|
BALTIMORE, August 29th 1888
James R. Horner, Esq.
Comptroller & C.
My Dear Sir,
I am of opinion that the disbursing offices of the City must pay the amount of the requisition
for the erection of the stable to house the horses used by the Mounted Police within the newly annexed territory and refusal
will justify the issue of certificates for that amount being 6. per cent interest and receivable for taxes as provided by
Sec. 715 of the Code.
The Board of Police Commissioners are a board of State Officers strictly within the
jurisdiction of the State Authorities and the statute law of the state in the only guide in determining their rights, powers
and obligations.
Sec. 722 of the last version provides as follows, “ And if found practicable in
addition to the station houses and properties attached hereto which they are authorized and empowered to take possession of
and use. They may provide additional station houses with all necessary appurtenances, as may be found needful and necessary
and such accommodations as may be requisite for the Police Force.”
Sec. 715 prescribes the mode and manner of providing for the expenditure necessary for
the discharge of the duties imposed on the Board, and requires and annual estimate to the Mayor & C.C. and provides, “that
if the annual estimate shall from any cause prove insufficient for the necessary expenses. The Board are authorized to expend
not exceeding $50,000 in any one year which amount shall be added to the estimate assessment and levy for the year next ensuing.
The proper disbursing offices of the City as required to pay over the amount of each requisition of the Board not to exceed
in any one year the annual estimate certified to the Mayor & C.C. by the Board, or which may therefore be certified for
that year to the said Mayor & C.C. and a refusal will be attended by what is indicated in the opening paragraph of this
letter.”
The Act of 1784, ch.310 which authorized and empowered the Board of Police Commissioners,
“To purchase or lease ground in said city and to erect suitable station houses thereon out of the Special Fund of paid
Board the title truest in the city,” is not a repeal or limitation of the general power conferred by Sec. 722 as quoted
herein but in my opinion was a special and additional power designed to utilize the accumulations of the Special Fund in the
erection of station houses, in the judgment and discretion of the Board. Since that Act of 1784, the Special Fund has been
further changed by the Act of 1884 ch. 225 with the payment of the salaries of the matrons of station houses and the Act of
1886 ch. 459 with the payment of some pensions to retired policemen and the Patrol wagon service.
The erection of this stable is in fact “an accommodation required site for the
police force,” in the language of Sec. 722 in the judgment of the Board, necessary and needful in the newly annexed
territory demanding mounted officers and is an exercise of the given power, although I do not wish to be understood as saying
that if the Board were actually erecting a station house at the same point in the district this stable as a proper appurtenance
thus to would not also be chargeable by implication to the Special Fund.
BPD Mounted Officers circa 1800's
Officer George Adam Smith in the early 1900's
Mounted Officer infront of the Customs House early 1900's
MOUNTED UNIT INSIGNA WORN ON THE SLEEVE OF THE UNIFORM COAT
Mounted Officers after the great Baltimore Fire of 1904
OFFICER OTTS CARROLL
Mounted unit 1920's
UNCLE OF BPD COLONEL JOE CARROLL
|
|
| COURTESY OFFICER JAMES McCARTIN |
“Walt” served the Baltimore Mounted Unit from 1919 through 1929, along Pratt Street ridden by Officer
John George
Baltimore Mounted Police belt buckle
circa 1940's
|
|
| COURTESY OFFICER JAMES McCARTIN |
JANUARY 4, 1939
Every Day’s Parade Day For Baltimore Mounties
Horse Patrol Now Fifty Years Old, With Sergeant Schminkey, 21 Years A Member, Its Dean
Fifteen Officers Spend Day In Saddle
Baltimore's mounted police paraded this morning at twenty-five minutes past 7. They parade
every weekday morning.
Two and two they ride out of the police stable at 27 South Frederick street, just below Water street.
And because Frederick is a one-way street for southbound traffic only, they hold this formation until they reach the corner
at Lombard street, where they separate and ride off to their posts. They have no music. But they make a brave show, clattering
down Frederick street on their way to work.
First On Job At 4 A. M.
One member of the mounted force goes on duty in Market Place at 5 A. M. During the summer
months another man is assigned to the produce market, around Camden and Light streets, beginning at 4 A. M. But the other
members of the detachment arrive at the Frederick street stable between 6:30 and 6:45 A. M. They go upstairs to an office
on the second floor front, a big room heated by an egg stove, where Sergeant Harry G. Schminkey smokes a clay pipe at a roll-top
desk.
"Good morning. Sarg."
"Good morning."
"Some weather we're having."
"I'll say."
Each Checked Off
As each man comes in the sergeant checks him off and gives him his orders for the day. "Shall I take
Dixie?" asks a patrolman.
Dixie is one of the mounted horses.
Use Same Mounts
Yes. take Dixie, says the sergeant. But there aren't many questions. Unless a horse is sick
or scheduled for a visit to the blacksmith shop, each man uses the same mount from day to day.
Framed photographs of mounted officers hang around the walls of the upstairs room. And
there are a lot of those plain wooden armchairs digenous to police stations and engine houses.
Sometimes the mounted men sit down and catch a smoke with the sergeant.
Sometimes they shine their shoes. Occasionally an officer a shave in the little washroom partitioned
off one corner of the office.
Each Saddles Own Horse
At a quarter of seven they button up their overcoats, buckle on their Sam Browne pistol
belts, go downstairs into the stable and begin to saddle up.
Each man saddles his own horse. The black leather McClellan saddles, pads edge with yellow and bearing
the polished brass Police Department emblem, sit on high wooden horses at the front of the stable. Each mounted policeman's
stick hangs from a leather socket on his saddle pad.
Blacks At Right, Bays At Left
The stalls are farther back, a row on either side of the stable, black horses on the right
bays and others on the left. Each horse has his name painted on a small black and yellow sign beside his stall ---Nebb, Dixie,
Dock, Prince, Dandy, Smiles, Sparks, Jeff, Caspar, Sonny, Teddy, Walt, Ray, Tony and Mullins.
Two hostlers, not policemen, have already groomed the horses. The officers lead their mounts
out of their stalls put on their bridles and saddles and on cold days, black waterproof blankets initialed "P. D." in big
yellow letters. Then the horses are put back in their stalls and the officers stand around waiting for the sergeant, who comes
downstairs about 7:15 o'clock and say's:
"All right, let's get ready."
"Count Off"
The policeman get their horses and line up down the center of the stable, each man at the left of
his mount's head."Right dress," says the sergeant. "Count off " the men count off
by fours.
Inspection
The sergeant walks down the line inspecting his men, comes back to the head of the line and gives
the order:"Prepare to mount." The policemen turn and raise their left feet to their
left stirrups. One of the hostlers opens the stable doors."Mount," say's the sergeant.
Up they go.
Out By Twos
"Twos right," says the sergeant.
The mounted policemen wheel by twos and sweep out into Frederick street, down Frederick to Lombard.
Here the main body turns right, but two men turn left and two or three continue down Frederick street to Pratt, taking the
shortest routes to their regular posts.
Sergeant Reports
They ride off without the sergeant, who, still on foot, leaves his horse in his stall and
walks up to the police headquarters building to report to his superior officer, Capt. Henry C. Kaste, commander of the traffic
division, and to receive any orders the captain may have for him.
Baltimore's mounted service began in 1888 with fourteen men who patrolled the wharves and the northern
suburbs on horseback. It increased to a force of twenty-five men. Then motor cycles and automobiles came in and the number
of mounted men dropped to a dozen. But last year the strength of the detachment was increased again, this time to sixteen.
On Duty Since 1927
Since 1927 the entire mounted force has been on duty in the downtown business section and
along the water front, Where a mounted officer enjoys certain distinct advantages over a footman in the management of traffic.
For one thing, a mounted officer can see farther. For another, he can move faster.
Fifteen members of the mounted force, including the sergeant, spend their day in the saddle.
The sixteenth remains on duty as a sort of telephone clerk in the upstairs office of the Frederick street stable, which, in
the days of horse-drawn patrol wagons, used to be a police patrol station.
Sergeant A Veteran
Sergeant Schminkey, with a twenty-one-year record as a mounted policeman he joined the police force
two years before he got a horse---is the oldest member of the detachment in point of service. A farm boy from New Freedom,
Pa., he became a member of the mounted at a time when its vacancy went begging. Twenty years ago policemen weren't interested
in riding horseback. But that isn't true any longer. The mounted service is now one of the most popular branches of the Police
Department. When vacancies occur they are filled from a selected waiting list of foot patrolmen ---men who have had experience
with horses. Six or seven members of the present mounted force are former cavalrymen.
Little Night Work
Although they are on duty from 7.30 in the morning until 6 o'clock at night, the mounted
men seldom have any night work and rarely work on Sundays. Every· day at noon half of them ride back from their posts to the
Frederick street stable for a lunch period of an hour and a half: The other half comes in for a similar rest at 1.30.
Because of the small size of the mounted force, all its members are well known to those
sections of the business, district in which they serve.
This is particularly true of the retail shopping district, where three members of the force, take
weekly turns working posts on Howard and Liberty streets.
Jeff An Old Show Horse
One of these men is Patrolman Edward Schuhart, who rides a silver-tailed dun-colored horse
called Jeff.
Jeff was originally a buckskin, but has faded out with age. He came to the police force
from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Fair of the Iron Horse at Halethorpe. Jeff was a show horse, taking part in the pageant.
William Harrison, who rides a bay named Dock, and Edward Ellis, who usually has a chestnut mount named
Smiles, are the other two members of the shopping district detail. Another well-known horse of the mounted is Dandy, a sorrel.
With a thirteen year service record, he's the stable veteran and is considered the mounted's best parade horse.
Horses Cost About $250
A police horse costs about $250, and his equipment, exclusive of shoes, another $200. He
wears a special iron shoe with a rubber heel to prevent slipping. New horses are selected by Sergeant Schminkey and Captain
Kaste. They prefer big-boned, settled horses, around 7 years oil and fifteen hands high, either blacks or bays.
The horses have to be pretty tough to stand steady street duty. They have to have good
nerves, able to "take traffic. City traffic sets some horses crazy. The Police Department gives all its mounts a ten-day workout
to see if they will "take traffic" before they buy them. New horses must also stand a complete physical examination by the
Police Department veterinarian, L Dr. L. Hickman. Mounted officers are responsible for their horses only when they're on the
street. Hostlers do the feeding, currying and other work around the stables. In the winter time when the streets are dangerously
slippery, the horses remain in their stable and the mounted officers do their work on foot.
Officer Schuhart on "SHORTY" 1943
The Mounted Division
Downtown Streets Its Habitat
Breaks Up Many Traffic Jams
December, 1943
Whether leading a parade, or in service breaking traffic jams, the mounted division is among the
most colorful divisions of the Baltimore Police Department and always attracts the attention of the pedestrians. During the
almost forty years of its existence the mounted division has been gradually bettered until today with its seventeen men and
officers, not to mention the horses, it is probably the best mounted division in the country.
It is a part of the traffic division and therefore is under direct command of Captain Henry Kaste.
For years uncounted, its principal activities has been confined to Light and Pratt streets where shipping matters engage the
labors of the various trucking concerns. Years ago it was thought that the widening of Light street would care for any traffic
problems but increased business on the street has made the work of the mounted officers more responsible. Further north, Baltimore,
Eutaw, Howard and Lexington streets require the attention of the mounted Division.
But at the head of a parade men and horses come into their own and reflect great credit on the
police department.The members of the mounted division and their equine mounts are as follows:
SERGEANTS
D. McBride-Dixie.
H. Schminkey-Charlie.
OFFICERS
W. Salisbury-Sparks.
E. Ellis-King.
H. Kiefer-Toney.
L. Zulauf-Beauty.
E. Schuhart -Shorty.
W. Harrison-Buck.
F. Kearney-Star.
F. Kuhn-Radio.
T. Bedworth-Blackie.
W. McKelden-Smiles.
H. Frank-Duke.
C. Quinn-Toby.
C. Gable-Teddy.
J. Cossentino-Blackout.
J. Hemler-Sonny.
Sergeant John L. Neussinger 1944
A Persistent Officer
Fortitude and Bravery His Buckler
Sergeant John L. Neussinger Fights On
By FRANK E. GOULD
JOHN L. NEUSSINGER
Sergeant in Traffic Division
Topping the list for promotion in the Baltimore Police Department has ceased to be a novelty to Sergeant John
L. Neussinger, attached to the Traffic Division. In an examination held recently, Sergeant Neussinger was placed on eligible
list for lieutenant, which holds good for one year. In this test he led 153 Sergeants, and along with five other candidates,
he tied for first place honors, receiving an average of 99 per cent. He has had the highest average for the third successive
year, and in every examination in which Sergeant Neussinger participated, he received a high average.
In the year 1931, along with 1,053 others, he qualified in test for probationary patrolman" receiving an average
of 98 per cent. He was placed 28th on eligible list and with fifty-seven other candidates he shared second-place honors. He
took examination for probationary patrolman only once.
In the year 1938, he was placed seventh on eligible list for sergeant, receiving an average of 98 per
cent, and in this test he also shared second- placed honors. He took examination for sergeant only once. In the last five
years, Sergeant Neussinger has taken examination for lieutenant, and in the five different tests he came out with high honors,
as follows:
1940-averaged 891/2 per cent, 9th on list.
1941-averaged 91 per cent, 5th on list.
1942-averaged 98 per cent, first place with one.
1943-averaged 99 per cent, first place with one.
1944-averaged 99 per cent, first place with five.
Sergeant Neussinger was appointed by General Charles D. Gaither to the Baltimore Police Department on October
29, 1931-and was assigned to the Southwestern District. He was transferred from the Southwestern District to the Traffic Division
on February 18, 1932, remaining there ever since. And on May 19, 1939, he was advanced to the grade of Sergeant by Commissioner
Robert F. Stanton, remaining in the Traffic Division. Sergeant Neussinger, since his entry into the Baltimore Police Department,
which is now almost 13 years, has been in the "limelight" frequently, and also has had varied experiences and several very
close calls, one especially, which he had received only after two months of service an injury which came very near costing
him his right hand last year.
On September the 4th, 1943 Police Commissioner Hamilton R. Atkinson and other high ranking officers of the
Baltimore Police Department, called Sergeant Neussinger," one of the gamest policemen on the force," when he went to the Mercy
hospital for the eighteenth operation on his right hand, which was injured in line of duty.
Since then he has had another operation, and still very hopeful that it's the last. Sergeant Neussinger, then
a probationary patrolman with only two months of service, surprised two colored men robbing the office of a lumber company
in the Southwestern section of the city, on the night of December 30, 1941, about 11 P.M. One of the negroes pulled the trigger
of his gun several times, but it failed to fire. As he did so the second negro appeared, armed with a knife and both leaped
on him, carrying him to the ground, attempting to take his revolver, however, without any success. When several policemen
came to Neussinger's rescue, -they found him to be bleeding profusely and near collapse, but he still held on to the one prisoner.
Neussinger suffered deep gashes from the knife on the face, neck, right arm and both hands, as one of the
negroes attempted to cut his throat. The most severe wound he received was to his right hand. Surgeons found that the knife
had severed an artery, tendons and tissues and that the swelling was due to failure of the blood to circulate. An operation
was performed and relief, however, was only temporary and the next twelve years found the patrolman in the hospital once each
year and sometimes twice for additional operations, in order to save the hand. Throughout this ordeal Neussinger never lost
hope that one of the operations would in time, effect a permanent cure.
On September 25, 1939, the middle finger of his right hand was amputated, and he returned back to duty October
31, 1939, and then shortly thereafter the hand again began to swell, with some more operations in the offing, and on October
26, 1943 two more fingers were amputated. Sergeant Neussinger is always hopeful, as Doctor Mohr and Elliott H. Hutchins, police
surgeons stated, they thought this operation was very successful and there should not be any further trouble. Sergeant Neussinger
returned back to duty in uniform on December 6, 1943, and hasn't lost a day since. He has only the thumb and small finger
on his right hand left, but it is really amazing what he can do with just the two fingers. He can write, and use a typewriter
and do the same as heretofore. He can shoot his revolver with his left hand and still maintain marksmanship and since being
back to duty he has made numerous arrests and can well take care of himself.
Sergeant Neussinger's only regret is that he no longer can play the piano, organ and string instruments, which
he used to do quite a bit. Neussinger's handwriting has not been impaired whatsoever, and. he still writes with only' two·
fingers, which is very remarkable, and he makes up all details and daily assignments of the footmen in the Traffic Division.
On August 12, 1932, about 8 P.M., while a patrolman and directing traffic at the intersection of Howard and
Fayette Streets, Neussinger, released from Mercy Hospital, only two days previous, caught a chain-gang fugitive, who held
up a clerk in the cigar store. at Howard and Baltimore Streets with a loaded revolver. He was disarmed by Neussinger, found
guilty and sentenced to three years in the penitentiary and later was returned to prison camp to serve the rest of an eleven
year sentence, also for a hold-up, and was imprisoned only two months when he escaped.
On April 28, 1935 about 2 P.M. while a patrolman and directing traffic at the intersection of Park Avenue
and Lexington Streets, Neussinger caught a purse thief as scores of startled shoppers saw a mother and daughter struggle with
pocketbook thief. At the Western Police District, the thief was found guilty and convicted.
On August 13, 1935, about 8 :30 P.M., while a patrolman and directing traffic at the intersection of Light
and Conway Streets, Neussinger caught an armed Penal Farm fugitive from Roxbury, Md. A relative of the fugitive saw him riding
in an automobile and notified the Southern Police District, a general alarm was given over the police call box system and
a record was affected when Neussinger caught the fugitive ten minutes after the alarm was given, riding in an automobile north
on Light street. He was disarmed by Neussinger and returned to the penal farm.
On November 14, 1936, about 2 :15 P.M., while a patrolman and directing traffic on the Southwest corner of
intersection at Howard and Lexington streets, Neussinger arrested a colored man who was drunk, zig-zagged vehicle at the height
of Saturday afternoon rush period, observed motorist go against traffic signal, almost taking down several pedestrians, and
at his own risk, Neussinger, hopped on running board of taxi-cab and then on the running board of automobile operated by a
drunk, stopped the motor and pulled the negro from automobile. He was found guilty and convicted.
On May 7,1937, about 4 :30 P.M., while a patrolman and directing traffic in front of the Police Headquarters,
at the intersection of Fayette street and the Fallsway, Neussinger observed for a distance of two blocks an automobile, west
bound on Fayette street, being driven on the wrong side of the street, thereby causing a traffic jam at the intersection and
middle of block. When Neussinger approached the machine to give the operator a reprimand, he found that the operator of automobile
was a doctor who stopped his car suddenly, rendering medical care to a young woman who was giving birth to a premature child
while enroute to the Mercy Hospital. After assisting the doctor, Neussinger stepped up onto the running board of automobile,
blowing his police whistle to clear traffic, raced the automobile to the hospital where it was said both mother and child
were doing well.
On March 22, 1941, about 5 :30 P.M., a lone gunman terrorized hundreds of Saturday Pre-Easter shoppers in
Lexington Street. He held up a ladies dress shop on West Lexington Street near Park Avenue, and herded women customers and
employees into a corner of store with a loaded .38 caliber revolver. Shoppers fled in near-panic as they saw the bandit run
from the store out into Lexington street, and into other stores, and was caught by Sergeant Neussinger. While in the midst
of a crowded shopping store he tried to use revolver on Sergeant Neussinger. However, he was disarmed, placed under arrest.
He was found guilty and convicted. Convict had a police record from 1930 to 1937 of five counts on robbery with machine gun
and revolvers and one count of automobile theft. He was sentenced to nine years in the Maryland Penitentiary. Sergeant Neussinger
is six feet and one and half inches of policeman, weighing about 180 pounds, has black wavy hair, brown eyed, very quick in
his mental reactions and his movements.
His friends describe him as' a policeman of unusual acuteness and one who really has learned the real value
of courtesy in dealing with the public. He possesses qualities of leadership. Military in his bearing, no speck is allowed
to light on his uniform. His shoes are always shined, and his brass buttons are well polished, making them look as if they
were gold-plated also. The creases are kept where they belong.
His erect carriage, alertness, politeness and geniality cannot fail to impress those with whom he comes in
contact. He is very ambitious having acquired much wisdom from his library at his home, with a collection of two hundred or
more volumes dealing with traffic and criminal law. He has the latest Ordinances and Acts which have been passed and will,
in any way affect his duties and responsibilities. He is a very conscientious officer and his superiors say: "That he can
be depended upon to meet any assignment."
Neussinger is well known throughout the Police Department to be a fine and highly respected officer and his
promotion, in time, to Lieutenant, will be looked upon with high, favor throughout the department and the public at large,
as there are, ever so many, that are unstinting in their praise of the Sergeant and in expressions of their regard for him.
He is very considerate, however, he can be very stern when there is ,need for it, as he is a firm believer in discipline.
His hobbies are: keeping scrapbooks and records of all sorts pertaining to police; likes movies and collects
souvenirs. Sergeant Neussinger has been commended five times for meritorious service.
He also received the highest award, a Gold medal for Humane Action in the year 1935 from the Maryland Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The year 1933 he received the "Sharpshooter" silver bar, and in the year 1934 he received the "Expert" silver
bar for shooting from the Baltimore Police Department.
The Sergeant can always be seen at all big events handling traffic throughout the city.
In the year 1936 he assisted in a Safety Campaign sponsored by the Baltimore Police Department and the Studebaker
cooperating.
In the year 1940 he was in charge of "Guard of Honor" for the Knee-Hi Safety Campaign. Demonstrations given
to over 75,000 school children throughout the city and which was sponsored by the Police Department and the Baltimore Safety
Council as well as the Sunpapers.
In the year 1941 he had charge of a squad of Traffic Officers who were detailed in Washington, D. C. for the
Presidential Inauguration.
****************************************************************************
Mounted Methods Still Effective
June 1971
Law enforcement in 1971 has reached the stage where it is, to say the least, sophisticated.
The Baltimore Police Department is equipped with many of the most modern and up-to-date tools of the law enforcement profession.
Radio equipped patrol cars, emergency vehicle units, motorcycles, scooters, boats and even helicopters are provided to assist
the individual patrolman., He has, in many cases, instant communications from anywhere because of the walkie-talkie which
hangs from his hip.
The police officer, for his part, is well trained and is a true professional in all senses
of the word. The citizens of the City of Baltimore, at least a great many of them, have voiced a certain amount of pride in
their Police Department and the men who serve them, in a variety of ways, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
With the ever increasing mechanization of the Department, reliance on modern technology and use of innovative techniques
in law enforcement, it may to some, seem surprising to see a police officer riding down the street on a horse.
Yet, today, any motorist downtown is very likely to do just that. He'll see a uniformed officer atop a prancing
horse weaving in and out of the traffic, handing out traffic summonses and assisting those in need.
This is not, as it may appear, a concession to the "Olden Days". It is, instead, a clearly visible example of the
maximum use of resources in an ever modernizing police organization.
The Department's Mounted Division, consisting of 22 men and 17 horses, meets an obvious need. With traffic heavy
in the more congested downtown area, the Department needs a means to be able to answer calls for service in situations where
police cars cannot get through traffic and a man on foot couldn't get to the location quickly enough. An officer on horseback
provides the answer. He can respond to a particular location regardless of the traffic conditions. If it's an emergency he
can use the sidewalks or alley-ways not wide enough or clear enough to allow passage of a vehicle.
A visit to the Department's stables, located in the Unit Block S. Frederick Street results in a better understanding
of the role of a Mounted Division, in modern police work.
It must be pointed out that today there are nearly two-dozen cities which maintain Mounted Divisions. The work
in almost every major city remains the same, the control of congested traffic and response to service calls in the Mounted
Officer's area of patrol.
The Mounted Division moved to its present location in 1923. Through the years the officers, atop their well-cared
for horses, have been a delight to both residents of the City and to visitors who see them as a symbol of law enforcement.
Presently there are 17 horses quartered at Frederick Street. There are 15 Mounted Officers and 2 Sergeants; in addition, a
crew of 5 hostlers keep the stables clean and care for the animals.
Each officer is assigned a particular animal for which he is responsible. They work a 5-day, 40-hour week in two
shifts. It is interesting to note the special considerations given the non-human member of the "team". Each horse is assigned
a badge and is a "member" of the Department. He works an 8-hour day, the same as his rider, and, this includes a 30-minute
lunch break. In addition, each animal is "rested" for at least 10-minutes, preferably 15-minutes every hour.
The needs of horses are special, especially when they spend their working days assisting in the patrol of Baltimore's
downtown area. For example, each animal must get plenty of exercise, even when not working. If an officer is on vacation,
the horse assigned to him is "worked" at least three days a week. This serves to keep him in shape and prevents stiffness.
The "personal" needs of the horses are not overlooked. In the summer time, when the animal has completed his tour
of duty, he is groomed and then given a cooling shower before being fed. The diet of the Department's horses is surprisingly
varied to provide maximum nourishment. The staple food, of course, is hay and 5 bales are used daily to provide for the 17
animals. In addition, each feed box is filled with approximately 3 quarts of oats per day. Several times a week, the hostlers
prepare what could be considered a "gourmet meal" for their charges, "sweet feed". This is a mixture of oats and corn held
together with molasses. Aside from providing a pleasant treat for the animals, it's packed with needed vitamins and minerals
to insure the health and well-being of the four-legged "members" of the Department.
Medical treatment is one of the most important elements in the lives of the horses. They are regularly examined
by a Veterinarian, provided shots to prevent infection and given dental and eye examinations.
The Department gets its horses from several sources. Some are donated, outright, as a gift. Others are purchased
from area farms on a unique trial basis.
Each animal purchased is bought with a 30-day option. For a month his rider trains him and rides him in the downtown
area. This gives the officer the opportunity to evaluate the animal to insure his fitness for police work in a noisy city.
If the new horse passes the initial "workout" and a complete medical examination, he becomes a "member" of the Mounted Division.
In addition to a good disposition and health, size is an important element of selection. Policemen are larger than
jockeys, and their jobs more rigorous than that of many "cowboys", so the animals selected must be large enough to carry both
rider and his equipment.
It is estimated that the combined additional weight on the horse's back, including rider, saddle and all of the
equipment needed for policing is approximately 260 pounds.
The essential element of the "team" is the police officer-rider. Each is an expert horseman, most have ridden since
childhood. In addition, the officers are all men of experience in regular police work, each having spent years in various
districts before assignment to the Mounted Division.
|
