--- description: What are YOU bringing to the table? title: Meet the Multi-Talented Police Horse Who's Learning to Paint image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # When This Multi-Talented Police Horse Isn't Helping Fight Crime, He's Painting by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 8, 2015 4:01 PM CUT by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 8, 2015 4:01 PM CUT Everyone, say hello to Jacob, a police horse in St. Petersburg, Fla. When he isn’t assisting his human partner, Officer Jason Hughes, [with fighting crime](http://www.wfla.com/story/28748783/st-pete-police-horse-doubles-as-painter "undefined") and keeping the peace, he’s honing his skills as a painter. Hughes had noticed that Jacob liked to grab stuff with his mouth, so he thought, “I bet if I gave him a paint brush, and put a canvas in front of it, he’d paint on it.” As you’ll see in the above video, provided by the St. Petersburg police department, Hughes was right. Jacob is a naturally skilled painter. Why teach him to paint, though? According to Hughes, it keeps Jacob challenged and helps him develop trust with his partner. Stay tuned for an upcoming [charity exhibit](https://twitter.com/StPetePD/status/585798351179886592 "undefined") featuring Jacob’s work. Painting Police Horse in St. Petersburg, Florida ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3813536/painting-police-horse-florida/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3813536/painting-police-horse-florida/"},"headline":"When This Multi-Talented Police Horse Isn't Helping Fight Crime, He's Painting","datePublished":"2015-04-08T16:01:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:18:30.347Z","description":"What are YOU bringing to the table?","url":"https://time.com/3813536/painting-police-horse-florida/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3813536/painting-police-horse-florida/","name":"When This Multi-Talented Police Horse Isn't Helping Fight Crime, He's Painting"}}]}] ```