Emergency response personnel practice hoisting a horse out of swift-moving water during a training hosted last year by New Mexico State University’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in Las Cruces and Socorro. The training used a 600-pound horse mannequin to give trainees a realistic experience. A similar training is planned Wednesday, Feb. 28, in Deming. (NMSU photo by Jane Moorman)WRITER: Darrell J. Pehr, 575-646-3223, pehr@nmsu.edu

DEMING – Anything can happen when hauling livestock, including a trailer rollover. Law enforcement and emergency response personnel need to be ready to safely rescue animals that might be trapped in the trailer.

The Cooperative Extension Service in New Mexico State University's College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center are hosting a workshop to train emergency response personnel on how to handle large animals in vehicle and trailer traffic accidents.

The Luna County Large Animal Rescue Workshop will be Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Southwest New Mexico State Fairgrounds, 4100 Raymond Reed Blvd. in Deming.

"As a county we need to practice together in case we have a livestock emergency here in Luna County," said Jack Blandford, program director and agricultural agent at the Luna County Cooperative Extension Service. "With Interstate 10 running through our county we need the experience of working together to make sure our response is quick and effective."

Blandford said his goal is to keep the training county-based, open to Luna County emergency responders and law enforcement.

The free event will begin at 9 a.m. During the morning NMSU Cooperative Extension Service agricultural agents Blandford, Sid Gordon (Otero County) and John Allen (Socorro County) will discuss handling horses and techniques to remove them from trailers and other hazards. After lunch they will discuss handling cattle.

Deadline to register is Feb. 20. Register online at http://rsvp.nmsu.edu. For additional information call the Luna County Extension Office at 575-546-8806.