130 Years of Baltimore’s Finest 4-Legged Unit, continued...
with their veterinarians to make sure each horse is up to the tasks of the job. When the Unit thinks it is time to retire a particular horse, they do so in a timely manner. “We want to retire them before they have any health issues so they are sound and happy,” said Sgt. Robar. In terms of offi cer retirement, offi cers typi-
cally stay in the job as long as possible, and as a result, there is very little turnover.
New Digs
Although the current stables are functional and in a good location, the Unit will be moving to the B&O Railroad Museum property some- time next spring or summer to a new custom stable. Construction on the new stable is set to begin this month.
A mounted unit stable is as unique as its
horses, as the stable must both be a facility to house the horses and a functioning police sta- tion with the appropriate security. For horses of this size, the barn aisles will be built wider than a standard barn and the stalls will be at least 16x16 feet. Sgt. Robar has requested that each stall have openings at the front and back as it is important to the Unit that the horses are able to look out from all sides and hang their heads in the aisles. “Our horses are social and they need to be able to move around and greet people,” he explained. Additional plans for the new facility include paddocks, a riding arena and a classroom both for meetings and school programs. T e barn and station will be located up the trail from the current museum next to the train renovations barn.
Tacking the Police Horse Although at fi rst glance, the
saddles and bridles used by the Baltimore City Police Mounted Unit may look like your typical riding equipment, they are any- thing but typical! T e saddles are made by Stubben but main- tained and reinforced by Ridgely Davis of Maryland Saddlery. He also has developed custom bridles for the Unit. About 20 years ago, then Ser- geant Jeanne Gilley (recently re- tired) worked with Davis to come up with a bridle/halter combination that was functional for the Unit. “She had some specifi c needs that had to be met that a standard bridle wouldn’t work for,” said Davis. He looked at bridles from old British Cavalry as well as other military grade equip- ment and came up with the design that is currently being used by the Unit. “We use top quality leather from the UK and all the hardware is stainless steel,” he said. “T ese guys need heavy duty equipment that is going to hold up to what they do.” T e design is similar to a racing bridle where each piece is independent to each other and snaps together at the brow band. “T is way they can easily take the bit off the bridle and allow the horses some time to rest, eat or drink,” Davis explained. Everything is hand stitched, which Davis commented can be very time consuming but worth it.
“When you hand stitch something, you use two needles but one thread. It just makes everything stronger.” With “stronger” in mind, Davis also doubles the chin strap area of the halter as he has found through the years that this part of the bridle/halter gets a lot of stress, wear and tear. “My goal is to keep them safe and there is nothing worse than having equipment failure while on the job,” Davis added.
In addition to the custom bridles, the saddles used by the Unit are outfi tted with extra D-rings that are screwed into the tree, versus stitched to the leather, to allow for lots of attachment options for various equipment. “T e reins we make for them have also gotten longer,” Davis stated, refer- ring to the fact that the horses in the Unit have gotten much bigger over the years. “We have also developed ‘riot reins’ which have a chain inside cotton. T is prevents protestors or rioters from cutting the reins.” Davis said the equipment used by the Unit is always in development based on the needs of the offi cers and horses, adding, “We are working on making the riot reins lighter but still making sure they can’t be easily cut.” “T ey are such a great bunch of people to work with and it has been cool to get to know the
offi cers and horses over the years. We’ve all become friends and it is a pleasure working with them,” Davis stated.
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30 | THE EQUIERY | NOVEMBER 2018
Glendevon Stables LLC • New Windsor 301-706-4642 •
www.glendevonstablesllc.com 800-244-9580 |
www.equiery.com
Win More, Worry Less
918748-181118
918728-181118
Katherine O. Rizzo
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