Scottsdale police horse retires after 18 years

The Scottsdale Police Department said goodbye on Dec. 21 to a “steady and faithful” police horse who is retiring after nearly two decades of service.

Zeus, a 26-year-old Percheron-Thoroughbred crossbreed, was described by a department spokesperson as having a “willing attitude,” a “calm demeanor” and “striking looks.”

He was acquired by the department in 2005. In his 18 years of service, he served as a lesson horse and helped officers patrol Old Town Scottsdale on weekend nights and special events including the Phoenix Open.

Zeus was the first draft-cross breed — a cross between a draft horse and another breed — in the department, according to the spokesperson.

In his retirement years, Zeus will be looked after by Kayelynn Tucker, an officer in the department who first met him when she was 12 years old as a volunteer with the Police Department’s barn.

Tucker, who became a full-time wrangler with the department in 2014 and an officer in 2018, said that Zeus didn’t need much training. “He’s very trusting and does what you ask him to do,” she said. “He’s very brave.”

Now, Zeus will enjoy his retirement in two big, green pastures in Gilbert, Tucker said. “We’re pretty much just going to let him be a horse,” she said, adding that he’ll have two 3-year-old sisters.

The Scottsdale Police Department’s Mounted Unit, which now has five horses, is planning to replace Zeus. Two horses at a police horse training facility in Kentucky will be ready for the department within the next year, and the department will be looking locally as well, according to the spokesperson.

Typically, the department buys horses from local horse owners with a builtin trial period of about 30 to 45 days, when the horse is evaluated while undergoing sensory and riding training with officers, according to the department spokesperson. If officers decide not to keep the horse, it is returned to its owner.

Zeus’s retirement was celebrated on Dec. 21 at WestWorld Barn in Scottsdale.