In an era of increasing oversight and decreasing budgets, old-schooled mounted programs face an uncertain future. When you factor in all the expenses for training, feeding, stabling, and outfitting, funding a single police horse is decidedly expensive. And horse units, usually deployed at large public events, perform poorly on typical accountability metrics like arrest rates. With so many more cos
t effective alternatives, mounted police have been forced to make the case that their units still belong. Though some departments are able to use donated horses, buying an animal able to deal with the stresses of police work can run $4,000 to $8,000. Additional, specialized training that allows horses to work in crowed city situations, the places where they're most useful, is essential but costly. In most cases, departments can defray costs by putting some of the onus on the officers who volunteer for the job. This is where it takes very dedicated individuals to do this job, because they have a lot of responsibility. But boosters of urban units say these costs are worthwhile, even if this small group of officers don't rake in this kind of crime -fighting stats that today's law enforcement agencies have come to expect. Officers on horseback can add real value in controlling potentially chaotic downtown events. Sitting at a busy intersection, an officer astride a tall horse can see for several blocks at once. Horses can also ride down sidewalks and alleys, and go the wrong-way up one way streets. When personnel from mounted units go out and write tickets, make arrests, and are proactive and show that it's not just for parades, a lot of time police executives will recognize the value. And mounted patrol horses most obvious appeal is how they interact with the general public. The police officer on horseback inspires trust and confidence. They generate substantially higher numbers of extended interactions with the public. The Horses (and) Heroes Foundation was established to partner donated police horses named in honor of those men and women that protect and serve, with mounted patrol units throughout the United States
