A Ranger man on Wednesday discovered 20 horses abandoned on his property, and one was already dead.

"I got a phone call Tuesday night about 9:30 by my neighbor," said Pat Collins, the land owner of the property with the horses. "I told her I didn't know anything about it."

His neighbor said she saw about nine or 10 horses, but when Collins went to check Wednesday morning he found 20.

"I said God almighty!" Collins said. "Many you could see the ribs, the backbone, there's scars all over them."

Ranger Chief of Police, James Elliott, said he has a suspect for who left the horses. At this time, he is not releasing the name.

"Here lately it's been occurring more and more with the prices of hay and feed going up, and people just not taking care of these animals."

The city will execute a seizure warrant Friday so the animals will be safely transported to the Abilene Animal Services until a full hearing.

Lynn Shults with Rescue The Animals, SPCA, said she will ask the judge to award the animals to them so the horses can have a chance at adoption.

"Had these animals had been here for any length of time they slowly would've started falling out one by one, it was just a matter of time," said Shults. "They have no idea that today their life has been saved."