on duty with
the dallas police
mounted unit

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Aired April 6, 2018

In the state of Texas alone, there are more than 100 mounted police units. This includes city and county units, as well as posses and the mounted patrol that watches over the Capitol complex in Austin.

The Dallas mounted unit consists of 12 horses and nine officers, led by Sergeant Michael Hunter. Senior Corporal Bobby Favors selects and trains the horses and riders. Both officers are my guests on Because of Horses' Episode 25, recorded onsite at the Dallas Police Department’s Mounted Unit’s headquarters on the grounds of the Texas State Fair, near downtown Dallas.

It takes a unique, 1-in-10 kind of horse to successfully join a police department’s mounted unit. From the selection process to the physical and mental components,  making it through training, and actually going into service -- these are major accomplishments that few horses can achieve.

But in addition to the rigors and discipline required of police work, itself, these horses also provide a unique and important connection between the public and the officers… and what is, at heart, a vital role in any community.

Mounted units provide an opportunity for people who may have never seen a horse in person to touch a velvet nose, to stroke a silky-coated shoulder … to chat comfortably with the mounted officer, and to learn – in the process – not only about the gentle giant walking in their midst, but also about the remarkable person behind the uniform, behind the badge.

Because of horses.