A request for your help to ensure no officer left behind, no efficiency spared
Not counting officer salaries and on-person equipment like radios and firearms, the City of Indianapolis has been able to allocate just $30,000-$40,000 a year in public funding to the Mounted Patrol Unit. That money is quickly consumed by the costs of feeding and housing our city’s police horses.
The current facility the Mounted Police use is owned by the Horse Patrol Association and leased to the City for $1 a year.
Taxpayers receive an excellent value in this arrangement, from excellent police work, highly skilled officers, beautiful and highly trained horses, to the addition of adaptive and creative patrol units on Indianapolis streets.
But the Horse Patrol Association needs your help so we can help our city’s police horses. Our stables are a “temporary” collection of construction trailers that have been used for over 13 years. They’re only designed to be used for a few months to a year at the most.
The health of our horses is a top priority and we take care of our officers – equine or human. An emergency colic surgery several years ago cost $12,000. A cancerous growth on Jake cost over $15,000, but was thankfully funded almost entirely by donations.
Like any great nonprofit, the HPA does work largely in the background without a lot of visibility. It’s easy to go unnoticed, but no horse lover or Hoosier wants to see the police force of our capital city left behind or hampered.
The HPA requires revenues of about $50,000 a year to operate efficiently. We’re also raising $1 million for the construction of new stables and offices for our officers. It’ll be the first permanent home for our officers and their horses in nearly 1.5 decades. It’ll also be something our city can truly be proud to say is home for our equine partners against crime.
