Florence, AZ -- A Florence man and his 13-year-old daughter have been charged with animal cruelty, accused of dragging a horse behind their truck and kicking it in the head.

A Pinal County Sheriff's Office corporal said he was called to check on a horse at a home in Florence on Monday.

The caller was apparently concerned that the owner was going to kill the animal, saying that the owner had driven off with the horse tied to a chain attached to the back bumper of his truck.

The officer followed tire tracks on the dirt road, where there were also impressions from the horse trailing behind.

The officer caught up with the truck and found it dragging the horse. The horse was lying on its side as it was being dragged in the dirt behind the truck.

The truck stopped and a man, later identified as Gordon Allen Bates, and a girl, later identified as his 13-year-old daughter, got out of the vehicle.

The officer said he then saw the girl kicking the horse in the head, yelling at the horse to get up.

Her father removed a white PVC pipe from the rear of the truck and reportedly began to beat the horse repeatedly with the pipe, yelling at it to get up.

The officer ordered the two to stop kicking and striking the horse.

The horse also had a car tow strap tied around its neck and the strap was embedded into the horse's neck, according to authorities.

The horse was bleeding profoundly from his nose and there was road rash on the horse's rear legs and multiple cuts from where it had been struck with the PVC pipe.

Bates told the officer that the horse would not obey and he needed to get the horse to another location.

The officer arrested Bates and his daughter and told him they were being charged with animal cruelty.

Bates and his daughter were released and charges for both have been submitted to the County Attorney's Office for review.

The horse was turned over to the Arizona Department of Agriculture and is said to be doing okay.