Authorities have removed a herd of allegedly maltreated horses—including a high-profile cutting horse—from a farm in Black Forest, Colorado.

El Paso Sheriff's Department Commander Jeff Kramer said that on Sept. 22, department personnel acted on a warrant to remove 10 live horses, including cutting horse Dual Peppy, and 14 llamas from the El Paso County property. All the seized animals were allegedly maltreated, Kramer said. Further investigation revealed the carcasses of another 14 horses, he said.

“It has been speculated that 10 horses died of colic, but we don't know that,” Kramer said. “We are still investigating.”

Kramer said the horses were removed largely due to the conditions in which they lived: “We have to look at the totality of the situation. There was not much in the way of food and water, and the horses were in the same environment with the dead horses