NY cops on hunt for stolen horse as they worry it might break its diet — with deadly consequences

There’s a horse thief on the loose.

New York State police launched a search for a horse named Koda that was stolen from an upstate farm last week — and has “special dietary restrictions” that could spell his demise if he’s not found soon.

“’Koda’ is a neutered male, called a gelding,” troopers said in a press release Wednesday. “He is a flea-bitten grey color, which means he is grey with flecks of red and has a darker muzzle. 

“Koda’s owners are also concerned about him because he has special dietary restrictions.”

The horse was plucked from an enclosure in the farm in the Endicott and Union area, police said.

Koda has two brands that could help identify him — a Roman letter L that resembles an upside Y on the front left shoulder, and an arrow pointing upward with a line underneath on the rear left flank.

Troopers believe the horse was stolen on July 23 or 24 from the fenced-in property on Struble Road in the town of Union.

Anyone with information should call police at 607-561-7400, and cite case NY2500671337. 

Although it sounds like the Wild West, horse thieves still make off with four-legged booty now and again — including an Amish horse and buggy snatched from a Michigan Walmart last year.

In 2023, a trio of teens riding stolen horses rode into a tragic traffic mishap that left one boy and two of the horses dead near a Dallas, Texas freeway.

And in 2025 in St. Petersburg, Florida, a stolen championship horse was not only stolen, but later butchered before the owners could track down the gelding.