Modern police departments offer their officers a wide array of ways to cruise around town. There are cops riding in Jeeps, Innovas, Hyundai cars, Bullets, Suzuki and various other vehicles – and in Chennai city they are also astride horses. The horse units over the World are attractive, ceremonial protection for the Head of States, used in patrols, crowd control and more.
Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback (equestrians) or camelback. Globally, they serve in metropolitan areas where their day-to-day function may be ceremonial, employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly for crime prevention and high visibility policing roles. The added height and visibility that the horses give their riders allow officers to observe a wider area. In the UK, mounted police are most often seen at football matches, similarly at Chepauk stadium in Chennai. By some account, Police horses were first used in London in 1760, when Sir John Fielding, the Bow Street magistrate, developed a plan to introduce mounted units in order to deal with highwaymen. Wearing red waistcoats, blue coats and trousers, the Bow Street Horse Patrol gave protection on all major roads within 20 miles of Charing Cross.
Chennai
has the famous ‘Mounted battalion’ on good looking horses – and it is a treat
to watch the small group canter by. Every morning they are seen on the picturesque
Marina beach and on holidays when huge crowds descend on the shore – their contribution
is immense. There are some women too in the battalion. The cantering horse with police cop on top
commands respect from people and crowds heed to the warning of the mounted battalion
to keep away from the waters. They love
their job and their horses too.
According
to historian Mr Muthiah, the use of horses by the Police in Madras dates at
least to 1800 when Walter Grant was appointed the Superintendent of
Police. Among the functions assigned to
him was to organize mounted patrols in the city for which he had 30 mounted
persons. With Act of 1856, the strength
rose to 80. Its uniform comprised a blue tunic, sky blue trousers, and helmets
with turbans. In the days when Police
force had no motor power, Inspectors and Sergeants were provided horses. In 1926 a Mounted branch of Madras City
Police was formed with 15 horses exclusively patrolling the city.
Their
job starts early in the day from the stables housed at Pudupet, the horses look
neat with hairs trimmed, embellished with saddle. Though it might appear they are pretty casual
sitting on top – they are reining in tremendous power – that of the horse. The animals can get agitated at the slightest
disturbance – caused by a recklessly driven vehicle; irritantly honked horn;
fire-crackers and sometimes animals too.
Over the period of time, the rider develops special liking for the horse
and perhaps so does the star animal.
This morning at the Marina beach, opp. to PWD nearer Marina Swimming poll, witnessed a dozen of mounted police exercising their horses – it was indeed a pleasant and impressive sight to see the horses gallop in formation, nicely responding to the commands of their riders. One can also see the logo on the mount.
With regards
– S. Sampathkumar
13th Aug 2o14. Special thanks to my friend S.R. Ragunathan.
