My breath always catches in my throat, ever so slightly, when I glimpse a police horse striding gracefully amongst the traffic, concrete and steel of the downtown core.

The first time I saw one as a child, I felt that these horses must be magical. Why else would they be here, in the city?

A few minutes after this shot was taken, I observed this horse nuzzling the snout of a Lastman era moose sculpture, slowly. Tenderly.

And I felt that old magic return, for a fleeting moment.

Image of mounted police officer at Bathurst and King taken by Liza Badaloo