Did you know that the City of Boston still maintains a stable of six horses who serve members of the Boston Park Ranger Mounted Unit? The horses and their riders typically patrol nine parks – all part of the Emerald Necklace, including the Public Garden, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, and Franklin Park.
The horses are based at a city-owned stable at city-owned maintenance yards in Roslindale, where a group 30 people were welcomed last month for a tour and an introduction to two of the horses: Otis, a Clydesdale-Hackney cross, and Henry, a Percheron-Thoroughbred cross.
“You are here today to kind of get a look at the day and life of a mounted park ranger,” said Chief Gene Survillo, who oversees the unit. “There is a lot more than just our mounted patrol unit. As a park ranger, and more specifically, as an urban park ranger, we do quite a bit in terms of maintaining, protecting, and preserving what arguably is one of the finest city urban park systems, literally in the world.”
Lieutenant Hodari Keels and Survillo led the group past a corral and up toward the stable, pointing out a horse trailer along the way.
The Boston Police Department once maintained a horseback unit, which was often deployed to help with crowd control at special events in the city. But it was disbanded in 2009 during a round of budget cuts.
The Rangers unit— operating under the authority of the Park Department — is the final vestige of horseback patroling in Boston.
Keels, a Dorchester native, said that it makes sense to have the unit, which “can go on trails where vehicles can’t fit,” and see much more sitting that high up. He conceded that the horses also “run faster than I do, so that helps me get [quickly] from point A to point B, whether that be for medical or something else.”
The horses bring other benefits to the unit. “They’re nicer to look at,” Keels said. “Not many people want to come and pet a cruiser. Sometimes people who might want to cause a little trouble also want to come see the horses. We can start to talk to them, get a rapport with them, and then the next day if we see them doing something, we already have that rapport and hopefully that mutual respect.”
Moments later, the group, which included members of the Hyde Park Girl Scouts, was invited into the red-colored stable where they met Liberty, Hem, and, Henry, a 13-year-old who just recently joined the team.
The unit’s six “equine partners” range in age from 13 to 27 and have an average lifespan of around 30, so it’s likely that Henry has a long, fulfilling career ahead of him.
“Horses are very similar to people,” explained Keels. “My grandmother, she retired from her job like three times because she loved it. So, if the horse is loving their job, and we can tell when a horse can’t wait to go on patrol, then we’re more than happy to keep them here.”
Housing the horses in Roslindale also ensures they’re getting top-notch care when it comes to grooming, nutrition, exercise, veterinary care, and shelter.
As Henry stood proudly outside the stable, Ranger Alex Hartgrove cleaned his hooves, brushed his brown coat of hair, and got him saddled up in uniform. Henry has turned into more of a show pony than a workhorse as he helps demonstrate the care he and the other five horses receive daily.
Keels explained that both the rangers and horses properly prepare for their role in service to the city. While the mounted rangers go through a three-phase training process, all new horses undergo a a 30-day trial period to “just to kind of see what their demeanor is like and if it’s the job for them.”
“We want to make sure they have a good foundation there, and we can build off that,” he said “Not only do they have to know how to be ridden, they also have to have a good head on their shoulders to deal with all the stress of the job, which is something that most horses can’t deal with.”
While on patrol, the horses encounter fireworks, fires, balloons and bikes, sirens, the screech of the MBTA in action, amomng many other considerations.
Survillo explained that their horses have to be willing partners with the Rangers. “We take these partners of ours, and we ask them to trust us and do things that a lot of horses will never, ever do,” he said. “Whether it’s walking through water, pushing something, or standing in the crowd with all sorts of distractions. We’ve worked with many professional-force people who look at us and go, ‘My horse would never, ever, ever do that.’”
According to the rangers, it’s a horse’s instinct to get out of the way and flee from uncertainty, but their horses have to stay and work through the chaos.
Henry, along with stablemate Otis, helped demonstrated just that for the spectators.
As Hartgrove mounted Henry, Sgt. Emma Papargiris hopped onto her favorite horse, Otis. Once the horses and rangers were at ease, Survillo issued his commands and in a matter of moments, the horses were trotting through the yard and down to the corral with the tour group not far behind.
As the two horses galloped clockwise around the training area, the visitors stood along the fence watching in awe. Survillo asked them to use their imaginations.
“Picture vehicles, picture us in an urban setting, having to go around cars, having to move around the possibility of an emergency situation, there could be an ambulance, there could be lights and sirens, and we have to maneuver our equine partners in and out of very short, minuscule areas,” he said as he moved to issue another series of commands. At one point, Papargiris led Otis into a small space backing like a car in reverse, and at another, both horses changed direction on a dime.
The horses were also asked to push a sled-like object while remaining composed with a bright blue umbrella over their heads. Like many horses, Henry isn’t quite used to having objects overhead just yet. Though he was a bit spooked, Hartgrove kept the situation under control.
“This is not a game or anything else where we can bat 1.000. Not even close, so recovery means so much. What recovery means is getting back into balance and getting that mount,” said Survillo.
After a few more tricks, it was time for the best part of the day, petting Henry and Otis. As the kids cautiously approached the horses, The Reporter chatted with the rangers.
Both Hartgrove and Papargiris were excited to participate in the tour and demonstration.
Hartgrove said days like this are “the fun part” of the job and that he likes getting to educate the community.
Said Papagiris: “It’s important to have the community get more knowledge on us and what we do. There were many times where, especially if I’m in the parks I don’t usually patrol, people didn’t know we had a mounting unit. This is a great way to get people from different areas in the city to see us, engage with us, meet our horses, our partners, and have a whole new perspective.
“One of the things I love about my job is that I grew up in Dorchester, so seeing horses for me was different,” said Keels. “But it turned into a career here and a career outside of here. My wife and I do horse training, so being able to expose this to other people who don’t know they can be a veterinary, a saddle fitter, a horse massager, all these jobs people didn’t know existed. They can expand.”
To learn more about the Boston Park Rangers visit boston.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/boston-park-rangers#mounted-unit.
