Horse patrols return to border security

The Washington Times ^ | Mar 3, 2008 | Jerry Seper

[SwinneySwitch]

DEL RIO, Texas — With smugglers of humans and drugs pushing deeper into remote and often rugged areas along the U.S.-Mexico border, the U.S. Border Patrol has rolled out an old weapon and an old friend: horse patrols.

Agent Joe Guajuardo is one of the Border Patrol's horse-patrol agents in the vast expanse along the Rio Grande here, and he said he "loves that the great outdoors is his office." So do his horse-patrol partners — Agents Gene Corp, Ryan Seifert, Andy Zavala, Carlos Briones, Peter Galan and Cruz McGuire — who constitute the busy Del Rio unit.

Riding the dusty hills, gulches, river banks and ranges along the river between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m., the agents said their horses — with whom each agent has developed a trusting relationship — can easily navigate the darkened terrain, and tend to know and remember the lay of the land better than the agents.

The horses can move through areas along the river that all-terrain vehicles cannot and are able to do it quicker. With no engines, they also can travel quietly in the darkness, able to sneak up on illegal immigrants who might be camping.

While on patrol, the agents are in constant contact with a Border Patrol dispatch unit, which alerts them to any number of strategically placed sensors that can be tripped by human or drug smugglers.

"There are a number of sensors along the border, so if we get a certain number of 'hits,' we go check out that area," Agent Guajuardo said.

A growing number of the smugglers are armed to protect their cargos, and assaults on agents have risen dramatically over the past two years.

One of the horse patrol's major jobs is "sign cutting," a centuries-old technique for tracking people that involves searching for....

[SwinneySwitch]

What century was the horse patrol first used, Senator Cornyn?

[SwinneySwitch]

Back in the saddle again ping!

My dad rode horse patrol during WWII.

[JeeperFreeper]

This is a job I’d like ,but I’m too damn old.

[kiriath_jearim]

We need more guys at the BP like this legend:

[SwinneySwitch]

“I’ve often said there’s nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.” ~ Ronald Reagan

[Charles Martel]

With smugglers of humans and drugs pushing deeper into remote and often rugged areas along the U.S.-Mexico border, the U.S. Border Patrol has rolled out an old weapon and an old friend: horse patrols.

Darn, I thought the "old weapon" might be the .50 Sharps...

[Lancer_N3502A]

[mtbopfuyn]

Poor horses. They’re innocent targets of the coyotes.

[19th LA Inf]

Skeeter Skelton was a former Border Patrol officer who wrote for Shooting Times. He told a story about a fellow officer who, while cleaning his pistol, let off an accidental round which killed a BP horse. The cost of the horse was taken out of his pay, which of course probably took a year or so. When the last payment was made, he got a receipt, then presented it to a government auditor and demanded the horse.

[SwinneySwitch]

You’re such a ray of sunshine!

[Liberty Valance]

http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/forts/clark/battles.html

Bring’em back!

[wildbill]

My aunt married a man who’d been an MP during WWII. After the war he joined the Texas Rangers and served in the company that worked the Rio Grande Valley.

I don’t think they used horses then, but I was just 5-7 years old when I knew him. I spent the summer with them during 46 or 47 and he had some tales to tell.

He said the Rangers used to shoot their .30-.30s near swimming “non-documented workers’ in the river to persuade them to return to thier side. Can’t swear it was true.

[SaxxonWoods]

“My dad rode horse patrol during WWII.”

Like this?

From my Dad’s “Recollection Of My Service in World War II”

Nine days before Christmas, when the Battle of the Bulge started we were occupying an area located 30 miles south of the German spearhead. We conducted daily patrols to determine enemy strength, locate gun emplacements and identify which enemy units were deployed in front of us and what their intentions might be.

One of our patrols was ambushed and we lost four men. Our troopers in turn captured an enemy patrol which attacked one of our outposts. I was on patrol often during this time. The deep snow necessitated implementing some GI ingenuity, so we decided use the horses which we liberated in the German towns. We began to use horses for mounted patrols to better negotiate the deep snow. I participated in quite a few of these mounted patrols and we were able to cover a lot of ground thanks to the horses. The novelty of using horses did not go unnoticed. It is proudly recounted in our Third Cavalry Book and in General Patton’s book, “War As I Knew It.”

[DaGman]

"The Border Patrol first utilized the horse in 1924 when the agency was created, though the first agents had to supply their own horses, provide their own tack and bring their own weapons. The agency did pay to feed the horses and gave the agents $25 a week."

That was a helluva salary in 1924.

[King_Corey]

I get $50 a week from the Queen, and feed for the horse, so I guess I’m doing ok. I’d love this job, ride all day, catch the baddies, sleep well knowing how good life is...