I received this message with a great free offer for shelters, teachers, and others:
My name is Michelle Staples and I’m a horse safety specialist. In 2006, I wrote a book on rescuing large animals from entrapment. Since publishing the book I have written two classes, one on how to be safe around a horse and one on emergency first aid for pets.
Here is my offer:
I will send a copy of my pet first aid class to any shelter that will use it to train their volunteers or that wants to use it to raise funds for their shelter, OR to any pet owning teacher, emergency responder, animal medical person, CPR or CERT instructor , who will use it to teach in poor areas where the majority of pet owners cannot afford basic first aid for their pets.
Also, I will send a copy of my Horse Awareness and Safety class to any fire department that cannot afford to purchase the CD but wants to teach their responders about horses, OR to any horse welfare group that will use it to train the emergency responders in their area. This class can also be used as a fundraiser.
This first aid class is based on human CPR/First aid classes and is a Powerpoint. The horse safety class teaches responders about keeping themselves and others safe around horses. This class can save lives. It starts with a Powerpoint Presentation in a classroom, then moves into an arena to help responders (or others, of course) become familiar with horses up close.
Most large animal emergencies, such as trailer rollovers and animals caught in wells, are handled by fire departments. There are hundreds of these large animal responses each year, and they occur in urban as well as rural areas.
There are a lot of volunteer fire departments (over 70% of all F.D.s are volunteer) that operate on a shoestring and cannot afford to send their personnel to attend LAR training. AND, there are so many departments that have had their operating funds severely cut over the last decade. AND, the vast majority of responders know little or nothing about the animals they are required to work around, putting themselves, the animals and bystanders at risk. These are the major reasons for writing the book and Horse Awareness class. Both the book and CD fill the gap for these departments and we are slowly getting out the information about this lifesaving training.
Information for both classes can be found here. Both classes contain all the information necessary to teach others.
