A Florida man faces animal cruelty charges after allegedly tying a rope around a pony's leg so tightly that the animal lost its hoof.

Sheri Evans, cruelty investigator for the Humane Society/SPCA of Sumter County Inc., discovered the pony Aug. 3 after an anonymous caller reported the animal tied to a post and struggling to walk on a mutilated leg. According to Evans, the rope used to tether the pony's left rear leg to the post amputated the limb just above the hoof. The pony also suffered from malnutrition and dehydration. It was later euthanized.

Sumter County Sheriff's police arrested pony owner Winton Rowell on Oct. 21 on charges of animal cruelty causing death. He is free on $2,000 bond pending his arraignment on Nov. 10.

Rowell was unavailable for comment