Florida horse trainer accused of animal abuse after alleged Facebook confession, deputies say

Horse trainer arrested after video shows alleged abuse of horse

A Florida horse trainer was arrested after investigators said video showed him abusing a horse during a training session.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man hired as a horse trainer was arrested for animal abuse. 

What we know:

Benito Cotto Colon, 34, was arrested on Jan. 16 and is facing an animal abuse charge after the Marion County Sheriff's office said it received video of Cotto Colon kicking a horse in the abdomen four times. 

The Marion County Sheriff's Office reported a man was arrested for animal cruelty of a horse. 

The sheriff's office's agriculture investigator received information from a horse owner saying in a video Cotto Colon was seen kicking and punching her Bay Paso Fino horse and aggressively pulling on its bridle, deputies said. Cotton Colon was hired over a year ago, to train and care for her horse, the horse owner told deputies. 

In the video, Cotto Colon is seen kicking the horse four times in the stomach as the horse showed obvious signs of distress and fear, the sheriff's office said. 

The other side:

The investigator found a Facebook post of Cotton Colon, in which he admitted to being the person in the video. In the post, Cotton Colon claimed the horse threw him off. He acknowledged that his behavior was not appropriate for horse training, the sheriff's office said. 

What's next:

The abused animal was assessed and determined by a veterinarian to be "as healthy as a horse," deputies said.