Reminds me of a conversation I had about 20yrs ago with a couple of older Toronto Detectives who told me about some of the outcomes from the old OCAP (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) driots at Queens Park when some of the demonstrators, who they said to me were British labour activists who had immigrated to Canada, had deliberately attacked the Police horses with the intent to injury/maim the horses. They said that never before were Police horses actively targeted in Canada but that it was common practice in the UK to do so. They said that when it became apparent that the horses were being deliberately target that the 'gloves were dropped then' and things got serious.