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Police Horses

Evansville Police Department:

Mounted Patrol

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Phone Numbers

Contacts

911

Emergencies

(812) 436-7896

Evansville Police Department

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

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The purpose of the Evansville Police Department Mounted Patrol Program is to enhance public safety and to build bonds of trust between the community and the Evansville Police Department. The goal of this book is to introduce children to the Evansville Mounted Patrol horses, Blondie & Speck. An interactive book format was chosen to encourage active participation, discussion, and reading together. This work is sponsored by a Toyota grant and other generous donors. We hope you enjoy learning about the Evansville Police Department’s Mounted Patrol Program. Make sure to look for Blondie & Speck around our community!

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Tips For Sharing This Book

  • Point out the book’s title. Ask children to identify the front and back of the book and to find the first page where the story begins. Point out the table of contents and explain its purpose.
  • Do a picture walk through the book. Preview the photographs and ask children to talk about what they see in the pictures. Ask what they think the book will be about.
  • Read aloud with expression and enthusiasm. Older children can help with the reading or identify letters or words they recognize.
  • Let the children set the pace for the reading. It is fine to read the book in its entirety or just part of the book.
  • Reading together should be fun and enjoyable, but it also provides a wonderful opportunity for dialog between adults and children. Talk about what you learned by reading this book or seeing the Evansville Mounted Patrol in person.
  • Use the to go back to the Table of Contents at any time.

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Table of Contents

Pretest…………………………………………………………….…p. 2

What Police Officers Do …………………….p. 3

History of the Evansville Mounted Police ……………………..p. 4

Meet Blondie…………………………….p. 5

Meet Speck……………………………….p. 7

History of Horses ………………………………………………..p. 15

Caring for Horses ………………………….p. 18

Activity Pages ……………………………………………. throughout book

Post Test…………………………………………………………..p. 25

Additional Resources……………………………………… pgs. 26 - 27

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Pre-Test Questions:

  • Have you ever met a police officer?
  • Explain how you think a horse could be a police officer?
  • Have you seen a Mounted Patrol Officer before?
  • List ways in which the police serve our community.

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What Does a Police Officer Do?

Police officers work in many places. Their job is to keep people and property safe and to make sure everyone obeys the laws. Police officers have special training to learn how to respond to emergencies, save lives, and protect people.

Police officers often wear uniforms and carry special tools, such as a radio, flashlight, handcuffs, whistle, baton, and a gun. They are trained to know when and how to use these tools properly.

Police officers are very brave. They risk their lives to help others. We depend upon police officers to keep our community safe.

Some police officers drive or ride in police cars. Others ride bicycles. Some police officers, like the Evansville Mounted Patrol, even ride HORSES!

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The Evansville Mounted Patrol

Police officers on horseback were common in Evansville until 1935 when patrol cars became the main form of transportation. The mounted patrol was reintroduced to Evansville in 2017. Currently, the Evansville Police Department has two mounted patrol officers. The officers own and care for their own horses.

The Evansville Mounted Patrol participates in many local events such as parades, concerts, and festivals. They also visit schools, parks, and clubs. Maybe you have seen them around town.

Police horses offer several advantages over officers on foot or in cars. The height of the horses helps police officers see over crowds. Police horses can go where cars can’t, and their speed helps officers reach a scene quickly.

Most importantly, police horses help officers build relationships with the community. People are anxious to meet the horses and see them up close.

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Meet Blondie

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Fun Facts About Blondie

  • Fun Fact: Blondie can sleep standing up or lying down
  • Birthday: July 2, 2006
  • Height: 17.1 hands (69 inches)
  • Weight: 1,500 lbs.
  • Breed: Percheron Draft Cross
  • Gender: Female
  • Typical Meals: Fresh grass, hay, and grains
  • Treats: Carrots, apples, and peppermints
  • Owner: Officer Tyrone Wood

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Meet Speck

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Fun Facts About Speck

  • Fun Fact: Speck enjoys splashing in water and he can swim with a rider on his back.
  • Birthday: April 14, 2012
  • Height: 16 hands (64 inches)
  • Weight: 1,300 lbs.
  • Breed: Half Percheron/Half Quarter
  • Gender: Male
  • Typical Meals: Fresh grass, hay, and feed
  • Treats: apples and peppermints

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Activity: Venn Diagram

Blondie

Speck

Directions: Using the information from the Meet Blondie and Meet Speck pages, complete the Venn Diagram below comparing and contrasting the two horses.

type here

type here

type here

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Meet Maximus

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Fun Facts About Maximus

  • Fun Fact: Maximus used to be an English hunter jumper horse before becoming an officer!
  • Birth Year: 2011 Height: 16.1 hands (64 inches)
  • Weight: 1,600 lbs. Breed: Percheron Cross
  • Gender: Male
  • Typical Meals: Teff hay with a flake of alfalfa
  • Owner: Officer Paul Harper

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How to Approach a Mounted Patrol Horse

The safest way to approach a Mounted Patrol Officer is to:

    • Get the owner’s attention.
    • Ask if you can approach.
    • Make sure officer knows you are coming and sees you.
    • Pet the horse’s shoulder, mane, or neck.
    • Exit from the front or side of the horse.

Never approach from the rear of a horse. Never touch a horse’s mouth.

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Activity: Order the Steps to Safely Approach a Mounted Patrol Horse

Order

Steps

Get the Police Officer's attention

Pet the horse’s mane, shoulder, or neck

Never approach from the rear of the horse

Make sure the Police Officer sees you and knows you are approaching

Ask if you can approach the Mounted Patrol Officer and horse

Carefully walk away exiting from the front or side of the horse

Never touch a horse’s mouth

Directions: Sequence the steps listed below. Type the numbers 1-7 beside the steps on the chart below. Place an “x” by the items which are reminders to never do when approaching a horse.

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Activity: Identify the Safest Places to Pet a Mounted Patrol Horse

Directions: Circle the 3 correct areas to touch a Mounted Patrol horse in the photo below.

Drag these circles^

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Parts of a Horse’s Hoof

Horseshoe

Frog

Wall

Sole

A horse’s hoof is designed to cover and protect the horse’s toes. The hoof is not the same as your foot. It is more like your toenail. Hooves allow horses to walk and run on hard surfaces without hurting their toes.

Some horses like Blondie wear horseshoes. Speck does not wear horseshoes.

The person who takes care of horses’ hooves is called a farrier. It does not hurt the horse when the farrier puts on the horseshoe.

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Activity: Match Favorites for Blondie & Speck

Directions: Drag a horseshoe to the correct column to show which traits belong to Blondie and which belong to Speck.

Hint: Blondie and Speck might both be the answer.

Blondie

Speck

Apples and carrots are a favorite treat

Enjoys fresh grass and hay for meals

Can nap standing up

Prefers to walk barefooted

Count as a police officer while on duty

DRAG THESE

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Interesting Facts About Horses

Horses are social, smart, and hard-working animals. They have been helping people for about six thousand years. They have been used to pull things,  carry heavy loads, plow fields, and carry soldiers into battle. Horses made people’s lives easier, and many people enjoy riding horses for fun. 

There are more than 300 breeds of horses, and they

range in size from small ponies to large draft horses. 

A horse’s walk is called a gait. Horses have four different

gaits: walk, trot, canter, and gallop. The slowest is a walk, and the fastest is a gallop. Some horses can gallop as fast as 20 miles per hour. 

Horses have a keen sense of smell, superb hearing, and wonderful balance. They also have very good eyesight. They can even move their eyes in different directions!

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What is a Brand?

Some horses are branded. Speck is not branded. Blondie is branded with the number 616 and an outline of the state of Louisiana. This means she was born in 2016, in Louisiana, and was the 16th horse.

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Activity: This is My Horse

Directions: If you were able to have your very own horse on the Mounted Patrol force, draw what it would look like. Then, list 5 fun facts about your horse!

Keep in mind:

How tall would it be?

How much does it weigh? Where was it born?

Does it have a brand?

5 Fun Facts About My Horse

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How to Care for a Horse

Horses must be cared for by their owners. Just like people, horses need food, water, and shelter. They need exercise and medical care too. Horses need to visit the dentist once a year for a regular checkup. They have their teeth cleaned, fixed, and straightened. They also visit a veterinarian to stay healthy.

Ho Horses often stay in a stall inside a stable or barn. Their stalls must be kept clean. They also need a pasture or field where they can run and move freely.

Horses must be groomed too. Their owners use

combs and brushes to take care of the horse’s

mane, tail, body, and hooves.

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You’ve Got a Friend in Me

You know how to be a good friend to humans! We

always want to treat others with respect and kindness.

It is important that we are also good friends to

animals. Helping care for an animal and treating

the animal with respect is a way of being a good

friend.

In this book you have seen the way the officers and horses of the Evansville Mounted Patrol work together to make Evansville safe. Without their friendship, the Mounted Patrol would not be able to serve our area every day!

The human officers and horse officers of the Mounted Patrol come together every day to accomplish any task at hand.

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Activity: Tools For Their Jobs

Directions: Examine the photographs to identify the tools used by the Mounted Patrol Officer and horse. Place a under the appropriate column.

Used by Horse

Used by Rider

Watchful Eyes

Keen Hearing

Alert Mind

Powerful Legs

Helmet

Radio

Saddle

Reins

Whistle

Police Badge

Holster

Drag

these

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Activity: Design a Mounted Patrol Badge

This is Blondie’s Badge

This is My Badge

Directions: Examine Blondie’s badge and then create your design for a Mounted Patrol Officer’s badge.

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Activity: Benefits of Mounted Patrol Officers

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Directions: List 5 benefits of having a Mounted Patrol Officer

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Activity: If I were a Mounted Patrol Officer...

Directions: Use your creative writing skills to respond to the prompt, “If I were a Mounted Patrol Officer…

Think About: What would a typical day look like? What responsibilities would you have caring for your horse?

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Activity: Word Search

Resource: puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com

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Activity: Crossword Puzzle

Resource: puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com

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Post-Test Questions

  • Have you ever met a police officer?
  • Explain how you think a horse could be a police officer?
  • Have you seen a Mounted Patrol Officer before?
  • List ways in which the police serve our community.

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For Further Reading

For more information about horses, look for these books at your local library :

Arnold, Quinn. Horses. Creative Education and Paperbacks, 2017.

Gibbons, Gail. Horses! Holiday House, 2003. Link to Epic Book: Horses! By Gail Gibbons

Simon, Seymour. Horses. Harper Collins Publisher, 2003.

For more information about police officers, look for these books at your local library :

Less, Emma. Police Officers. Amicus Publishing, 2018.

Lowenstein, Felicia. What Does a Police Officer Do? Enslow, 2005.

Murray, Julie. Police Officers. ABDO, 2016. Link to Epic Book: Police Officers by Julie Murray

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For more information on the �Evansville Mounted Patrol…

Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvansvillePoliceDept

To Donate to the Evansville Mounted Patrol, contact the EPD Foundation

www.epdfoundation.org

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