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@ anyone who is facing police on horses: loud and sudden noises and lights spook them. grabbing them by the reins (the leather that the cop holds which is attached to the mouth of the horse) and pushing their head away will usually deescalate, but they might push their shoulders-
in your direction. watch your feet, their hooves hurt and will break toes. police horses are trained to ram people over with their chests but not all of them will do so immediately, most hesitate. they are trained to not react to fire and fireworks. they might be tall but-
remember that they are flight animals. while in situations like this every instinct in them is screaming at them to ditch their rider and run. they've been trained to ignore it. please try not to deliberately hurt the horses they are on but try to push their head away from you-
and for the love of God watch your feet and where their shoulders are going!!! they do not go in the direction their head is in, watching their chest and shoulder gives a clearer indication of where the cop is trying to steer them even when their head is ripped sideways
if you are knocked down by a horse try to roll out of the way immediately. being stepped on by a horse can kill and while some horses will try to avoid stepping on anything most of them will stumble and trip all over you. roll away IMMEDIATELY and cover your neck
if anyone else who handles horses regularly has tips to add please feel free to reply to this thread
Also if you cannot grab the reins you can also try to go for the bit. It's the metal part that they hold in their mouth. Remember that they are animals, not stone walls. You can push them and grab them the same way you handle your dog or your cat
they cannot see directly in front of them and directly behind them so try to keep away from those areas as they WILL kick when spooked
additionally, the iron on their hooves will make loud noises and also make them slip on asphalt sometimes. a few horses go barefoot or have rubber irons on but don't be startled if their hooves make loud noises or they slip (some even trip and fall down completely)
I can make a video with my horse tomorrow showing how they likely react when you grab them or push them away just so people know what to look out for and where to grab
and yes the police using horses in these situations is ANIMAL ABUSE the horses are trained intensively for it (and even bred selectively for it sometimes) but they still absolutely do not want to be there and are highly stressed
if it is absolutely necessary, going for their eyes (not poking, even just covering it with your hand) will usually make the horse flinch which can give you enough time to get away, as well as grabbing their ears. pulling their tail is a bad idea as their hind legs can kill
and again I cannot repeat how important it is to try to immediately roll out of the horses way if you are knocked down. One good stomp to the neck and you are GONE. they are heavy and they can kill. Cover your neck and get out of there. You will end up with bruises
