Florida patrol horse retires after years of service
Photo credit: Sarasota County Sheriff's Office
SARASOTA, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A patrol horse with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office is riding off into retirement.
LEO, a 15-year-old Hanoverian bay gelding, is hanging up his saddle after developing shivers, a neuromuscular disorder, that keep him from being able to perform his law enforcement duties.
LEO was donated to the sheriff's office in 2016. Since then, he had helped deputies work on their riding skills. With his calm, sweet demeanor, deputies say that LEO helped work several public events including 4th of July celebrations and pub crawls in Siesta Key.
"To those who rode LEO, he was a great partner and performed to the absolute best of his ability. LEO will be sorely missed."
The sheriff's office says that LEO will live with other retired police horses at Mill Creek Farm, an equine sanctuary in Alachua, Florida.