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Florence man arrested in abuse of horse
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As a Pinal County sheriff's officer responded to an emergency call Monday, he witnessed a Florence man dragging a horse behind his truck and beating the animal with a piece of PVC pipe.
The officer said he saw the man, Gordon Allen Bates, step out of the vehicle after dragging the horse and use a piece of pipe to strike the animal. While he was striking the horse, he yelled at it to get up.
Bates' 13-year-old daughter was also seen yelling at the horse and kicking it in the head, according to a news release from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.
After the officer stopped Bates from hitting the horse, the officer noticed that the car tow strap that had been used to drag the animal was embedded into the horse's neck and blood was coming from the horse's nose, authorities said. He also saw that the animal had several abrasions from the pipe and had road rash from being dragged.
Gordon told the officer that the horse would not obey orders, and that he wished to remove the animal from his property.
Bates was arrested, the release said, and he could be charged with animal cruelty. The case has been turned over to the county attorney's office. The horse is in the custody of the Arizona Department of Agriculture and is expected to survive.
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