Texas Border: State Saddles Up (Again) to Patrol Rugged & Remote Frontier
State Police "Border Mounted Patrol Unit" debuts along Rio Grande
History is repeating itself along the Texas Border with Mexico. Although the Texas Rangers long ago traded in their horses for helicopters and automobiles, the state police force is resuming mounted patrols to secure the border.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) graduated its "first-ever Border Mounted Patrol Unit" on Friday, November 22, 2024. -But wait, what about those Texas Rangers on horseback from yesteryear? They weren't part of the DPS then (which was not formed until 1935 and brought the Rangers & Highway Patrol together to create a state police force).
As far as the state's new "Border Mounted Patrol Unit" goes - this won't be the Texas DPS' first rodeo: The department has been using horses to patrol the State Capitol Complex in Austin for the last ten years.
The new DPS "Mounted Border Patrol Unit" first class of state troopers has undergone training at the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley Sector Horse Patrol Stables. The Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley's Horse Patrol Unit has trained members of the DPS State Capitol Complex Mounted Patrol as well as officers of other mounted patrols from other Texas and Louisiana police departments for many years now.
When the newly trained DPS Mounted Patrolmen saddle up to ride the often-remote and rugged border with Mexico. They'll be in good company.
The US Border Patrol Horse Patrol has a herd of nearly 400 horses and approximately 300 agents to monitor the areas along the international boundary that are inaccessible to standard all-terrain vehicles.
The Del Rio unit of the USBP's Horse Patrol was embroiled in controversy in 2021 when the split reins used to control their animals were mistaken for whips as they chased after Haitian migrants who had crossed the border into Texas illegally.
However, according to a summary of an official review of the incident, "The investigation concluded that there is no evidence that any migrants were struck by reins and no evidence that any migrants were forced to return to Mexico or denied entry into the United States."
Moreover, Del Rio's Horse Patrol Unit has proven to be a lifesaver in the remote areas they cover. In November of 2023 the horse patrol - assisted by Border Patrol pilots - successfully rescued a migrant child abandoned and left for dead by human smugglers in the Southwest Texas desert.
In the rural areas they cover, the horse patrols - and the horses themselves - are somewhat local celebrities. The Big Bend Sector Horse Patrol's "Horse of the Week" is popular on Social Media.
In any case, the federal Horse Patrol Officers will soon have company as the new Texas DPS Border Mounted Patrol Unit begins riding the range along its border with Mexico.
Should the State of Texas do more to help the US secure its border with Mexico?
(Feel free to share your opinion in a comment to this article!)
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
