Mounted Police

Purpose—The primary purpose of mounted police, which are found in all large cities and seldom anywhere else, is to control riots and heavy traffic and to patrol public parks. Also, when the occasion demands it, they act as mounted escorts to dignitaries and participate in parades. They are most frequently on regular duty in the theater district, congested shopping districts, the waterfront and at railroad and truck terminals.

MOUNTS—The distinguishing characteristic of police mounts is that, in any city or sub-group of the police of any city, they are uniform in size, weight and color. They are trained for their work and to be calm under conditions which might excite most horses, well mannered and courageous—and they possess reasonable stamina. Police horses, of course, must do a great deal of standing. They trot very little and gallop seldom. They must be used to people coming up to them suddenly, shouting at them or their rider, all kinds of noises, flashing lights, automobiles coming toward them, behind them and too close to them—and people petting them, giving them apples, carrots and sugar.

The height of police mounts is generally between 15.3 and 16.2 hands.
The price paid for police mounts varies considerably, of course, depending on the type of mount desired and proximity to the source. A good average, however, is probably about $300.

SOURCE—The breeding of police mounts is varied—some are Thoroughbreds, some are w, 2 and 4 breds, some have saddle horse or Morgan backgrounds, others are from the Western Plains—specific origin is unknown. In general, most city police departments have a contract with horse dealers to procure for them the required number of suitable mounts at an average price. Specifications usually include sex (the New York City Police Department uses only geldings), height, weight, color and general type or breeding—all within reasonable limits.

In many instances, horses are given to the police by interested benefactors and admirers. Many of these are Thoroughbreds that have proved not quite fast enough for the track; and hunters and saddle horses whose owners want to find a good home for mounts which, for one reason or another, they no longer wish to maintain.

New horses (remounts) joining the force are usually given initial training by a small group of specialists known as the Remount Group. After the remounts are broken, handled and have become reasonably tractable, they are assigned to an experienced mounted policeman who continues the horse's training, on and off patrol.

TACK—The tack used by most police organizations is similar to that formerly used by the United States Cavalry. Usually the bits are of the double (bit and bridoon) type, brow bands are colored and the rosettes bear the city's coat of arms. Sometimes white halter shanks are attached to the bridle—seldom are martingales used. The saddle is usually the United States Army's McClellan saddle or some slight variation of it like the Whitman saddle used by the New York City Police. Therefore, pads or folded blankets are usual under the saddle and many police organizations use hooded stirrups. In wintertime, police horses frequently wear blankets on patrol.

STABLING—Stabling is usually in rented quarters—armories, riding stables, warehouse space not used for other purposes, etc. Necessarily, most of the horses are stabled in standing (straight) stalls rather than boxes. However, the horse's daily duties and exercise periods make this no hardship.

MEN—Policemen assigned to mounted work frequently, of course, have had some experience with horses; but perhaps an even greater number have had simply a strong desire to join the mounted service. Most police forces are glad to have recruits without previous association with horses and start them off with the fundamentals of horsemanship—continuing to educate them through as much advanced work as is required.

Each police trooper takes care of his own mount—trains him, grooms him, exercises him and looks after his general comfort. Hostlers water and feed the horses, clean their stalls and bed them down.

HOURS OF DUTY—In most police organizations, the patrolmen are on mounted duty for eight hours—less one hour for a meal. However, they spend extra time looking after their mounts and tack, studying and performing special duties.

ORGANIZATION—These days mounted police detachments are relatively small and, again, vary considerably throughout the cities that use them. In New York, there are approximately 250 mounted patrolmen and horses organized into six troops. With officers and clerical personnel, the total assigned one way or another to the mounted detachment in New York City numbers some 300.

SUMMONSES AND ARRESTS-The usual violations for which mounted policemen issue summonses and make arrests are traffic violations, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, inciting riots, etc.

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