mounted police are common in downtown Austin. But, using them does open up more opportunities to charge protesters with assault even if the officer pushes into them: www.kxan.com/investigatio...

Charges dropped against protester accused of hitting APD horse

Escamilla said his office reviewed HALO, drone and body camera video of the May 31 encounter between Cornell and APD’s mounted horse unit in the lanes of Interstate 35. Protesters stormed the inter…

I lived in Austin until 2023 and worked downtown for years and I never saw a mounted cop there.