Mounted officers get assigned a horse

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.036075

I note you seek access to the following information:

Do mounted officers get assigned a horse, or do they rotate? This is a question I’d like to know, since I’m interested in this line of work after college.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

The Mounted Branch have a greater number of officers than horses and therefore not all officers will have a horse “issued” to them.

Officers and horses are matched up taking a number of factors into consideration including stage of training, ability, experience, and any individual needs of the horse/officer. The riders issued to each horse are under regular review to ensure the best possible horse/officer partnerships and therefore the combinations often change as both horses and riders develop.

The horses are MPS working animals and are not personal property of the officers.