Horses Learn to Be Calm in Disastrous Conditions

The scene was chaotic: a siren blaring nonstop, thick smoke, fireworks and the loud noise of a helicopter hovering above.

In the middle of it all were 20 horses standing deep in mud.

No, it wasn’t a movie set but the annual Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department mounted patrol training at the Jack Bones Equestrian Center.

Despite the booming special effects, the horses involved in Monday’s exercise appeared controlled at all times. They stopped, walked, galloped in double file and turned when instructed to.

The session, explained Sheriff’s Sgt. Bill Thompson, conditions the animals to react calmly in the face of disaster, or at a crime scene.

“This kind of sensory training is to expose horses to things like sirens and helicopters, so they can get used to them,” said Thompson, who ran Monday’s four-hour workshop. “Normally, a horse’s initial reaction is to run.”

Monday’s session brought together about a dozen departments, including Riverside and Moreno Valley police and San Bernardino firefighters.

In all, 28 animals took part, including shire and Arabian horses and even a mule.

Brian Culp, a retired member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, helped with the training.

He said many law enforcement officials who work with horses are weekend riders who have much to learn about the powerful animals.

“I’m teaching the officers about the psychology of the horse, how it thinks and reacts and what [it’s] capable of doing,” Culp said.

Thompson said when there is a real emergency, the horses will be ready.

“That’s why we’re here,” he said. “Just look at them.”