In response to the lies and misrepresentation in media, "Definitely the best job I ever had, you become one with your horse. They learn to trust you. They will go to the end of the earth, if you ask them. We train everyday with them. Definitely the best partner I have ever had. See what’s in my hands? Those are split reins; not whips, they are 6 feet long. They are split for when we go into the brush. If we go through thick brush and a tree branch gets caught, it will just slip right through. The reins are connected to the bit. The bit is in their mouth and the last thing we want to do is hurt our partners by tearing up their mouths.
You have seen the video of the agent spinning the rein when noncitizens get close to the horse. It’s to create distance between the horse and the person on the ground. Our horses easily weigh 1200 pounds, they can step on someone and break a bone or kill a small child of a person gets to close. We also spin them if someone attempts to grab the reins because the last thing you want is someone who doesn’t know a thing about horses, to have control of the horse you are on. (If noncitizens attempt to gain control of our reins it is considered deadly.) The horse can freak out, jump up and roll with you on them. Us as riders can be killed if a horse lands on us. Hope this helps those who have never seen a horse or split reins before… we will continue to support our brothers and sisters in Del Río." - Deanndra Cantu - one of my fellow Border Patrol Agents 
