The Fresno Police Mounted Patrol was formed on July 12, 1999 and has gone through extensive training for several years. The training consists of equitation, crowd control tactics, formation riding, police tactics and stimulus training, and many other things. Currently one part time officer and one sergeant are assigned to the MPU. The Unit is now staffed by 8 Reserve Police Officers and 5 collateral duty Police Officers. The MPU perform standard police functions: make arrests, conduct investigations, issue citations and handle routine calls. In addition, the MPU is used for special events, crowd control and park problems.

There are currently seven horses in the MPU. The horses are all Standard Bred horses and range from 14 years of age to 4 years of age. Five of the horses are fully trained and ready for deployment. The two newest horses are currently undergoing training before being certified for duty.

Each officer that is assigned to the Mounted Unit must attend a 40 hour P.O.S.T. course that is taught by our in house training staff. The MPU also holds monthly training that each officer must attend.