A horse osteopath's hands-on care keeps Hesse's 15 police horses healthy for patrols, football games, and protests.

A skilled pair of hands

On a June day in Hanau, Melanie Gath works through several horses, starting with Legolas, a 14-year-old gelding. Each session begins with a gait analysis, followed by careful palpation.

“to feel with your hands: are there any tensions or hot spots that indicate inflammation?”

When the horse lets out a loud snort after a targeted grip, it is, for Gath, a sign that a diaphragm blockage has just been released.

Daily life of a police horse

The unit's 15 horses live on an idyllic farm in Hanau. From there they travel to assignments: Eintracht Frankfurt matches, the autumn 2025 protests in Giessen against the refounded AfD youth wing, and routine patrols. Their health is maintained through regular vet and dental checks, fresh hoof shoes every six weeks, and even infrared light therapy. Every few weeks Gath rotates through the herd.

The osteopath's philosophy

Gath, who trained for three years after a first career as an agricultural engineer, runs a horse rehabilitation centre in South Hesse and has over 127,000 Instagram followers. With roughly 20 years of practice she says the work only gets better with time.

“The nice thing about this profession: With age and experience, you only get better. You feel more precisely and become more sensitive.”

Horses, she explains, communicate through the eyes, the ears, the body, the nose, the tail, and they are flight animals that hide pain as long as possible. Osteopathy for them is not so different from that for people: mobility is the key to lasting health.

What makes a good police horse

Christine Henniger of the mounted police unit notes that the horses are selected for a calm, curious temperament rather than for sport.

“These horses have a different job than leisure horses or competition horses.”

The selection already screens for animals that startle less easily, because a police horse works in crowds, noise, and unpredictable situations.