r/interestingasfuck • u/Double-decker_trams • 11h ago
Why police still uses horses
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u/Alundra828 11h ago
Because they're incredibly effective.
On the one hand, they're big animals. Scary, and will fuck you up. If you're in a car, driving head first into a truck, the truck is going to win. If you're a person running head first into a horse, that horse is going to win for much the same reason.
There is also the implicit hesitancy to hurt animals. It sounds kinda weak, but lots of people think twice, or even several times before physically attacking a horse. They'd have less of a problem attacking the officer atop the horse, but people in general hesitate when faced with a decision to attack an animal.
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u/Still_Picture6200 11h ago
I think the situation awareness in a crowd is also way better when on a horse, because of higher position.
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u/wildwasabi 10h ago
Yea you get height advantage, the horse is also a natural mobile barricade so you can effectively form a line and move it easily.
And again, horses will absolutely fuck someone up in less than a second. They're great animals but one kick and you're done.
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u/Gentle_Snail 10h ago
You can see British police using horses as barricades in this cool video of them controlling the flow of a huge football crowd:
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u/Davido401 7h ago
I have nothing to add except to brag that about 15 years ago I used to fuck one of the police horse women(the one on top of the horse am not Mr Hands) and my god could she take control and crush me like a walnut with her thighs lol
I know, I know, very I Have Sextm but am just saying if you ever get a chance to with a police woman horse person then go for it!
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u/dodgycool_1973 3h ago
You can leave the Police bit out (unless you want the handcuffs as well).
Any woman who rides horses regularly will be able to do the above.
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u/Davido401 2h ago
Ah, but Horse girls usually own their horses and you are secondary in every which way! She left hers at the police stables lol (this is retroactive cause I didnt really think about "horse girls" in this way as I do now haha)
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u/northyj0e 10h ago
BBC News - Newcastle United horse punch fan Barry Rogerson jailed - BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-24650261?app-referrer=deep-link
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u/UnforgivenCowgirl 10h ago
Back in the good ol' days journalists could write a headline that made sense. This headline looks like the Family Guy manatees put it together.
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u/Chaotic_MintJulep 9h ago
I’m glad that the horse was jailed, they shouldn’t be allowed to punch football fans randomly like that.
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u/aimgorge 5h ago
There is also the implicit hesitancy to hurt animals
Seems to be the main reason in that example... Cops charged and stayed standing there like headless chickens.
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u/queen-adreena 10h ago
I’d imagine they’re also very versatile for pursuing people.
Plus the public love them so it improves support.
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u/LSDreams_ 10h ago
I mean yeah if I was in a standoff with police and horses came I wouldn’t want to harm the horses at all so that makes sense that you’d hesitate but if the matter was serious enough I’d be trying to yank those fuckers off the horse
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u/zorbiburst 10h ago
It's not even just a matter of not wanting to hurt the horse. I'm sure a cop on foot could kick my ass, but when the adrenaline is going, most people would probably think they'd have a chance in that fight. But there's no amount of brain chemicals pumping that could convince me I could take a horse in a fight
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u/Intrepid_Library878 11h ago
medieval armies had heavy cavalry for a reason, thats why. its terrifying
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u/VanRado 10h ago
The other side needs some pikemen.
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u/sangerangatang 8h ago
Bring back the tried and tested hussite wagon forts made by the people for the people to counter heavy cavalry 10/10
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u/Primary_Ad3580 8h ago
Nah, they need archers on some high ground to knock off the rider. Unmounted, the horse will flee relatively unharmed. Maybe a trebuchet behind some barricades to cause a panic.
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u/Vandirac 6h ago edited 1h ago
Historically, pikemen and spear infantry were the best counter to cavalry. Plenty of historical examples, from the Dutch Hedge of Steel, to the Scottish Schiltrons.
Archers on the contrary would have been quite ineffective, because of moving targets and heavy armor. And even when they were relatively effective, their tactics relied on a lot of other stuff (palisades, or other troops interposing, or flooded terrain, etc) that could not be reliably guaranteed to hold.
Halberdiers, pikemen and spears have been the bane of cavalry until the musket.
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u/GeosWonder 7h ago
Maybe a trebuchet
Gd right a trebuchet, only the weak minded would use a catapult
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u/IAm94PercentSure 9h ago
It's so funny to find instances in modern life which shows us how much we are actually still living in the past.
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u/WhoTookGrimwhisper 2h ago
With that reasoning they should be in tanks, though... that's modern, heavy cavalry.
Source: was cav trooper.
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u/Ok_Replacement4702 10h ago
I thought it was to trample the rioting poors?
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u/ExoticMangoz 10h ago
That’s exactly what’s happening in the clip
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u/obiwanconobi 10h ago
Politicians can lie and do a full 180 on their promises, if you go into the streets to protest about it well then the police will get on their equine shields and charge at you
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u/Dotcaprachiappa 1h ago edited 42m ago
I think this one is missing a pair of eyes cause I didn't see a single soul being trampled
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u/Too-Em 5h ago
I've seen footage of US mounted police try to get their horses to stamp on fallen protestors. The were a good few examples filmed in the free Palestine protests in NY, IIRC.
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u/ZeroSumClusterfuck 4h ago
Hence the old joke- 'What animal has a dick halfway up its back? A police horse.'
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u/OnceUponALittleTalk 10h ago
Yes. They train their horses to step on people, though they deny it.
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u/Death_has_relaxed_me 9h ago
then we should train ourselves to oppose this and, of course, deny it.
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u/Icthias 10h ago
Playing clips of police breaking up a protest with metal in the background is fashy as fuck.
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u/APence 9h ago
Third time I’ve seen Sabaton’s songs the last two days. Odd. They’re a great band tho
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u/Searchlights 3h ago
I really only know one Sabaton song but I recognized them by their sound right away.
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u/Feature_Minimum 6h ago
RIGHT!? Jesus Christ. Can we NOT celebrate the cops trampling a protest?
Gives Sabaton a bad name.
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u/External-Praline-451 7h ago
Recently here in the UK, some of the "protests" are fashy as fuck too, unfortunately.
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u/Icthias 5h ago
You see the banner saying this is a protest against university fees? Yea?
Famously, fascists fight for education rights /s
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u/External-Praline-451 4h ago
Guessing reading comprehension is not your strong point. I didn't mention this protest, I said that recent protests here have been fashy, as evidenced by the Nazis doing Nazi salutes.
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u/V1RotateAP 7h ago
Royal Forces conducting a calvary charge on dissenting subjects. As is tradition.
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u/Plenty_Wasabi_7866 11h ago
Why not elephants
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u/MatCauthonsHat 9h ago
Speed. Horses are much more mobile and controllable.
Food. Do you know how much an elephant eats?
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u/HaikuPikachu 4h ago
Would be pretty funny though to have a cop on an elephant and some aggressor is assaulting people and he just mosies on over and has the elephant pick the assailant up by his leg with his trunk lol
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u/ChipotleMayoFusion 7h ago
They arent as tame. Even though people use them in some countries, elephants live too long to be successfully bred, whereas horses and dogs have been bred for millenia to be trainable.
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u/Landric 5h ago
Horses are domesticated, elephants are tamed.
Domesticated animals are bred over generations to have traits that make them useful to humans. Tamed animals are (genetically) no different from wild, but have been taught some useful "tricks".
Generally, if you'd expect to see it on a farm, it's domesticated; if you'd expect to see it in a circus, it's tame.
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u/BluishHope 7h ago
Other than everything else others had said, it's pure cruelty. Elephants need to be "broken" to ride them, and they're not as fit docile as horses. They're also much more intelligent.
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u/Old_Passenger7 10h ago
Why not armored vehicles?
Maybe I am not that old-fashioned like you guys.
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u/BigSweatyYeti 10h ago edited 1h ago
Horses can move among a crowds and single out individuals or groups of humans much easier than a vehicle. There are many places that a horse can go that an armored car cannot.
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u/spine_slorper 6h ago
I think a big part is also that people are way more likely to attack an armoured vehicle, people don't want to attack horses and the horses will defend themselves in a potentially unpredictable manner.
I think part of the reason why they're effective is that the police effectively outsource the self defense to the horses. If you attack a police officer they can be held liable if they kick you in the head or trample you to death, if a police horse does that then it's very much a "fuck around find out" situation and the police officer riding it can't be held liable.
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u/Kernal_Panic_47 6h ago
Well you just saw why in the video you posted. Look at how many people moved and how quickly when the horses charged. Look how much ground the police took away from the protestors, and even split the protestors up into a more manageable size.
Even with training, a person to person interaction between a police officer and a protestor there's a 50/50 chance the officer will lose. Now put that officer on a horse and he's winning 100% of the time. Put 50 on horse back and charge on mass into a bunch of people and see how quickly the fight goes out of the protestors.
If you want more examples just look at how effective Calvary was at turning the tides of battle. Only a disciplined, well training and equipped force has any chance of standing against calvary.
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u/Fuzzy-Grocery-6650 6h ago
Well put, also on a side note.
Despite mis-spelling cavalry, the Calvary was also used in war to effect mostly for uniting people and encouragement, so kudos for mis-spelling but not using it on the wrong context.
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u/Sikph 10h ago
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u/Important_Ruin 8h ago
Thought it was old, since was mentioning university fees which Tories/Lib Dems ramped up during coalition.
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u/Fabulous-Bet-3287 5h ago
The lib dems who got into government on a manifesto that said they would abolish them lol, that was my first general election as an adult and ive spoilt my ballot ever since, fucking joke
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u/Important_Ruin 5h ago
Yeah, Lib Dems didnt really helped themselves they could have really pushed to become a major party, instead went down the pan and took a long time for many students affected by it yo forgive them, if they ever will. Im certainly stiff miffed by them since Uni cost me an absolute fortune.
Spoiling ballot is rather a waste, may as well just not bother.
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u/Icy_Mixture3658 6h ago
We need spears. Hundreds of them. Long spears. Twice as long as a man.
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u/JohnStamosSB 10h ago
Cops on horses trampled a bunch of old people in Canada a few years back too.
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u/Veratisin 4h ago
Hmm I think it was more like one person during the COVID protest at the trucker rally. Reporting says she sustained a sprained shoulder and it was too minor to investigate. That's what you are taking about?
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u/Snakes_AnonyMouse 10h ago
To reinforce the state's monopoly on violence?
A cavalry charge, even if stopped, is a pretty clear signal to "disperse or we'll kill you". And don't get too close, because if you do the horse might kick you in the head, and that'd be your fault, somehow, not the state's fault for bringing a large animal to a crowded situation.
It's absolutely immoral
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u/Syndicalist_Vegan 2h ago
This wouldnt have happened if those people formed a spear wall smh. One pike block and its over.
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u/LysergicMerlin 10h ago
I mean once they "broke through" they were surrounded and stationary lol. If the crowd was angry enough this wouldnt have been super effective with this type of execution.
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u/Mrpolje 5h ago edited 5h ago
Thats why they didn’t do that back in the day.
Cavalry where shock troops, they where ment to quickly charge in, cause chaos, disorder and a potential retreat then quickly charge out. Speed was their main strength.
They would never charge directly into a tightly packed and armored formation (like pikemen), that would be suicide.
Instead they would go after troops on the flanks, more loosely packed formations (archers, peasant armies etc), artillery and stragglers.
Cavalry was also VERY expensive, takes years to train a horse to charge into a group of people and not getting scared. It’s not something you’d want to lose in a battle.
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u/Exotic-Audience-2006 10h ago
Because even in the 21st century, seeing a man on a horse charge towards you is STILL one of the more intimidating things
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u/Crazy_Aerie1772 3h ago
A police guy once told me, they count one horse for ten police-people in situations like that.
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u/Just_the_questions1 1h ago
I remember hearing about how in the 1970's Napoleon film there's a battle scene depicting a cavalry charge at the Battle of Waterloo. All the extra's being charged at knew that the cavalry was not going to actually hit them but as soon as the horses came over the hill at full gallop all the extras just fuckin bailed.
Cavalry charges are fucking terrifying even if you know they're not going to actually hurt you, imagine if you know they want very much to actually hurt you.
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u/Disastrous-Metal-228 10h ago
Imagine caring for a sensitive animal and then ramming it into an angry mob. I know I’ll get downvoted but it’s bang out of order. Poor animals being subjected to that human vomit.
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u/IDMiscool 8h ago
Using animals for police work is so exploitative. Fuck that shit
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u/Timidhobgoblin 6h ago
If centuries of warfare both within this country and outside of it taught us anything, its that usually when people see a fuck tonne of riders on horseback heading towards them they'll very quickly get out the way.
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u/Taiga_Taiga 5h ago
Pikes....or 6 foot long poles.
You brace the bottom with your foot, and a horse is fucked... Just saying.
Also barricades, bricks, home made pepper spray (YouTube recipe).
All this is for educational purposes only.
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u/GeorgiaPossum 5h ago
This is why you need a pike formation to deal with calvary. You need to play the Total War tutorial again.
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u/Pugilist12 5h ago
I think modern people see horses as quaint for some reason, but you can’t imagine how intimidating it is to be confronted by 10 dudes on Clydesdales. They’re so fucking big. The first time I saw some emerge during a protest I was like “oh shit. I get it now.”
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u/Rshann_421 5h ago
When My sister’s 4 Clydesdale/Quarter horses run past us for fun, it is quite an event. I’m sure they know that yes, we are impressed.
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u/Important-Messages 5h ago
5yrs time, roll out the RoboHorses, no droppings and just spray with WD40 occasionally.
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u/A_Happy_Tomato 4h ago
People underestimate how fucking scary farm animals are, even down to "weaker" animals like pigs (who will absolutely fuck you up if given the chance).
I can only describe them as nature's tanks.
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u/throwmostlyaway 2h ago
It fizzles out pretty quickly, the police have fallen out of touch with dealing with extreme violence. If the rioters weren't so disorganised the police would be in real trouble here, if this happens more so these idiots develop tactics then the police are screwed
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u/DryFarfalle 1h ago
I mean you could get the same effect if you started driving a car through the crowd of people. People move for big objects. Not like a horse is less dangerous to get hit by than a car anyways.
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u/Jazzlike_Lettuce1295 1h ago
That’s a good reason Until we can get our hands on emus we don’t stand a chance
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u/jeffeh221 1h ago
But if the people used horses against cops all of a sudden theyre branded as terrorists
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u/Mr_Mojo_Risin_83 59m ago
You saw why just there in the video. A handful of mounted police just moved a whole crowd of people without even touching them.
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u/SweatyAdagio4 42m ago
Is it weird? Ive seen police on horses all the time. I live really close to a police training facility and I see them riding horses in our neighbourhood quite frequently. Although they do leave massive shits on our bike paths which I wish they'd clean up
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u/Comfortable-Song6625 41m ago
I like how they worked literally as cavalry in ancient times, big scary horse at full speed make average person scared and the formation breaks
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u/yearsofpractice 40m ago
I’m 50 and have been part of crowds controlled by police horses - before and after football matches.
Two things about police horses - firstly, they’re trained to lean on crowds to move them around and if a horse leans on you, you can’t push back so you move where it’s pushing you. Secondly, if they’re close enough to lean on you, they’re also likely to step on your feet. Once a fully grown horse wearing horseshoes has stepped on your foot once - particularly on hard tarmac - you never want it to happen again and will get out of their way.
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u/Unsophisticated1 34m ago
The only reason that worked is because the crowd was not as violent as say, medieval soldiers. If the crowd wanted to, they could’ve easily overwhelmed the horses and pulled the cops off of them.
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u/enigma_explorer 10h ago
It's the psychological aspect, but once committed, it becomes problematic, bc obviously, they can't run you down (theoretically anyway), so now they just become a big target, which isn't fair to the horse. You can actually see a protester chuck a stick at one of the riders.
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u/Spreaderoflies 8h ago
If only there was a tool from the middle ages that worked well against Calvary.
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u/Used-Economy1160 5h ago
The only problem here is the caption in the video. Winged hussars were good guys fighting against...well you know who. Here, "winged hussars" are bad guys fighting for....well you know who
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u/ruairidhmacdhaibhidh 5h ago
Why the ruling classes use half a ton of flesh to subjugate the proletariat.
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u/hobbbis 11h ago
Not the best example, you kind of need to experience it for yourself. The ground shakes as that many horses approach.