The Mounted Patrol was originally started in the early 1950’s. The current unit started in 1995 with it coming and going. Why do we use horses?
After a short while, the unit began to die down. Sheriff Criner appointed Investigator Johnny Rodriguez as Commander and Investigator Daniel Moore as Lieutenant commander. Johnny has hit the ground running with his knowledge and a life time of experience with horses. The team members of the Mounted Patrol volunteer all of their time and their horses to help our community. The unit relies only on d
onations given. The donations help us to buy the member’s uniforms, training, and help in reimbursing some of the gas used in transporting the horses. There are a lot of expenses that the team members must provide themselves, such as, feed for the horses and veterinary care. The horses are able to go places that ordinary people could not go, such as in pastures, through brushes, across creeks, and they also make it easier for crowd control. The horses give the riders a higher view of the area. Because of the horses, we are able to cover more ground. Not only that, but the horses are tough. They are able to withstand long days and different types of weather. We may receive call outs to surrounding areas in the heat, cold, rain, sleet, or snow. The unit provides many services to the communities. We assist the area law enforcement agencies with searches for evidence, missing persons, or anything else that needs to be found. Another duty that we provide is security, such as when Former President Bush was in town, when the KKK had their rally on the Courthouse grounds, and for the “Support the Troops” every November. We get many call outs to assist area law enforcement agencies such as the prison riot in Pecos and the food drive for the flood in Presidio. Along with these duties, there’s still more that the Mounted Patrol does. We also have civic duties that we provide, such as the Neighborhood Watch Program, Adopt a Horse for the elementary schools, and conduct presentations to the schools and churches. The horses that are used in the Mounted Patrol go through much training every year and have to go through mandatory qualifications before they are allowed to be used. It is with great honor that we provide these services to our community.
