City of Raleigh News Release - City Accepts Donation of Two Horses for Mounted Patrol

Jayne Kirkpatrick, Director, Public Affairs
Prepared by: Christopher Riley, Senior Public Affairs Specialist

Nov. 6, 2012

For more information: Lt. Timothy Tomczak, Police Department, 996-1231

City of Raleigh Police Department Receives Two Horses
    

On Nov. 6, the Raleigh City Council accepted the donation of two horses for the City of Raleigh Police Department’s mounted patrol.  

Ms. Donna Sparkman donated a five-year old, crossbred Percheron/Quarter horse named Prince (aka Zeus), to the Mounted Patrol Unit. Ms. Kris Kamin has donated a five-year old Percheron mare, Willow, to the Mounted Unit. When the horses are no longer able to perform Mounted Patrol duties, the original owners will have the opportunity to reclaim ownership. The estimated value of each horse is $5,000.

Two current equine members of the Mounted Patrol Unit, Blade and Flash, are being returned to their respective owners. Flash is 18 years old and has been with the Mounted Patrol for 10 years. Blade is 14 years old and has been with the Mounted Patrol for approximately six years. Blade is retiring due to a foot injury.

Training to incorporate the new horses into the mounted patrol is divided into three parts.  First, the department focuses on basic riding skills.  The mounted patrol rides English style, which usually requires direct contact with the horses mouth and bit at all times. Mounted Patrol officers need the horses to walk, trot, and canter on a loose rein because they can't always devote both hands to riding and controlling the horse. Officers spend considerable time training the horses to work from leg cues so they can keep their hands free.  Backing, sidepassing, and turning in a tight circle are crucial and also are part of the Carolina Mounted Police Association's certification course.  

Secondly, the mounted patrol officer works on police specific tasks such as crowd control techniques, riding in formations, making an arrest from the saddle, foot chases, and placing parking tickets on cars while in the saddle.

The third part of the training is sensory work with the horse.  This includes exposing the horse to the firing of guns, blue lights and sirens, crime-scene tape, road flares, tarps, traffic cones, and barrels.  Officers expose the horses to anything they might encounter on patrol so the horse is somewhat familiar with it and is not frightened by it. This particular part of the training builds a trust between the police officer and the horse which is as equally important.  It takes approximately six to eight months to train a horse for police work depending on the horse’s ability to learn new techniques and the prior training he has received.  

When the mounted patrol obtains a new horse, there is a 60-day trial period to evaluate the horse is going to adapt to police work.  The new horses will be exposed to and trained for any situation that officers might encounter on patrol.