NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Some of Nashville's most high profile officers are nearing retirement age but there aren't enough recruits to take their place.
The Metro Nashville Mounted Patrol Unit contains 10 horses. Edge, the oldest, is 19. Officers hope to put him out to pasture by 20. Almost half of the remaining horses are also starting to get close to retirement age.
The mounted patrol unit is in charge of crowd control, preventing crime and making arrests. They go where patrol cars can't, weaving in and out of crowds and getting in between unruly people to stop fights downtown.
“One horse equals ten officers on foot when it comes to moving a crowd,” said Mounted Patrol Unit Supervisor Sgt. Michael Eby.
It takes a very special horse to handle the excitement without a problem. And that makes patrol horses difficult to find.
“We need a lot more horses and even the ones that are getting donated the majority are not able to do the job,” Eby said.
To test if a horse can succeed on the streets, officers put them through noise tests, obstacle courses and take them close to humans and traffic. Any sign of spooking or bad behavior like nipping can cross them off the list.
At the stables, officers show NewsChannel 5 the obstacle course they use. The horse and rider walk on uneven terrain, through trash and debris, pass through a curtain of caution tape, have to push a large dummy out of the way and even walk on planks and bridges that move under their hooves.
“If they can’t go through those obstacles they won’t be able to go through the normal obstacles on the job,” Eby said.
At the barn they're treated well. They eat grains and get three to four shampoo baths a week.
“Right now the heat index is 101 so they get sprayed off every time they come in,” said Officer Brent Hoadley, while giving one of the horses a bath.
They work on their relationship with their human partner during on rides and at the barn.
“Most of the guys here have created really tight bonds with their horses,” Eby said.
But without more new recruits like 3-year-old Joey and 8-year-old Ruger, who just joined the force, they can't replace the older members of the herd.
It can take a year to train a new horse.
“We still want to give them a good life after our work down here so we like to get ‘em out before they’re 20,” Eby said.
That way they might spend a few years living in a normal pasture like normal horses, getting a break from the chaos to live out a full police retirement.
Instead of waiting for donations from horse owners the unit is being forced to start buying horses. Ruger, they’re newest horse, cost $500.
If you have a good horse you can donate, they're looking for geldings at least 15'2 hands tall. They prefer Tennessee Walking Horses but are open to other breeds like Quarter horses.
