NYC Police horses

[Toccet02]

with the UN in town, I've had occasion to see many amazing police horses.
They have absolutely no problem standing with tourists all around, rubbing their faces with 4 inch fingernails, weaving their way through traffic including 18 wheelers and huge express buses, or galloping over the asphalt towards unruly protesters.
They can be docile as a kids Shetland one minute and fired up at the next when they need to be intimidating.
Truly admirable.
Just a tip of the hat. They're earning their hay this week. And their human partners really seem to love them.
Even the ones that stick their muzzles into their Starbuck's cups when they're not looking.

[Equipoise28]

Police horses are awesome. Timely Reward (ran in the 1951 Derby) became a police horse.

Somebody on another forum said that there is a former MD stakes winner who is now either with DC police or the Park police. Does anyone know who it is?

lol, love the Starbucks story.

[spex4me]

I love mounted patrols!! I even offered to pay for training EVERYTHING to be able to do it at the university I work at. But I was shot down because the administration thought it would be too intimidating to the student?!!!? WTH????? I would have to worry more about them slipping X to my horse than the horse frightening them!!! But then again this is the same school that wanted to put cops on segways, you know the things that look like walkers with wheels!!!!!

[Toccet02]

Well, some of the police horses here are these huge, 17 hands-plus jet black horses with huge hooves..the first time I saw a hoofprint in the park's bridle path, I thought it had to be a joke. They must be crosses of draft and light horses...maybe part Fresian? THEY are intimidating.

[madelyn]

A lot of the big black stock, I think, comes from the RCMP breeding program. They have been breeding police horses for over 100 years.

The Louisville mounted patrol, which is an upstart, only about 7 years old, is using warmbloods.

It takes a VERY special horse, and VERY intensive training.

[Toccet02]

Jeez Louise,
just came back from lunch across 42nd street, and one fairly small horse had to cut across a bus's path. He flipped up his head toward the windshield and bared his teeth for a second like, "Hey F*** You, buddy . . ."

Well, they are New Yorkers.
And nothing is more annoying than almost being squashed by a large dumb vehicle blocking the intersection . . . .

[Mikki79]

Big props to the people & HORSES in NYC who can deal with that traffic.... I was there after 9-11 for 9 months working patrol at ground zero and then Grand Central and I tell ya that was a culture shock for a little country girl like me!!!!! But i guess it gets in your blood because I go back a couple times every year to visit and shop!!!! We had some mounted patrol working with us for a little while and I tell ya those horses are Rockstars in fur!!!!!!

[Denise]

I worked in NYC for a few years, and got to know one particular beat horse who managed Times Square crowds. He was some kind of generic black draft, with a huge head and feet, and I asked his rider one day if his mount liked peppermints. The cop smiled and said, "He'll follow you if you give him any."
Sure enough, I popped open a tin of Altoids, and the big beast slurped up a handful, then stuck his giant head in my pocketbook looking for more. He ran right through my supply, and when I said my goodbyes, he did try to follow me!
I love the fact that they have sneaker-like shoes on so they can tear off on the macadam and concrete if necessary.
I once watched a mounted policeman in Philly take off after a purse snatcher. That horse had so much fun running down the perp, he thought he was back in the wild west!
They are truly wonderful animals with wonderful partners to be able to do the jobs they do every day.

[majxmom]

There was a situation that just happened here where a police horse ran over a guy and killed him. A plastic bag blew up onto the horse's bridle. The officer leaned over to take it off, the horse bolted, the officer was unseated and the bolting horse ran over a guy, who died. I was in shock. I'm not sure what the situation was there: was that horse undependable beofre, or fairly new, or is it just a case of any horse being capable of spooking in some weird situation?

[Mikki79]

Well my thought on that is that NO horse is "bomb" proof. Horses like people can get scared in certain situations and our natural instinct as an animal is fight or flight, 9 out of 10 times it'll be flight... That's why I laugh any time I see someone looking for a bomb proof horse!!!!

I have a cute story: I had a rock solid horse that I used to ride, I mean he's run into just about everything on the trail and never once spooked on me. He was awesome and I used him for gaming.... Well the one day my mom took him out for a ride and he took off on her..... The funniest thing is he got spooked because there were baby frogs crossing the road and he got in the middle of them, scared the bejesus out of that horse !!!!!!!

[Toccet02]

maybe it actually hurt him; scratched his eye or something.

[Toccet02]

maybe it actually hurt him; scratched his eye or something.

the bag, not the parade of baby frogs!

[majxmom]

I got it...but I did have a moment thinking about it.

[Mikki79]

Okay they might have been toads... Not sure what the difference is but you ask that horse and i'm sure he'd say they were the scariest things he'd ever come across !!!!

[Lucy]

Well, some of the police horses here are these huge, 17 hands-plus jet black horses with huge hooves..the first time I saw a hoofprint in the park's bridle path, I thought it had to be a joke. They must be crosses of draft and light horses...maybe part Fresian? THEY are intimidating.

That's what I've been seeing in Boston lately, too. I guessed them to be Percheron crosses....whatever they are, they're just stunning.