Retiring at age 20 may seem early, but not for a horse with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.
Mic, an American Quarter Horse, has been sent to a private farm to live out the rest of his life after serving nearly nine years with the office’s mounted patrol.
According to a sheriff’s report, Mic put in “thousands of hours patrolling Lake Lanier parks, making public relations appearances and searching for lost and missing persons.”
The report said Mic was one of the two founding members of the sheriff’s mounted patrol unit, which formed in April 2001.
Jimbo, the other horse, retired three years ago.
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Capt. Mark Hoffman said law enforcement horses are trained to deal with loud noises such as gunfire and to carry officers and equipment on their backs for long periods of time.
“A working animal has a hard life,” he said, adding that the unit has some younger, stronger horses coming through that may end up with longer careers.
“Just by the nature of what they’re asked to do, the terrain we use them on and their constant training, nine years is a great working lifespan for a horse,” Hoffman said.
The departure of Mic, who will eventually be replaced, leaves the unit with three horses.
“Mic was solid as a rock and a very workable horse with stable nerves,” he said.
Mic, an American Quarter Horse, has been sent to a private farm to live out the rest of his life after serving nearly nine years with the office’s mounted patrol.
According to a sheriff’s report, Mic put in “thousands of hours patrolling Lake Lanier parks, making public relations appearances and searching for lost and missing persons.”
The report said Mic was one of the two founding members of the sheriff’s mounted patrol unit, which formed in April 2001.
Jimbo, the other horse, retired three years ago.
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Capt. Mark Hoffman said law enforcement horses are trained to deal with loud noises such as gunfire and to carry officers and equipment on their backs for long periods of time.
“A working animal has a hard life,” he said, adding that the unit has some younger, stronger horses coming through that may end up with longer careers.
“Just by the nature of what they’re asked to do, the terrain we use them on and their constant training, nine years is a great working lifespan for a horse,” Hoffman said.
The departure of Mic, who will eventually be replaced, leaves the unit with three horses.
“Mic was solid as a rock and a very workable horse with stable nerves,” he said.