A California horse who retired from harness racing to become a police horse is about to change careers again.
Dice, who works for the Folsom Police Department, can expect a quieter life as a therapeutic riding horse for the Grace Foundation of Northern California.
Folsom police said Dice had enjoyed a "rock star lifestyle" on the US national harness racing circuit before his career in law enforcement.
Now, after five years patrolling the beat with his partner, Sergeant Dirk Regan, he will be working with children and the disabled.
The decision was made to retire Dice from police work, as the rigors of the concrete jungle were beginning to wear on his harness racing injuries.
The Grace Foundation's therapeutic riding programme now beckons.
"Dice logged hundreds of hours in service to the citizens of Folsom during the five years I rode him," Regan said.
"He was a great partner - aggressive in enforcement action but especially gentle with children. He is uniquely and perfectly suited for his new job at the Grace Foundation," said Regan, supervisor of the police department's mounted unit.
The Grace Foundation is an equine rescue and rehabilitation facility located in the El Dorado Hills. It provides critical care and rehabilitation for abused and neglected horses and utilizes rescued horses for equine assisted learning and therapeutic programmes for youth and children.
The organisation's goal is to protect, care for, and heal these two important groups - children and abused/neglected animals.
The foundation has a special relationship with the Folsom police mounted unit.
The mounted unit helps with Grace's educational programme, which sees more than 6000 children visit each year, in exchange for horse care.
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