Photos: Inside the NYPD's elite mobile blacksmith unit
When one of the New York Police Department's horses loses a metal shoe, a blacksmith shop on wheels rushes to the rescue.
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City Police Department mounted unit officer Robert D'Aamodio rides McQuade through New York's Theater District, before the horse is reshod at the department's farriers' mobile workshop in Times Square. The NYPD has two such mobile horseshoe units stocked with all manner of anvils, hammers, nippers and pullers that have been the tools of the equine hoof trade for centuries. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City farrier Marcus Martinez Jr. uses a grinder to shape a horseshoe in one of the department's mobile workshops, in New York's Times Square. The NYPD has two such mobile horseshoe units stocked with all manner of anvils, hammers, nippers and pullers that have been the tools of the equine hoof trade for centuries. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City Police Department farriers Marcus Martinez Jr., left, and Thomas Nolan confer at their mobile workshop, as they prepare to shoe a department horse in New York's Times Square. The NYPD has two such mobile horseshoe units stocked with all manner of anvils, hammers, nippers and pullers that have been the tools of the equine hoof trade for centuries. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City Police Department farrier Thomas Nolan chooses from the assortment of shoes in the department's mobile workshop, in New York's Times Square. The NYPD has two such mobile horseshoe units stocked with all manner of anvils, hammers, nippers and pullers that have been the tools of the equine hoof trade for centuries. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City Police Department farrier Thomas Nolan uses a hammer and anvil as he shapes a horseshoe, while working from a mobile unit in New York's Times Square. When one of the New York Police Department’s horses loses a metal shoe, or they just wear out on the gritty city streets, a blacksmith shop on wheels rushes to the rescue, equipped with a 2,850-degree furnace and trained farriers who can make the fix on the spot. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City Police Department farrier Marcus Martinez Jr., working from a mobile workshop in New York's Times Square, is engulfed in smoke as he fits a hot horseshoe on the hoof of mounted unit horse McQuade. The NYPD’s three farriers are civilian employees of the department, hired for their unique set of skills. Martinez, 38, who grew up in the suburbs north of the city, says he first was exposed to the craft in high school while watching a farrier friend work on horses. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, onlookers in New York's Times Square, watch as New York City Police Department farrier Marcus Martinez Jr. shoes department mounted unit horse McQuade, using tools from a mobile workshop. The NYPD’s three farriers are civilian employees of the department, hired for their unique set of skills. Martinez, 38, who grew up in the suburbs north of the city, says he first was exposed to the craft in high school while watching a farrier friend work on horses. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, new shoes for New York City Police Department mounted unit horse McQuade are prepared at the farrier's mobile workshop, in New York's Times Square. When one of the New York Police Department’s horses loses a metal shoe, or they just wear out on the gritty city streets, a blacksmith shop on wheels rushes to the rescue, equipped with a 2,850-degree furnace and trained farriers who can make the fix on the spot. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City Police Department farrier Thomas Nolan nails a new shoe on mounted unit horse McQuade, at a mobile workshop in New York's Times Square. The NYPD’s three farriers are civilian employees of the department, hired for their unique set of skills. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City Police Department farrier Thomas Nolan uses a hammer and anvil as he shapes a horseshoe, while working from a mobile unit in New York's Times Square. The NYPD’s three farriers are civilian employees of the department, hired for their unique set of skills. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City Police Department mounted unit officer Robert D'Aamodio, right, watches as NYPD farrier Thomas Nolan shapes the hoof of McQuade while shoeing D'Aamodio's horse, in New York's Times Square. When one of the New York Police Department’s horses loses a metal shoe, or they just wear out on the gritty city streets, a blacksmith shop on wheels rushes to the rescue, equipped with a 2,850-degree furnace and trained farriers who can make the fix on the spot. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, the newly shod rear hooves of New York City Police Department horse McQuade are seen in New York's Times Square. Horseshoes are an essential part of the New York Police Department. Without them, the department’s elite mounted unit of 50 horses couldn’t patrol the city. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, the tack of some of the New York City Police Department mounted unit hangs in the locker room at their in New York headquarters. The NYPD's horses, which come mostly from Amish country in Pennsylvania, form what the department says is the country’s oldest continuously active mounted unit. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Police Horseshoe Fixers
In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, New York City Police Department mounted unit horse Patriot, age 10, plays with a large rubber ball in the the exercise ring at the unit's headquarters, in New York. The NYPD's horses, which come mostly from Amish country in Pennsylvania, form what the department says is the country’s oldest continuously active mounted unit. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)