Police in South Australia have paid tribute to one of their much-loved police horses, police horse ‘Xyla’, who sadly passed away on Thursday 3rd December.
A spokesperson for South Australia Police said:
‘Sadly, one of our beloved ‘Greys’, Police Horse Xyla, 15, passed away yesterday, Thursday 3 December, after a short illness.
‘South Australia Mounted Police would like to acknowledge PH Xyla for her 12 years of police service and outstanding contribution to the South Australian community.
‘The Mounted Operations Unit feel privileged to have had a horse like PH Xyla among our troop.
‘We would like to acknowledge the members of the unit, both past and present, who contributed to producing such a courageous and trustworthy mount.
‘Mounted officers have pledged to continue to produce horses comparable to PH Xyla, that being of the highest standard for police duties.
‘Known affectionately among the troop as the dominant matron, she will also be remembered for her love of lollies and of the ocean.
‘Rest in peace, PH Xyla’.
Police horses take on a variety of roles including responding to public order incidents, general patrol duties and engaging with the general public as well as school children.
The dedicated and incredibly loyal horses go through months of training and form an extremely close bond with their human colleagues.
The spokesperson added:
‘You will be sorely missed and we are forever grateful.
‘Our distinctive ‘Greys’ are much-loved and valued members of South Australia Police and have been recognised as a State Heritage icon.
‘They are a select group, they must have the right temperament – placid, friendly and inquisitive – be a minimum of 16 hands high (a measurement from the ground to the withers of 1.6m) and of course be grey in colour’.
Got a story, blog or video? Please email our team, in complete confidence, at contact@emergency-services.news.
CLICK HERE to follow us on Twitter for more news, blogs and videos.
Before you go...
WE NEED YOUR HELP. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories & videos which are free from the negative 'anti' bias which is often directed at the emergency services & NHS by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' back in 2018 was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of you, our readers.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
