Cannot believe what I just saw on BBC1

I've watched the clip twice too and

1) can't hand on heart say that he made contact with the horse.
2) would personally, if a horse was backing towards people or another hazard such as a vehicle, canal, etc give a horse a couple of sharp smacks to send it on out of preference to having an accident.
3) think that the mounted police do an excellent job when confronted with the scum of the earth!

I once saw a horse hit around the head with the reins for refusing a jump - now that's an inappropriate punishment. But sending a horse on with a sharp smack in a dangerous situation I think is a much more grey area!
 
lastphoenix said:
but you dont expect to see a police officer hit a horse with something he/she uses as a weapon against thugs!!
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Quite right - far better that they use it to bash a student's brains in!:rolleyes:

(And actually - I'd rather it was used over a hi-viz rug to send a horse forward than that it WAS used on the head of a protester!)

Reassuring scared horses makes them worse - it confirms to them that there was something worthy of being scared of in the first place. You need to be firm so that they take confidence from you.
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That's certainly true in many situations - and certainly in THIS situation. Although having watched the video 3 times I am still not sure if he hit the horse - or if he was just fixing the baton.
 
I have to agree with what some others have said, having watched the video twice it really doesn't seem as if the police officer in question actually made contact with the horse. It looks more like he was sorting his baton and then directing the officers to come forwards.

For a start there was absolutely NO reaction from the horse....surely if the horse had been hit with that much force, with a solid baton, there'd have been some sort of reaction? Then there's the fact that the baton actually extends slightly during the 'beating', indicating that this was the original intention and that the horse was not in fact receiving a beating.

I may be wrong, the clip isn't the best but just my opinion.
 
totally blown out of proportion if you ask me, IF he hit the horse it was called for as the horse was being dangerous to the officers on the ground, i don't agree with beating horses but if a horse need a short sharp reminder to ensure the safety of others then yes it should happen. however i don't think he made contact and i feel for the horses having fireworks chucked at them

ETA OP have you ever been on a horse that spins and runs back? because it is very dangerous regardless of whether you are on or off the road.
 
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oh well i was just very shocked, maybe he/she did not hit the horse and maybe the horse needed to be put back in line in such a situation. Either way i was shocked.
 
I definitely saw a couple of whacks with a baton on the horse could not see how hard.

Not that I think this is right. However, the horse needed a bit of discipline in order to carry with it's job so I wonder whether a hand on it's neck to reassure could not have done the same job as he was already thinking about the situation and weighing it up: how?

Well, he didn't bolt, he just did what any sane horse would do and move away and then actually DID move forward. Ithink we need to give horses credit in this instance as they need at least a few seconds more than we do to process things... all they have is flight/fight response at hand in any situation.

No need to beat a horse for that, some reassurance and understanding goes a long way.
 
When my dad got his baton, he was trained to use the most forceful blow of the baton ONLY on a human thigh. Why? Because according to his trainers, any bone smaller than the femur would be shattered by the impact.:eek:

We are not talking about a jumping crop here... you would get a reaction from that, and I didn't see that in that horse!
 
saw the horse appear to get at least 3 whacks with the police baton, albeit on the reflective rug. you can see the baton appears to be already extended/rigid as he raised his arm, and you can hear something that sounds like contact.
Also it appears to have been the horse nearest the camera initially (that was being petted) that was hit, not the one that wheeled around and ran back. could be wrong tho as the camera doesnt stay on them all the time. Not the best footage tho so overall i couldnt say hand on heart what i saw was what i think i saw if that makes sense.

If he did use the baton i couldnt say whether the use would qualify as a beating or a smack, as iv never used or been hit with one myself. be interesting to see if they reply to you OP
 
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lastphoenix said:
oh well i was just very shocked, maybe he/she did not hit the horse and maybe the horse needed to be put back in line in such a situation. Either way i was shocked.
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If you're confused about what you saw, why did you feel the need to contact the constabulary? Thus, possibly getting an officer in trouble, for merely asking the horse to do its job?...
 
Mounted officers dont use the extendable wands,they use a solid Batton He is seen on camera hitting the horse three times if you look closely . I do think the sheet would have taken a lot of the impact and I cant really see what else he could do. Personaly I think the use of mounted officers is counterproductive and the argument that they should be done away with has a lot of merit.
 
Diito what some have said, I'm not sure he was hitting the horse as it didnt flinch shy away etc??

But if he did, imo, it was needed. If a horse starts messing around in that kinds situation it can cause alot of damage to itself and others.

And what happens if he collides with a protestor and injures them? Injured person sues. And possiblity horse may get PTS. Would you rather that than a few smacks?

To theme that horse looks pretty settled (or as settled as it can be in the situation) as it comes forward again.

I would however like to have words with whichever idoits think it is appropriate to set fireworks on police, mounted or otherwise!! I thought they were ment to be intelligent uni students?!?!
 
The horse wasn't hit!!

The police officer is just waving the baton around/straightening it out.

The police officer on top doesn't do anything in the shots we can see and extend the baton once the horse has stopped. He then asks it to move forward.

The horse doesn't react AT ALL from being 'apparently' thwacked with the baton.
 
kaylouise67 said:
The horse wasn't hit!!

The police officer is just waving the baton around/straightening it out.

The police officer on top doesn't do anything in the shots we can see and extend the baton once the horse has stopped. He then asks it to move forward.

The horse doesn't react AT ALL from being 'apparently' thwacked with the baton.
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That was what I thought, surely if the horse had been hit it would have shot forward or shown some reaction, it didn't.
 
Stencilface said:
TBH, they probably do training for this, and maybe the horse shouldn't have reacted that way. I see the horse got hit, but couldn't see that it got a 'beating'. It also as a rug on, so most of their hits (if they went on the rear?) would not have been felt as much anyway.

I far more disgusted at the total pr*ck that let the firework off in the first place. :mad:
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Ditto. He shouldn't have smacked the horse (it is not 100% clear that he DID) but I don't think the horse would've felt much through the sheet/rug.
 
Rowenna said:
op, just out of interest, what would you have done if it was you on the horse in that situation?
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I would like to think i would not hit the horse i was riding (thats if it was hit, as people have pointed out he may not have been), the horse looked genuinely scared and didnt bolt but just backed away fast , but obviously i have not been in any kind of situation like that and you just react how you react at the time. I was just very shocked to witness it. Maybe i shouldnt have jump to conclusions as people seem to think the horse was not hit, which i hope is the case.
 
quirky said:
Nope, don't see a problem there.

If he wanted the horse to go forward and it wouldn't, a couple of cracks on its backside is the right thing to do.
I don't think you actually get the full sequence of events from that clip.

As for complaining about the officer, I am gob smacked :eek:.
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Agree completely , why on earth did you report the officer? He is doing his job
 
MurphysMinder said:
That was what I thought, surely if the horse had been hit it would have shot forward or shown some reaction, it didn't.
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This really frustrates me!

They are there to do their job, even if the horse was hit I'd say it was just cause. If my horse had done that he also would of got a thwack in order to get him to think forward.

A very much doubt the OP will get anything other than a 'we'll look into it' reply. In my opinion, this footage isn't substantional enough to formalise a complaint.


ooooh just realised..your comment didn't frustrate me, I was replying to your comment :D
 
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I think its a wpc if you look closely before the horse whips round when she is putting her visor down, I cant decide if she hit the horse or not. In one way it looks like its getting three smacks but there is little reaction from the horse so Im not sure. The horse near the camera was so good though, was clearly very frightend but didnt whip round and bolt.
 
I simply emailed them saying i was not happy to see what 'looks' like an officer hitting a horse for simply shying away from fireworks going off around his feet. Im sure they wont get in trouble if they see it as only doing their job, and maybe they will email me back re assuring me that it is part of their training or like it has been said, sorting out his baton (or at least i hope they do).
 
MurphysMinder said:
Hmm, having looked at that twice I don't think he is "beating" the horse. Its hard to describe but those sticks they carry (don't know the correct name) are a bit like a magic wand, in sections and they have to be snapped to become one rigid baton, it looks to me as if he was just fixing the baton before he approached the crowd.
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Exactly what I thought when I watched it.
 
BEATING? you are calling that a beating? I have seen worse from professional SJ'ers etc. As it stands that horse was heading toward a line of officers, the rider in question had no choice but to do whatever it took for said horse not to TRAMPLE those officers, his means were effective---- end of.

Also agree with what Mike said!!
 
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