HOUSTON -- J.J. Watt faced a creature bigger than he on Thursday after practice.

A horse named J.J. Watt. He wanted to ride it, and so he did.

The horse was one of the horses used by the Houston Police Department's Mounted Patrol. It, and two other horses, are sponsored by Houston Texans owner Bob McNair's foundation. McNair has owned race horses, too. The other two horses are named Cushing 56, after inside linebacker Brian Cushing, and Texan Star. The horse named J.J. Watt used to be named Sergeant Swatt #99, but he's made things simpler now.

Word is, horse J.J. Watt and horse Cushing love being part of the action. That figures, doesn't it?