In her Horse Wellness Blog, Stefanie Reinhold, offers helpful insights under the intriguing sub-title, “Information for the Thinking Horse Person.”
Several years ago, Stefanie wrote an excellent blog entitled, "Preparing for Extremes: German Mounted Police Training."
During a visit to Germany, she visited the State Mounted Police North Rhine Westphalia. The training center was close to her hometown in Düsseldorf and was the former home and training ground of Klaus Balkenhol, mounted policeman and Olympic gold medalist (also from Düsseldorf).
Stefanie discovered that mounted police in Germany face different challenges compared to U.S. offices on horseback.
German offices carry a short rubber stick as a weapon.
Police on horses patrol large soccer games and political protests that are often marked with unruly crowds.
Seasoned protesters, who know they will be face to face with officers on horses, arrive prepared with beach balls to hurl at them.
Horses must be trained and prepared when disgruntled fans set garbage cans ablaze or start a gasoline fire.
When police horses in Germany are not busy managing crowd control and post-game theatrics, they patrol Düsseldorf’s prestigious shopping mile Königsallee to discourage pickpockets.
Comentários