Marching, galloping, catching criminals, even evading bullets … Mounted mobile police officers teach their horses all this to thrive on terrains where no vehicles can traverse. 

At the Animal Husbandry Research and Development Center for Mountainous Zone (ARDC) in Thai Nguyen's Binh Son Commune, 90 km from Hanoi, the Mobile Police Command on Thursday organized a session to evaluate training progress.

Hundreds of soldiers and police officers from the mounted police and dog squads participated.

Eight horses are stationed at the parameter and do not participate in combat. Their eyes are shielded from the sun.

After over a year of tending, each animal weighs 250-400 kg.

The mounted mobile police march. The horses were brought to Vietnam just over a year ago from abroad. They were untamed at first, but over time they have learned to follow commands to walk, stand and run past obstacles.

They can also perform more complex tasks like patrolling, dispersing crowds and pursuing suspects.

Galloping is highly useful in combat and patrol situations. A skilled officer can easily approach suspects while using a gun on horseback to subdue them.

The horses are also trained to carry goods over terrains like mountains, rivers and lakes where motor vehicles cannot traverse.

In light of the increasingly complex weather patterns and natural disasters in recent years, these horses have become more important than ever to help people in less accessible areas.

A horse leaps over fences.

A police officer handles an assault rifle on horseback.

Police officers demonstrate target shooting from galloping horses.

Officers chosen to ride the horses are good at handling both them and weapons. They spend months to help their horses get used to the sounds of gunshots.

A police officer leans down to grab an object from the ground from the back of a galloping horse, an exercise useful for pursuing suspects.

One of the most difficult exercises is training the horses to evade bullets by lying on the ground while officers subdue suspects.