The Pensacola Police Historic Society

On September 3, 1910, an article appeared in the Pensacola News Journal entitled: “CAPTAIN WILDE HORSE HUNTING.”

It said that he had lost his police horse several nights ago due to lockjaw, known today as tetanus. Horses are highly susceptible to tetanus according to the American Association of Equine Practitioners[1].

In order to select a replacement, Captain Wilde was apparently having an interesting time of it. Although he was impressed with the great number of chargers that were available in Pensacola, he said that only a few of them were calculated to make a good police horse.

He went on to describe what makes a good police horse. He said he, “must have sense, he must stand when the rider dismounts, he must be of a quiet disposition, yet he must have mettle and durability.

He went on to say that the horse must be courageous. But the most extraordinary part was that the horse must be able recognize “from a long ways off” if a person is a police officer, either on or off-duty, in or out of uniform.

Apparently, he found his genius horse, as he is shown in the attached photo! Interesting.

Mike

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