The Friends of the Mounted Patrol
28 / Sport and Trail Magazine
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By Lorie Miller
The Friends of the Mounted Patrol (FMP) is a group of private citizens who work on a volunteer basis to support the New Castle County Police Mounted Patrol Unit (MPU) in Delaware. The FMP was founded in 2009 to save the Mounted Patrol when the Unit was in jeopardy due to budget cuts. We believe the MPU is so important to law enforcement that we are committed to ensure it is never in jeopardy again. To this end, we inform the public about the necessity of the Unit and raise funds to support the ongoing needs of the active duty and retired horses.
The MPU was established in 1981 and is the only full-duty working mounted patrol in Delaware. It deploys teams of officers and horses on a daily basis throughout New Castle County to enforce traffic laws, patrol high-crime neighborhoods, perform terrain searches and aid in crowd control. In addition, the public’s intrigue with the horses provides a unique opportunity for vital public relations within communities, local schools, businesses, and other organizations. The Unit currently has 12 active duty horses and 1 younger horse, Julio, in training. Twelve of the horses are Clydesdales and one, Tonka, is a Percheron. The Unit has been using draft horses for about 25 years. These “gentle giants” have great dispositions for patrol work where they are exposed to many different noises, people, and situations. Their size is also beneficial in crowd control situations where having an officer’s vantage point about 8-10 feet off the ground and 1900 pounds underfoot provides an equivalent presence to 10-20 officers on the ground.
Our horses come from a variety of places including PMU farms in Canada and farms in Delaware, Indiana, and Missouri. Two of the active duty horses, Warden and Wrangler, came to us when they were 6 and 5 months old, respectively, and were raised and trained with the other horses. Others come when older but still need to pass the extensive training needed to become a patrol horse. Once on the Unit, the horses serve as long as they are willing and able to do the job safely. The Unit has had active duty horses ranging from 3 to 21 years old. When a horse is ready to retire, there is an extensive process in place to ensure they are placed in a good home. Officers who have partnered with that horse are given priority. If the horse has special needs, the money raised by the FMP can be used to support those needs as County funds only support the active duty horses.
So what does it take to become a patrol horse? Nerves of steel and a calm disposition in a variety of strange situations. Patrol might bring traffic, crowds of people, and noises such as sirens, horns, and gunfire. Urban areas might bring see-through metal bridges, shifting terrain, and water that looks like a bottomless hole in the asphalt. Parkland might bring narrow passages, thick brush, and wildlife. In order to learn to deal with these challenges, the horses are gradually exposed to various stimuli and advanced through training as they learn to tolerate each task. They also learn to push heavy objects that mimic a crowd of people and are taught controlled team maneuvers to rescue people from hostile crowds, peel people away from a building, or direct crowds as needed.
patrol horse. Once on the Unit, the horses serve as long as they are willing and able to do the job safely. The Unit has had active duty horses ranging from 3 to 21 years old. When a horse is ready to retire, there is an extensive process in place to ensure they are placed in a good home. Officers who have partnered with that horse are given priority. If the horse has special needs, the money raised by the FMP can be used to support those needs as County funds only support the active duty horses.
So what does it take to become a patrol horse? Nerves of steel and a calm disposition in a variety of strange situations. Patrol might bring traffic, crowds of people, and noises such as sirens, horns, and gunfire. Urban areas might bring see-through metal bridges, shifting terrain, and water that looks like a bottomless hole in the asphalt. Parkland might bring narrow passages, thick brush, and wildlife. In order to learn to deal with these challenges, the horses are gradually exposed to various stimuli and advanced through training as they learn to tolerate each task. They also learn to push heavy objects that mimic a crowd of people and are taught controlled team maneuvers to rescue people from hostile crowds, peel people away from a building, or direct crowds as needed.
The human officers must also endure rigorous training to make this Special Operations Unit. To even be considered for the Unit, they must have already served a minimum of two years as a police officer, be a member of the NCCPD, and be recommended by their command staff. Then they must be accepted into and complete a separate 13-week training academy. Officers must be capable of performing nearly all of their duties without getting off the horse. They run radar and issue tickets from the horse. They arrest people from the horse. The Unit has a “get up or get out” policy where all officers must be able to mount and dismount without external assistance. In addition, the officers are taught how to care for the horses and equipment. Officers are not required to have prior riding experience but must be able to deal with the physical demands of this assignment and the exposure to the elements while patrolling. control. In addition, the public’s intrigue with the horses provides a unique opportunity for vital public relations within communities, local schools, businesses, and other organizations. The Unit currently has 12 active duty horses and 1 younger horse, Julio, in training. Twelve of the horses are Clydesdales and one, Tonka, is a Percheron. The Unit has been using draft horses for about 25 years. These “gentle giants” have great dispositions for patrol work where they are exposed to many different noises, people, and situations. Their size is also beneficial in crowd control situations where having an officer’s vantage point about 8-10 feet off the ground and 1900 pounds underfoot provides an equivalent presence to 10-20 officers on the ground.
Photo by Melanie Litten