NYPD Mounted Unit

While waiting for the light to change today I noticed one of NYPD's Mounted Units on patrol or resting in the shade!

For over a century, the NYPD mounted unit has patrolled the streets of New York from the saddle, a constant presence at parades, protests and in Central Park. From the officers, who are often the second or third generation in their families to serve in this elite unit, to the civilian ranks that care for the city's 92 horses, the mounted unit has a tight-knit culture and a venerable history. This family of horse lovers takes great pride in its traditions.
The unit was founded in 1871 to stem the city's reckless horseback riders. The first 13 officers arrested 400 riders that first year, and the department increased from 15 to 400 horses a few years later, mostly to control crowds at strikes, parades and protests. By 1904, there were 800 officers. Today, there are 100, used mostly for crowd control because an officer on horseback can do the job of 10 on foot.

For more visit: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/transportation/mounted.html