TY - JOUR TI - Humanizing animals DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T35Q502P PY - 2017 AB - Despite the horse’s central role in the conquest of America and its ongoing importance as a symbol of freedom and independence in the national imagination, innumerable horses—no longer of use—are sold at kill lots every year. However, in recent decades rescues have repurposed these horses for work in law enforcement and in equine therapy programs. Equine therapy programs have been gaining support in America; at the same time, the disproportionate arrests and incarceration of black men has continued to rise._ Equine prison programs produces an evocative situation: two disregarded populations—ex-race horses no longer able to race or mustangs with nowhere to go, and convicts exiled from society—are brought together to “rehabilitate” each other. The trope of the wild and dangerous black man is ever present, as current events—such as Ferguson, and Black Lives Matter—remind us. Thus this pairing the broken (ex-race horse) or untamed (mustang) non-human animal with that of the transgressive human (prisoner) that is undeniably political. Over the last several years, as tensions between law enforcement and communities of color rose, there has been a call for a re-evaluation of policing strategies. There has been a call for community policing. Horses may be part of bridging the gap between police and civilians. This essay seeks to unpack the complicated implications of equine prison programs and the role of horses in mounted police units. By focusing on the Newark Mounted Police Unit and the Second Chances Horse Program at the Wallkill Correctional Facility, this dissertation illuminates the ideological underpinnings of attitudes about humans and other animals in the racialized and classed culture in which we live. Finally, this dissertation assesses the impact of these programs and contexts on horses themselves, offering new ways to think about and relate to horses. KW - American Studies KW - Police horses KW - Animal welfare KW - Horses LA - eng ER -