After fighting through midterms and attempting to recover from Halloween festivities, St. Thomas students returned to campus this week with little energy left to offer. Fortunately, when two horses were spotted trotting through campus on Tuesday, sluggish Tommies received the morale boost they needed.

“Yeah, today is definitely one of the days I needed something to happen,” junior Megan Herdering said. “Something exciting.”

Without an assignment for the day, St. Paul Mounted Police Officers Chris Hoyt and Hank Price decided to make a few stops at local college campuses, although they had no idea that their afternoon stroll would spark so much energy at St. Thomas.

“We’re not on any mission other than just (to) ride through the college and meet people,” Hoyt said.

Interacting with the horses, Cowboy and Javier, was also a pleasant surprise for staff members like Administrative Assistant Oyuna Uranchimeg, who works in the communication and journalism department.

“It’s really cool, I mean I was just taking a walk because it’s such a beautiful day outside,” Uranchimeg said. “I just happened to see (the horses).”

Unlike traditional patrols, the Mounted Unit allows for more personal interaction between civilians and law enforcement.

“It’s a great opportunity (for students) to see that police officers are people too. Let’s face it, the horse sucks them in,” Hoyt said.

Although the horses attract many curious eyes, Hoyt said Cowboy and Javier function no differently than other police vehicles.

“This is our police car,” Hoyt said. “(The horses are) no different than a police car or a motorcycle; we do the exact same job, except for off of a horse.”

While most police officers retire their vehicles to the station at the end of their shifts, Hoyt, Price, Cowboy and Javier make their way back to the barn.

“It’s a great job, it’s a fun job. It’s a busy ten hour shift,” Hoyt said. “We start in the barn, end in the barn.”