Wanted: a Few Good Equines to Boost LAPD’s Horsepower

The Los Angeles Police Department is looking for a few good, er, geldings.

For the first time since the LAPD’s mounted patrol was upgraded from volunteer status to a funded unit in 1988, the equestrian group is short-footed, with 31 officers and 28 mounts.

That’s because it lacks money to boost its horsepower. So the department, whose mounted unit is among more than 650 nationwide, has papered the city with “wanted” posters, hoping some generous souls with extra equines standing unused in the backyard will turn them over to the department for the tax benefits.

But unlike the department’s greatly relaxed requirements for human recruits, specifications for the hooved variety are about as stringent as they can get--so tough that fewer than 1% of every 600 applicants annually meet the qualifications. After all, as Jim Barnard, executive director of the National Mounted Services Organization, put it, mounted patrols “are community policing of the 1990s.”

LAPD horses must be big, but not too big; strong and brave, but docile as a lamb. Males are preferred (and must be castrated), although mares will be considered if they’re not too temperamental. And please, no tendencies toward excessive force, including kicking or biting.

“We’re looking for the million-dollar backyard horse,” said one of the unit’s equine recruiters, Officer Hector Alarcon.

The department hopes to boost its equine force to at least 35 horses, either through donations of suitable animals or cash to purchase horses, which cost about $2,500 each.

For the elite few that pass muster, life with the LAPD is good. Horses are stabled in a 40-stall, state-of-the-art barn in Atwater, built partly with a $495,000 gift from the Beverly Hills-based Ahmanson Foundation.

Stall floors are covered with protective rubber mats under a bedding of wood shavings. Each stall comes with an outside view, 10 pounds of alfalfa cubes morning and night, automatic water fountains, daily cleaning service and grooming. An automatic spray system mists the facility hourly for a fly-free environment.

“This is horse heaven,” Alarcon said.

Daily exercise is provided in a vast covered arena, while outdoor paddocks offer a place to let down, or play freely, and security is monitored on closed-circuit TV. Five animal technicians staff the barn around the clock.

“We try to make everything as comfortable for them as possible,” said Alarcon, who began with the volunteer unit in 1982. “If you’re a horse, there is no better life.”

There are drawbacks, of course. The work of a police horse is often stressful, requiring mounts to perform feats contrary to their nature, such as walking down ominous alleys, facing noisy crowds waving banners, stepping on manhole covers and grates, and being brushed by smoke-belching buses. Training exercises require them to remain calm amid gunfire, wailing sirens and helicopters roaring overhead.

A few have been injured or killed in the line of duty, such as a horse in Florida that stepped off a sidewalk curb during an unruly demonstration and slipped into a rain gutter, breaking a leg.

All horses are innately claustrophobic, with a natural instinct to flee anything frightening, said Jerry Tindell, a veteran horse trainer and civilian facilities manager for the LAPD. His job is to train horses to accept the intolerable and to teach officers, most of whom have no prior experience with horses, to become partners with their mounts.

“We try to teach as much ‘horse’ here as we possibly can,” said Tindell, 43, in the drawl of his Missouri upbringing. Communications skills between man and beast range from body posture to the state of mind of both horse and rider. A horse, Tindell said, can sense whether a rider is confident or tense and assumes the same feelings.

The most critical step in enlisting a police horse is the selection process, said Tindell and recruitment officers. The LAPD receives calls from trainers and horse owners offering about 600 equine candidates yearly. Of those, about 85% are eliminated during an initial telephone interview with the handler. Reasons range from the wrong color and size to an unsuitable temperament or background, said Officer John McCrossen, a recruiter and eight-year member of the unit.

Of the 60 or more horses yearly that the department inspects in the field, only about one-fourth make it to the equestrian academy for a 30-day tryout. In that period, handlers, trainers, veterinarians and farriers thoroughly check the animal. Only one in four makes the final cut; others are returned to their owners.

Even months after being acquired by the department, some horses exhibit behavior deemed unsuitable. One, for instance, began displaying a temper by refusing to do what it was asked, despite gentle handling and patient training. Such a horse is known as “a counterfeiter.” “He had an attitude. He was a liability factor,” McCrossen said. “This is something we will not have in this unit. That’s a no-no.”

The unit only accepts horses with solid dark coats to present a more uniform appearance, officials said. Colorful animals, such as pintos, palominos and appaloosas--even grays--are eliminated.

Size also is important, not only for uniformity but also for practicality, such as a proper fit for the standard-issue police saddle and bridle. An officer astride a horse presents a visual height advantage of 8 to 10 feet, recruiters said.

Officials are less picky about the breed they choose, although they admit Quarter Horses--the cowboys’ favorite--are the most popular because of their stocky build, calm temperament, price range and availability. However, the unit also has some Thoroughbreds, a Morgan and an Arabian, as well as mixed-breed horses and unregistered grade horses, in which the heritage may be unknown.

But much of the initial investigation probes into the temperament, training and background of the candidate. “Temperaments are all different, like humans,” McCrossen said. “We want to get a real feel for what the horse is like.” He said some of the best candidates are horses that have been owned by children, ridden about on the streets and exposed to a variety of situations.

McCrossen said he had no experience with horses before joining the mounted unit, but now speaks knowledgeably about the attributes and faults of conformation--the basic structure of a horse. A long back handicaps a horse from performing properly over a long period of time, he said. Bad feet or legs can cripple a horse required to work on asphalt and concrete.

Geldings--castrated males--are the most even-tempered. But exceptional mares are also welcome. Two of the unit’s most seasoned mounts are mares: Aladar, age 21, and Almond, 18. “The more exposure a horse gets over the years, the better he gets,” McCrossen said.

Because of the height advantage and maneuverability of horses, urban mounted police teams are particularly effective in controlling crowds, suppressing narcotics trafficking in heavily populated areas and curbing crime in shopping mall parking lots, said Barnard . In addition, horses add a public relations aspect to policing. “Everybody loves horses, even most of the bad guys,” one officer said.

Barnard calls the modern mounted police team “a four-door cruiser with hairy legs.” The difference, Barnard said, is that “horses get better over the years; the car doesn’t.”

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Police Horse Qualifications

The Los Angeles Police Department is recruiting horses for its mounted corps. Equestrian requirements are stringent and fewer than 1% of the 600 annual candidates meet qualifications.

Specifications:

Age: 6 to 12 years

Height: 15.2 to 16.3 hands (approximately 5’2” to 5’6” tall at withers, or where the neck meets the back)

Weight: 1,100 to 1,400 pounds

Color: Solid dark (bay, black, brown, sorrel)

Sex: Gelding or mare; no stallions

Temperament: Quiet, even-tempered, steady

Stature: Large-bodied, sound feet and legs

Education: Basic taming and handling. Should be people oriented, not easily spooked or prone to biting or kicking.

Source: LAPD