TRINIDAD, Colo. (AP) -- A Las Animas County man has been arrested on suspicion of cruelty to animals and 31 horses have been removed from his care.

Ferdinand "Fernando" Santana was arrested Tuesday after authorities said some of the horses appeared to be unreasonably thin. They said some were tethered without access to food or water.

Santana says food and water were always available to the animals. He says some of the thin horses came to him that way, and that they were under a veterinarian's care.

Santana has been released. He hasn't been formally charged.

The horses are being housed at the Las Animas County Fairgrounds.

The sheriff's department says the investigation began after a horse owner filed a complaint. The department says 10 more complaints were filed this week.