Police Horses Deserve Recognition Too.
On Saturday during the Black Lives Matter demonstration in Whitehall, London it was heartbreaking to witness yet again police horses being used and mistreated as political tools, this time by people attending. Horses quickly turn into authoritarian entities as people normally treat animals with kindness but suddenly turn violent in an effort to attack or harm those sitting atop them.
Over the past years we have witnessed police horses put at risk and violently attacked when confrontation escalates into chaos. While there may always be people who do not see any harm in harming animals, throwing bicycles, flares, and other objects at them cannot be excused as being necessary to combat aggression.
Many will argue that had they not been there they wouldn’t get hurt and this is completely accurate in today’s civilised society. But to truly be civilised we shouldn’t take out our anger on them in any form, be it intentional or accidental; by trying to injure or unseat their rider innocent horses may become collateral damage; on Saturday this horse could have easily killed an officer and bystanders as she ran from him; how urbane is that?
A runaway horse showed excellent judgment by finding its own way home away from the chaos. And what impact has cantering through melees on slippery roads been having on its mind and mental state – with such horses clearly distressed after running amok on Saturday afternoon – has on both people and horses? A runaway horse displayed considerable wisdom by finding its own path home from this chaos and heading homeward.
Today we live in an advanced 21st-century world where police officers possess high-tech equipment for every situation; yet forces around the globe still use horses (and dogs) in frontline operations to combat crime or deal with disturbances, often risking injury themselves by wearing protective equipment on them.
Morecombe was tragically killed after colliding with a metal pole during football match security patrol and falling onto it after slipping while responding to reports of disorder – not the only fatality recently. Although many police forces in the UK have done away with their horse sections or retired them to regular lives already, most still feel an inherent need for them.
When are we going to reduce the danger for everyone – horse, rider and public alike? By banishing horses to their most beneficial role as ambassadors and ceremonial participants or even retiring them altogether? As evidenced by recent events we have seen no hesitation or regret when attacking or injuring horses regardless of any new laws like “Finn’s Law”.