Municipal horse
Horse doing public service tasks for local French authority / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In France a municipal horse (French: cheval territorial) is a horse that carries out various public service missions on behalf of a local authority. A unique feature of this approach, which is in line with sustainable development and the search for ecological solutions, is the use of horses to preserve the authenticity of the sites concerned. The commune of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives was a pioneer with the mare "Uranie", in 1993. The commune of Trouville-sur-Mer organizes the annual congress and heads the national municipal horse commission (la commission nationale des chevaux territoriaux). In 2012, the activity was formally defined and the profession of coachman was officially registered in the Répertoire national des métiers [fr]. As of 2015, about 300 communes of France recourent services a or several territorial horses. Their missions are varied, but generally concern tourism, waste management and green spaces, prevention and safety, or personal transport.
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Immensely popular with the public, municipal horses forge closer ties between residents and municipal services. They quickly became one of the municipality's symbols. Although the use of horses can be seen as old-fashioned, in terms of ecology and jobs created, they are considered more attractive than motorized vehicles, at the same or significantly lower cost. On the other hand, horses require a greater investment of time than motorized vehicles, particularly for their care.