What Breed Are Police Horses?
I took my son to a football game the other day, and in the last year or so he’s become really interested in the horses we have at home, and horses in general.
There was quite a big crowd at the stadium, so naturally the police horses eventually showed up.
He was looking at them for a long time, before he eventually turned to me and asked what breed I thought they were.
I wasn’t quite sure, so when we got back, I decided to do some research and try to find out.
So, what breed are police horses?
It all depends on the area. Police all over the world still rely on horses for patrolling many areas, and they are not all the same. British police horses are usually a mix of thoroughbred and draft bred, and police horses in North America could be Percheron, Belgium draft breeds, quarter horses or thoroughbreds.
So, the breed is not always the same.
Horses come in countless varieties, and they are useful in countless jobs.
Exactly what breed is used will depend on the job, but the most commonly used all purpose horse is likely to be a thoroughbred.
So, let’s look further into this question.
What kind of horses are police horses?
So, again, police horses could be one of any number of breeds.
In the U.K., police horses are usually half thoroughbred and half draft breed.
Thoroughbreds were traditionally raised for racing and jumping, but their value went up over the centuries as people realised their many applications.
The Metropolitan Mounted Police, for example, who are active in London, are used for patrols of the big parks and for crowd control at football matches and ceremonial events, and use primarily thoroughbred and draft breed mixes.
In North America, a police horse could be one of a huge number of breeds.
The Canadian Mounties, for example, usually ride thoroughbreds, but have in recent decades been introducing Hanoverian stallions into the gene pool for enhanced size and quality of the horse.
In the U.S., the Percheron is the most common and popularly used as a horse for mounted police.
They have strong muscular builds and a good work ethic, making them a great choice.
Depending on the nature of the work and the terrain, though, any breed could really be used.
Percherons are often used in both cities and rural areas, but some breeds are more well adapted to rough terrain, like draft horses.
How big is a police horse?
This, naturally, depends on the breed.
Most are going to be quite large, since a lot of what they are used for is crowd control.
Any of the breeds we’ve mentioned so far are going to be reasonably large; Percherons, Belgium drafts, quarter horses, etc.
Thoroughbreds are usually quite lean and aerodynamic, but they are still larger than most average sized breeds.
Obviously, police horses are typically bigger than the average horse, but there is such variety in size and weight that there’s no simple answer to that question other than that they are big.
What breed are NYC police horses?
In the United States, certainly one of the most iconic police horses is those that ride with the NYPD.
They also use a number of different breeds, but taking pointers from their similarly urban cousins in the U.K., NYPD police hroses are mostly draft breed crosses.
Often, NYC horses are quarter horses, too.
Again, big, bulky horses is what you need for crowd control, especially in a busy place like New York City.
Thoroughbreds are also used for patrolling purposes more so than crowd control, since they are typically not as bulky as quarter horses or draft horses.
The point is, there are many different breeds used in any specific area of policing.
NYC is a big place, with lots of different roles to fill, so there are many breeds used.
What breed is Oliver the police horse?
Oliver was one famous police horse who was involved in the BreyerFest of 2019 in Kentucky.
A Celebration Horse is typically brought up for big anniversaries, and in 2019, it was the 30th anniversary of the festival.
Oliver was an impressive brown and white horse with great big hooves seen ridden by a mounted police officer during the festival.
He has been a member of the Kentucky Horse Mounted Police for 13 years now.
Oliver is a shire cross, standing out in the crowd with his strong white pinto pattern and large stature.
Police horses are usually cross breeds, then!
Police horses are not a monolithic block, then.
They are almost as varied as work horses in general, and no one particular breed fulfils all the needs of a police horse.
Certainly, there is an enormous difference between police horses in North America and the United Kingdom.
In the U.K., most of the time police horses are used for crowd control.
In the U.S. and Canada, they are a preferable form of transportation for police in some circumstances.
Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer!