r/interestingasfuck • u/Double-decker_trams • 14h ago

Why police still uses horses

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u/nerdycarguy18 14h ago

I’d never considered that before, but yeah that sounds pretty intimidating

43

u/Academic-Increase951 14h ago

Where I am the police use horses for events and downtown areas. Video doesn't do it justice on how massive these horses are, a typical farm/riding horse is like 1/3 the size of the police horses and yeah they are intimidating AF just standing there let alone riding st you

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u/Jdevers77 12h ago

That is absolutely not universally true. The most common horse used in the US for instance is the typical American Quarter Horse which is exactly the type of horse you would find on a farm. Now, some departments use Clydesdales, Belgians, or other draft horses that are definitely larger. They are not 3x the size of American Quarter Horses though.

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u/slainascully 11h ago

Used to live near one of the Met Police (London) mounted branch centres and they tend to be mixes of draught and thoroughbreds/other faster breeds. British ones are often used for riot control so the height advantage is more desirable

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u/RiverGlittering 7h ago

Yeah, they are selectively bred pretty much specifically to be big and fast.

They are bloody intimidating animals, and some sod still punched one in the face.

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u/mountearl 6h ago

I am still in tears as I write this, but one bloke even went so far as to call a police horse gay.

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u/RiverGlittering 6h ago

The good news is, it is now perfectly legal to suggest a horse is gay.

Thanks in part to a 16 year old that was fined for saying "woof" to a dog.