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The normal working day starts at 0700hrs, (Mon-Fri) (Oct – Mar inc):

All duty NCO’s start the day by attending to their own horse, this consists of a full body groom with body brush, dust cloth and hoof cleaning with a hoof pick. Tails are brushed with a tail brush, and if necessary trimmed to the correct length. Hooves are then given a coating of linseed oil to keep them supple and protect them from cracking. apart from those horses going on beat patrol duties, when the oil is applied just before leaving.

This would usually take around 20 minutes to accomplish. After which, the horses would be tacked up appropriate to their days duties namely, those on beat patrols would be tacked up for Policing work, and those not on duty would be tacked up for exercise, with one NCO riding one horse and leading another.

There was usually one horse of the Troop strength of 20, which would be on rest day, as its rider would have been on Night Guard the previous night.

The first duty patrol of the day, was the two school crossings that had to be manned. This was a two person patrol that (during school term Mon-Fri), would leave the yard around 0800hrs and proceed through Aldershot Town to the school crossings at Gun Hill & Middle Hill, with one mounted NCO controlling each crossing.