REDLAND, Fla. -- Officials say 55,000 horses are stolen each year in the United States, and South Florida is not immune.

The Miami-Dade Police Department agricultural patrol is hot on the case of several thefts and those patrol officers said finding a stolen horse is not that easy.

Six horses have been stolen from Redland in the past year. Police say despite popular belief, most stolen horses are not racehorses, though one recent theft involved a retired horse worth $15,000.

Most horses are snatched from the middle of pastures.

"They are usually cutting fences and going into the property," Detective David Zimmerman said of thieves.

Ralph Wheeler shoes horses for a living and knows the Redland horse population well.

"You see a lot of horse trailers running up and down out here,” Wheeler said. “Most people would not look twice unless they actually see someone doing something. So, the guy would get the horse and be gone."

Rustlers can disguise a horse by dying it with white markings, move it out of state, and then sell it without a trace.

"A horse that disappeared a year ago is not going to look the same today as when he disappeared," Miami-Dade Lt. Melissa Peacock said.

If you know anything about the stolen horses in south Miami-Dade County, call CrimeStoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.