SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - The hooves of horses might not be as common in the parks around Hampden County, as the sheriff’s department continues its sweeping cuts. Patrol horses are mostly seen in places like here at Forest Park, but their numbers are now shrinking.

The Hampden County Sheriffs’ Office announced in March that they would be cutting back on spending, and it’s impacting the last active mounted patrol squad in the state.

The unit is now officially part-time, with half of the staff being cut and 6 of the 11 horses being re-homed. The remaining are going to be utilized in two ways: equine therapy sessions, at schools, senior centers, and with prisoners, as well as a continued role in enforcement.

“I think when you have horses involved, and let’s just say a very crowded area, one horse does the work of about 15 police officers or people trying to control a crowd,” Sheriff Cocchi said.

For the officers that work every day with them at mounted patrol, it hasn’t been easy.

“We come in and we love these horses. We treat them like they’re our own, they’re our partners,” said Connie Burke, the deputy chief of the mounted unit, “they’re a special part of our lives. So, it’s hard. It’s been pretty emotional for us in letting them go, to be honest.”

Horses like Autumn here are essential at keeping the community safe, like at Forest Park, where they can be seen a couple times a week. That’s where you’d mostly find these mounted patrols out in the area, in large parks and public gatherings, as they give officers an advantage on any terrain. In response to the cutbacks from the county sheriff, Springfield Police are providing some of their own to patrol these areas.

Sheriff Cocchi told Western Mass News that it comes down to the resources that are coming from the state, “I’ll say this and I’ll say it a hundred times. Regional equity in Massachusetts is important, and the resources in western Mass are nowhere near the resources distributed in the Boston area, you know, east of Worcester.”

Cocchi insisted that while it might be few and far between, the unit will still be ready to serve the community.