Alleged Horse Lover Arrested - Updated

(Felton, California) A 41-year-old drifter, Robert Clyde Rodriguez, was arrested this week for cruelty to animals stemming from last month's reported incident where a horse was tied to a tree and a man was seen fleeing from the scene naked from the waist down.

Rodriguez was identified as the man the horse's owner saw with her animal. He is suspected of having sexually abused the horse but evidence is lacking. As a result, Rodriguez has only been charged with cruelty.

The animal cruelty charges stem from when Rodriguez allegedly tied the horse to a redwood with a coarse rope.

The horse suffered abrasions on its neck, the Sheriff's Office reported.

Tuesday, Rodriguez was located about 3:30 p.m. near the same pasture where he was suspected of abusing the horse, deputies said.

Rodriguez was booked into custody at the Santa Cruz County Jail with bail set at $5,000.

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Police Seek Horse Lover
[Previous 5/21/10 post]
(Santa Cruz County, California) On Monday evening, a horse was sexually assaulted in a pasture, according to Santa Cruz County Animal Services.

The horse's owner told Animal Services that she spotted a man on top of her horse. She said the man ran into the woods when he saw her coming, according to Lynn Miller, the agency's interim manager. [...]

In Monday's case, the horse's owner said she could not initially find her horse when she went to the pasture and began calling out to her, Miller said.

The horse whinnied back and the woman followed the sound and then saw her in another area of the pasture, tied to a redwood tree, he said.

She saw the man pulling up his pants and yelled out and he took off into the woods.

It was near dusk and the woman did not get a clear look at him, he said, but reported he had a light-colored beard and was wearing tattered clothes and may have been homeless.

Apparently, there have been several reported incidents of criminal horse-loving in the general area.