Being trapped between two packs of violent, baying fans when a football audience gets out of control is not a place most people would choose to be. Lisa Wealthall does it for a living.

As a mounted sergeant with Nottinghamshire Police, she says that this ancient form of crowd control is still one of the most effective: “When you’re on a horse six feet off the ground, you have a presence,” she says. “We reassure the public because we can use the horse to separate opposing sets of fans.”

Officers in the police force’s mounted division are highly specialised equestrians, trained to deal with violence while handling a sensitive animal: “We go through riot training, and are taught how to deal with being petrol-bombed and with every aspect of mass public disorder,” Wealthall says.

The seven horses used in Nottinghamshire’s mounted division are called in to police street demonstrations, as well as school fêtes and ceremonial parades. “High-category” football matches are usually the most violent events.

Wealthall was previously a detective in the force’s fraud squad. Having ridden horses since she was 7, she always hankered after the chance to combine policing with equestrianism.

The only thing that she dislikes about her job is the antipathy that some members of the public show towards officers. Being on a horse breaks down social barriers, she says: “People gravitate towards you. Even people who are anti-police want to come and talk to the horse.”

The animals, known as hunter horses, are carefully chosen for temperament and physical characteristics — they must be at least 16.2 hands (5ft 6in) tall — and have “a lot of bone” (a strong back is important). They are then given “nuisance training” to deal with noise and commotion in angry crowds.

When the right horse is found, it can continue working until it is 19, Wealthall says: “As they become used to the work, they just get better and better.”

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