Foal’s gold...high cost of the long face of the law

KEEPING police horses in the nation’s capital will cost around £2.2million over the next three years.

The force is tendering for a contractor to supply hay, other feed and stable equipment for its mounted unit.

There are around 100 horses kept in stables across seven locations in London and about 150 police officers and other staff.

The horses are used for crowd control ceremonies and public reassurance.

The Met notice on the Government tender website estimates it will need to spend around £900,000 on hay and haylage, which is grass dried and stored in a different manner, over the period. The remaining £1.1million will be needed to supply other types of horse feed, bedding and stable equipment, according to the tender.

The estimates are withoutvat of around £200,000.

The forces animals are given top quality feed and bedding according to the tender, with the Met insisting that none of the feed is genetically modified.

The notice states that horsehage must be “produced from speciallygrown grass with a high regard for feed safety, consistent quality and full product traceability,” which must be “good-quality rye grass mix and high in fibre, low in protein and low in energy levels.” It adds: “The authority require hard feed that meets nutritional requirements with the correct additives in line with recognised brands. All feeds must be free from genetically modified ingredients.

“Other feed required is sugar beet that is high in fibre, starch free and low in sugar, bran, salt or mineral licks, carrots and chaff.”

The bedding must be woodchip that is “free from dust, sawdust and other foreign bodies.”

A Met spokesman said the mounted branch was one of its “most distinguished units” with an annual budget, including other costs, of between around ten and £11million.

The unit was formed in 1760, as the Bow Street Horse Patrol to patrol turnpikes, 69 years before the force officially came into existence.