Report Abandonment, abuse or neglect

HOW TO REPORT neglected, abused or abandoned Equines:

In case of an emergency always call 911.

You must have:

  • Physical address. If there is no address for the property, please have the county, the town or city and the closest physical address or intersection and the mileage and directions to the property from that point. Law Enforcement will not respond to a general location. You can use the GPS on your phone, and note the location when parked in front of the property. Example of detailed directions:In Bay County in Bay City from the intersection of NW 40th street and 120th avenue, head west on NW 120th avenue for 6/10th of a mile. Pasture is on the right (north) side of the road. Two bay horses and one chestnut.
  • Pictures. Please take pictures of the horse(s) if you can from a legal right of way. Do not trespass or contact the animal’s owner. A confrontation with a horse owner can impede an investigation and you could be charged with harassment or trespassing. After you have reported the horse(s) to law enforcement please email the information and photos to Horse Protection so we may offer assistance to the agency if needed.

WHERE TO REPORT: Agencies by County in Florida to report neglected, abandoned or abused horses

*Denotes that the Sheriff’s Office has an Ag Unit

  • Alachua Sheriff’s Office* 352-367-4000
  • Baker County Sheriff’s Office 904-259-2861
  • Bay County Animal Control 850-767-3333
  • Bradford County Sheriff’s Office* 904-966-6380
  • Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Animal Services 321-633-2105
  • Broward County Sheriff’s Office 954-764-4357
  • Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office 850-674-5049
  • Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office* 941-639-2101
  • Citrus County Animal Services 352-726-1121
  • Clay County Animal Services or report online 904-269-6342 www.claycounty.gov 
  • Collier County Sheriff’s Office* 239-774-4434
  • Columbia County Sheriff’s Office* 386-752-9212
  • De Soto County Sheriff’s Office* 863-993-4700
  • Dixie County Sheriff’s Office 352-498-1220
  • Duval County Sheriff’s Office 904-630-0500
  • Escambia County Animal Control 850-595-0097 or Panhandle Equine Rescue 850-587-3565
  • Flagler County Sheriff’s Office* 386-437-4116
  • Franklin County Animal Control 850-670-4733
  • Gasden County Animal Control 850-627-9233
  • Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office* 352-463-3410
  • Glades County Sheriff’s Office* 863-946-1600
  • Gulf County Sheriff’s Office 850-227-1115
  • Hamilton County Animal Control 386-792-1212
  • Hardee County Sheriff’s Office* 863-773-0304
  • Hendry County Sheriff’s Office* 863-675-2446
  • Hernando County Sheriff’s Office* 352-754-6830
  • Highlands County Sheriff’s Office* 863-402-7200
  • Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office* 813-247-8200
  • Holmes County Sheriff’s Office 850-547-4421
  • Indian River County Sheriff’s Office* 772-569-6700
  • Jackson County Sheriff’s Office 850-482-9624
  • Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office 850-997-2523
  • Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office* 386-294-1222
  • Lake County Sheriff’s Office* 352-343-2101
  • Lee County Sheriff’s Office 239-477-1000
  • Leon County Animal Services 850-606-5400
  • Levy County Sheriff’s Office* 352-486-5111
  • Liberty County Sheriff’s Office 850-973-4151
  • Madison County Sheriff’s Office 850-973-4151
  • Manatee County Sheriff’s Office* 941-747-3011
  • Marion County Sheriff’s Office* 352-732-8181or Marion County Animal Services 352-671-8727
  • Martin County Sheriff’s Office* 772-220-7000
  • Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office* 305-476-5423 Ag Unit 786-657-3233
  • Monroe County Sheriff’s Office 305-853-7021
  • Nassau County Animal Services 904-530-6150
  • Okaloosa County FL Dept. Ag Law Enforcement 850-613-2203
  • Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office* 863-763-3117
  • Orange County Sheriff’s Office* 407-254-7000
  • Osceola County Sheriff’s Office* 407-348-2222
  • Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office* 561-688-3000
  • Pasco County Sheriff’s Office* 727-847-8102
  • Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office 727-582-6200
  • Polk County Sheriff’s Office* 863-298-6200
  • Putnam County Sheriff’s Office* 386-329-0800
  • Saint John’s County Sheriff’s Office* 904-824-8304
  • Saint Lucie County Sheriff’s Office* 772-462-7300
  • Santa Rosa County Animal Services 850-983-4680
  • Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office* 941-861-4087
  • Seminole County Sheriff’s Office* 407-708-7600
  • Sumter County Sheriff’s Office* 352-569-1600
  • Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office 386-362-2222
  • Taylor County Sheriff’s Office 850-584-7017
  • Union County Sheriff’s Office 386-496-2501
  • Wakulla County Animal Services 850-745-7100
  • Walton County Sheriff’s Office* 850-892-8182
  • Washington County Animal Services 850-638-6306
  • Volusia County Sheriff’s Office* 386-736-5961

If Your Horse Is Lost or Stolen:

  1. Report to your local Sheriff’s Office.
  2. Report to Florida Department of Law Enforcement 800-342-5869
  3. Report to the Stolen Horse International

Know What To Look For

The Henneke Body Condition Scoring System, developed by Don Henneke, PhD, is a scientific method of evaluating a horse’s body condition regardless of breed, body type, sex or age. It is widely used by law enforcement agencies as an objective method of scoring a horse’s body condition in horse cruelty cases. The Chart is accepted in a court of law.

Six parts of a horse are checked in this system—the neck, withers (where the neck ends and the back begins), shoulder, ribs, loin, and tailhead. When using the Henneke system, you should always make physical contact with these parts, and the kind of touch you use is important. Simply stroking the animal lightly won’t provide an accurate idea of the horse’s condition; you have to apply pressure to each part in turn.

Body Condition Score BCS1

BCS 1 Poor

Emaciated. Prominent processes, ribs, tailhead, hooks and pins. Noticeable bone structure on withers, shoulders and neck. No fatty tissues can be palpated (felt).

Body Condition Score BCS 2

BCS 2 Very Thin

Emaciated; slight tissue cover over bones; vertebrae, ribs, tail head, and bones of withers, shoulder, and neck are visible.

Body Condition Score BCS 3

BCS 3 Thin

Fat build up about half way on the spinous processes. Transverse processes cannot be felt. Slight fat cover over ribs. Spinous processes and ribs easily discernible. Tailhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be identified. Hook bones appear rounded, but easily discernible. Pin bones not distinguishable. Withers, shoulders and neck accentuated

Body Condition Score BCS 4

BCS 4 Moderately Thin

Negative crease along back. Faint outline of ribs discernible. Tailhead prominence depends on conformation, fat can be felt around it. Hook bones not discernable. Withers, shoulders and neck not obviously thin

Body Condition Score BCS 5

BCS 5 Moderate

Back is level. Ribs cannot be visually distinguished, but can be easily felt. Fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy. Withers appear rounded over spinous processes. Shoulders and neck blend smoothly into body

Body Condition Score BCS 6

BCS 6 Moderately Fleshy

May have slight crease down back. Fat over ribs feels spongy. Fat around tailhead feels soft. Fat beginning to be deposited along the sides of the withers, behind the shoulders and along the sides of the neck.

Body Condition Score BCS 7

BCS 7 Fleshy

May have a positive crease down back (gully). Individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat. Fat around tailhead is soft. Fat deposits along withers, behind shoulders and along the neck.

Body Condition Score BCS 8

BCS 8 Fat

Crease down back. Difficult to palpate ribs. Fat around tailhead very soft. Area along withers filled with fat. Area behind shoulder filled in flush. Noticeable thickening of neck. Fat deposited along inner buttocks

Body Condition Score BCS 9

BCS 9 Extremely Fat

Obvious crease down back. Patchy fat appearing over ribs. Bulging fat around tailhead, along withers, behind shoulders and along neck. Fat along inner buttocks may rub together. Flank filled in flush.