SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ California Highway Patrol is offering the public an inside look into some of its day-to-day operations, starting with the agency's hoofed companions.
CHP launched a video blog (the series is titled, simply enough, "CHP Vlog") this week. Posted to Facebook and YouTube Monday, the inaugural episode features CHP's Mounted Patrol Unit.
The 7-minute feature runs through the mounted officers' procedures _ from grooming, feeding and cleaning up the horses at the ranch to the officers' daily duties in downtown Sacramento, which start with a patrol lap around Capitol Park.
"The horses are able to get into areas downtown that you can't with a patrol car," Officer Kassandra DiMaggio explains in the video.
However, CHP uses exclusively draft horses, which are large and can help control crowds if necessary. They're friendly, though, and school children on field trips to the Capitol are welcome to ask officers to pet the horses, DiMaggio says.
Vlog host and CHP Valley Division Recruitment Officer Ronald Esquivel rides a horse for what he says is the first time in his life, learning the ropes as DiMaggio instructs him.
The video was appreciated on YouTube and other social media platforms in the comments section, where many users encouraged CHP to continue posting vlogs.
CHP's previous YouTube offerings mostly consisted of PSAs and safety tips (and, in August, a viral lip-sync challenge submission).
