. Shea Therapeutic Riding Center in San Juan Capistrano and the Orange County Fire Authority trained firefighters to rescue horses and larger animals in emergencies.
More than 140 firefighters attended to expand their knowledge of horse handling and rescue procedures and build skills via hands-on training with real horses.
Last year, there were 8,024 wildfire incidents according to Cal Fire, and with recent flash floods from winter storms. First responders must know how to rescue and evacuate horses and large animals safely, calmly and efficiently during emergencies.
Firefighters encounter multiple challenges on a call involving a large animal. Those calls may not be many out of the 184,000 that the Orange County Fire Authority responded to in 2024, but they are resource-intensive, requiring many on-site vehicles and specialty crews and, at times, air support.
After a terrifying moment in July 2021, the partnership was born. Sarah Booth, the Communications Director at Shea, took a ride with one of the center’s horses, Choco. They were separated during the ride after a bird hit them on the trail and spooked the horse. While searching for a long time, Booth ultimately found Choco in a ravine surrounded by rebar in the San Juan Capistrano Open Space trails behind their property, but there was no clear way for her to save him.
A call to 911 resulted in a team being dispatched to the scene to harness Choco to be dug out and airlifted out of the ravine and back to the Shea Center. From terror to triumph, the team came together in a celebration a year after the event. The Shea Center realized that most of the OCFA did not have live horse or large-animal rescue training and started this training program then.
“Our dedication to service extends beyond protecting nearly two million people. It also extends to the pets, service animals and livestock that enrich our communities,” said OC Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy. “The recent helicopter rescue of Deuce, a horse stranded in the hills near The Shea Center, highlights the importance of specialized training and our commitment to providing exceptional emergency and support services to the communities we serve.”
More than 140 firefighters attended to expand their knowledge of horse handling and rescue procedures and build skills via hands-on training with real horses.
In February, Deuce, a 22-year-old retired show horse, was in a tough spot after slipping down a 25-foot embankment in San Juan Capistrano. Due to the teamwork of the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), skilled veterinarians, and The Shea Center staff, Deuce was safely airlifted to a Shea Center arena in a nighttime helicopter rescue. The save was made with the knowledge of some of the firefighters on the scene from this training.
“We were responsible for receiving Deuce into the corral here at the Shea Center after he was rescued from the embankment,” said Capt. Danny Goodwin. “We had newer members doing their first big animal rescue, but they’ve been to this training before. So, we had the basics down and we all knew our jobs. As a captain, it was easy for me to stand back, delegate and ensure the scene was safe, knowing what we learned.”
During three days of hands-on training with real horses at the center in late March, hundreds of firefighters learned how to be around and handle horses. On the first day of training, out of a group of more than 50 firefighters, only a handful raised their hands to acknowledge they had been trained outside of a plastic horse harness training and that they knew how to save a larger animal in an emergency.
By the end of the training, they had learned skills through four different stations around the center that would help them be more confident when confronted with a situation like what happened to Choco and the Shea Center four years ago. The four stations are set up to give them experience in harnessing, handling, trailer loading, the basics of equine psychology and an anatomy lesson with veterinarians Dr. Jacqueline Johnson and Dr. Danielle Keating.
San Juan Capistrano has California’s highest per capita ratio of horses to people, about 1 to 23, so knowing these skills can come in handy at times when big animal rescues are needed. Thousands more horses reside in Orange County’s numerous equine communities like Nellie Gail Ranch, Orange Park Acres, Anaheim Hills, Coto de Caza, and Yorba Linda.
“ This training’s very important to us, and we’re very fortunate to have the relationship we do with The Shea Center. This is our fourth year in a row doing it, and it’s one of our most highly sought-after trainings. About 140 firefighters will be attending these three days.”
