A lot, answers UT Senior Superintendent of Police Parag Jain who describes the mounted police as "simply indispensable".

Thirty-two horses stand in the UT police stables and the officers admit that they are of tremendous value ... not for chasing culprits but for controlling crowds and patrolling in otherwise difficult areas such as the UT periphery.

They concede that horses are basically a part of rural policing and their role in the urban context is a restricted one "but a mount is one traditional thing that we would like to retain," says Jain.

"Since olden days, we have been using them for controlling mobs," he says. "Horses are particularly handy in tackling a mob; "A cop at a height is naturally at an advantageous position in a mob situation," says Superintendent of Police (City) Baldev Singh. "Also the very sight of a policeman on a horse gives law-abiding citizens a sense of security and deters the criminal."

"Imagine somebody takes to his heels after committing a crime; a mounted cop has an obvious advantage over him and can easily nail him," says an official. "He also has a better view than a cop passing by in a vehicle because he is observing the scene from a height of about seven feet, he is moving at a slow speed and unlike the driver, his attention is not distracted."

The city police buys horses from the Army and each costs between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000, says an official. Every probationer is required to learn riding although since the `70s the stress has shifted from riding to driving.

Earlier, the UT police maintained 12 to 14 horses but their strength was raised to 32 in the 1980s when militancy peaked. "The horses proved to be immense value in the days of terrorism," recalls Baldev Singh, "when we had to go to villages and colonies where it was impossible to drive in." The strength has remained the same since.

Right now, the city police use them chiefly for rural policing. They patrol the outskirts of the city. "Horses can go where cars can't, in fact they can easily move through places where a man on foot would be at a disadvantage. They will take you through slush, dark woods, tall weeds or narrow lanes," says Baldev Singh, who agrees that mounts are part and parcel of the police force.

Former UT IGP Kiran Bedi gave great importance to mounted police. During her tenure, one could spot them patrolling residential areas in the city.

Aside from all the functional advantages, police officials love their horses for three "green" reasons: no noise, no smoke and a "fuel-bill" that doesn't increase every other month. And besides, what car ever ran up to the gate whinnying happily at the sight of its master?