JUMPING through fire, running among dozens of tennis balls and handling noisy crowds are all in a day's work for Excalibur, Lancashire's longest serving police horse, and his 17 colleagues......and that's all before they leave the grounds!

As the 'grandad' of the bunch, the horse with 15 years service often helps coach newcomers in the ways of the job during the weekly training sessions in which the others are taught to enjoy, rather than fear, crowds of people.

Excalibur, who helped police the Burnley riots and was unscathed, is off-duty for at least 10 days with a wound to his leg, caused when a motorcyclist, who had been stopped by a police rider in Nelson, drove straight at him.

Support manager Jeanette Taylor has worked at the stables for 15 years, the same length of time as her favourite horse, and plans to give him a home in retirement, though former Chief Constable Pauline Clare has made a rival bid.

The horse was the one she chose to ride while on her regular mounted patrols and she even invited him to her retirement party last year.

Jeanette said: "I couldn't believe it when I got a call on Thursday asking me to come down. I was expecting the worst. His leg was covered in blood and looked awful.

"Occasionally you worry when the horses go out on duty, but injuries are so rare, it's not something I think about a lot.

"Excalibur is a great horse, very special, and he's hardly ever had a day off. I just hope he won't have lost any confidence.

"We can't know yet whether he will be OK when he next hears a motorbike, but we hope so."

After his time off, Excalibur will be reintroduced to work slowly, to make sure he hasn't lost any confidence.

While the horses are training for duty and when they aren't out working, they are cared for, exercised, schooled and trained by a team of seven full-time staff in a quiet yard near Lancashire Police Headquarters at Hutton.

For them, an afternoon spent running over mattresses in the paddock and dealing with shouting crowds of police staff with unbrellas is all part of the fun.

All of the horses are also exercised and schooled as any other horse would be and they have as much time off as the police officers they work with.

The horses are usually Irish draught crossed with thoroughbred, a combination with a reliable temperament, and arrive at Hutton aged four. Excalibur often accompanies new recruits on their journey to the yard to reassure them and help teach them how to behave.

The yard's youngest resident, four-year-old Prince, is currently in the process of learning to carry a rider on his back. He has been at the centre for three months, and will probably not be seen by the public for another six months, until the staff are happy that he will enjoy going out on patrol.

All of the horses are partnered by one officer, though the partnerships are altered regularly.

The horses even take the same holidays as their riders, so when a mounted police officer spends two weeks in the sun, his or her horse will get two weeks off in the fields.

The duties the horses are involved in are as varied as the jobs of the officers they work with.

They can be providing high-visibility town centre patrols one day and controlling crowds at a football match the next.

Injuries are very rare, and the staff were shocked and angry to discover Excalibur had been hurt.

Jeannette added: "All of the horses here are special individuals and they all really enjoy the work they do. They all have their characters as well. Excalibur will stand a certain way and look at you when he wants to have his back scratched.

"The horses all get ridden, exercised and groomed here and they are treated like royalty.

"Working with them is a great job. They are wonderful creatures."