[Kzin]

Hmm .... guess they're not fading into history:

April 18, 2006
A New Crime Fighter, for $10 in Hay and Oats
By ANDREW JACOBS

In this high-tech, gadget-dependent, "CSI"-obsessed age of police work, one of the New York Police Department's most prized and pampered weapons in the war on lawlessness is a temperamental pack of hay-chomping lads named Zeus, Philly and Angus.

Now, after decades of consignment to Central Park patrols, ceremonial trots down Fifth Avenue and the occasional cameo at a raucous demonstration, these horses — and 85 of their brethren — have begun patrolling high-crime neighborhoods, making late-night shows of force through Times Square and taking the lead during search-and-rescue missions along thicket-filled riverbanks and wooded urban parkland.

And there soon will be more of them: Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly is increasing the budget for the mounted troop, 75 horses and officers over the next three years, to eventually bring the total to 160, giving mounted patrols a larger role in battling crime.

"There's a reason we call them the 10-foot cop," Mr. Kelly said. "You can see them from blocks away, they're great at crowd control and they're probably the most photographed piece of equipment we have. I'm a huge fan."

So are police departments around the country. After decades of being viewed as a quaint 19th-century throwback, horseback policing is undergoing a resurgence in cities like Honolulu, Las Vegas and Oklahoma City. Law enforcement officials have come to appreciate the tactical and economic advantages of a mobile crime-fighting force whose members cost one-fifth the price of a Crown Victoria cruiser.

One mounted officer, police strategists like to say, carries the punch of 10 beat officers, especially when it comes to making a statement at large public gatherings or on busy downtown streets.

Scott McClelland, whose family in Canada trains and sells horses to law enforcement agencies across North America, said he gets weekly calls from small town sheriffs and big city police chiefs interested in starting mounted units.

"They can do more than a cop on foot, or a guy in a car," said Mr. McClelland, speaking from his ranch on the plains of Saskatchewan. "They can gallop through traffic, go the wrong way up one-way streets, and they're great for community relations. I mean, you can't exactly pet a cop car. Or a police dog, for that matter."

In New York, once paired, officers and their horses often spend the rest of their careers together. For example, Sgt. William McKay and Angus have been partners for nine years. Recently, they helped round up a group of men involved in a shooting. All it took was the approaching clippity-clop of Angus and few stern shouts from Sergeant McKay.

"When a cop on horseback issues a command, people tend to listen," he said. "I mean, I'm sitting on a thousand pounds of animal. It's also human nature to respect and fear a horse."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/18/ny.../18horses.html

[Norlanthale]

"It's also human nature to respect and fear a horse"

I should find that link from cnn about that guy that died while getting ass fucked (willingly) by a horse and dying. wtf is wrong with people.

[Kzin]

Originally Posted by Norlanthale

"It's also human nature to respect and fear a horse"

I should find that link from cnn about that guy that died while getting ass fucked (willingly) by a horse and dying. wtf is wrong with people.

That was here ..... leading to a bill in the state legislature this session to make bestiality a felony .... like that will stop that kind of sick fuck.

[Norlanthale]

Originally Posted by KzinKiller

That was here ..... leading to a bill in the state legislature this session to make bestiality a felony .... like that will stop that kind of sick fuck.

also I heard about it on 4chan and then followed the link cause I thought it was fake.

[D8alus]

In a related story, Cowboys are on the rise.