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New facility for Texas DPS Mounted Patrol Unit
At the new facility in Coupland, the Texas Department of Public Safety is training troopers and horses side by side.
COUPLAND, Texas - The Texas Department of Public Safety Mounted Patrol Unit celebrated new graduates in their new facility. This brings the force up to 18.
What they're saying:
In a world of high-tech policing, sometimes the most powerful tool has four legs.
"The horses are a force multiplier, they can get to places a lot quicker, you get higher visibility on horseback," Texas DPS Captain Boyd Lamb said.
At the new facility in Coupland, the Texas Department of Public Safety is training troopers and horses side by side.
"I grew up around horses and cows growing up, and I just figured if I could do law enforcement and be around an animal too at the same time, that would be the best job right there," Texas DPS Mounted Patrol Unit graduate Sergeant Sean Chandler said.
For Sergeant Chandler, this isn’t just a job, it’s a partnership, but he said the bond doesn’t happen overnight.
"It started out as they won't even come to you. Now they see you walking over their paddock, and they come right over. I can tell she trusts me and I trust her that we're going to keep each other safe to do the job," Sgt. Chandler said.
It takes weeks of training for troopers and months for the horses before they ever patrol together. Now, all of that training is happening under one roof.
"We procured it last year, and we just steadily built up over the last year to make it something that could be functional for our K-9s for training, for them to come back throughout the year and do any kind of training they need to do and also prepare these horses to be ready for the threats that are out there that they face," Captain Lamb said.
Before this facility, troopers had to travel for training and to stable their horses.
"The great thing about this is everything is here in house," Captain Lamb said.
Three new troopers just graduated. They will be assigned to patrol the capitol, while others serve along the border. A non-commissioned trainer also graduated. He will help with training and continue to develop the program.
"It's been proven for a hundred years that horses have been used to get a job done and so there's still a place for them in an era of technology," Sgt. Chandler said.
Texas DPS is already training more horses for the next graduating class.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis