Before Hurricane Laura makes landfall along the Texas-Louisiana Coast, the Houston Police Department (HPD) Mounted Patrol loaded up their 36 horses and moved them to College Station, Texas. For the immediate future, these horses will have a safe home with the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets’ Parsons Mounted Cavalry (PMC).
With the unpredictable storm expected to hit the Texas Gulf Coast area, and in turn impact the Houston metropolitan area, the HPD Mounted Patrol made the decision to move the horses quickly to a safe area in order to ensure their safety, should Houston experience extreme weather conditions due to Hurricane Laura. Their number one priority is the safety and welfare of their horses, especially in the face of potential severe hurricane weather conditions.
“We are very fortunate to have such a great relationship with Parsons Mounted Cavalry and to be able to bring our horses up here,” Sergeant C. Teel of the Houston Police Department said. “Great to have a plan in place. It gives us peace of mind during this hard time.”
The horses will have open pasture, food, and water access at the facility and around the clock care from the Parsons Mounted Cavalry staff and cadets.
“It’s always our pleasure to help out HPD and their horses,” Lt. Colonel Jeff Gardner, advisor for Parsons Mounted Cavalry said. “They help us out often with training for our cadets and we couldn’t imagine not being there for them in this time of need. It’s the Aggie way.”
Parsons Mounted Cavalry also housed and cared for HPD’s horses in 2017 when Hurricane Harvey impacted the Houston area, so this is not their first experience doing this. PMC is fully prepared to do what is necessary to care for HPD’s horses until the hurricane has passed and it safe for them to return to Houston.
by Brittany Coker, Corps of Cadets
