Police charged the property owner of the Farmington Polo Grounds with animal cruelty after one of his horses had to be put down when it ran into the roadway and was hit by a car.
Claude M. Brouillard, 50, who resides on the Polo Grounds land at 152 Town Farm Road, faces the animal cruelty charge because there is a history of animal control investigations involving the property. Most recently, one of his horses escaped and was struck by a car when it ran on Town Farm Road, police said. The horse was injured and had to be put down.
The town's animal control officer oversaw the most recent investigation after the crash that resulted in the horse's death, discovering that the horses were "not provided with an adequate amount of hay," Ryan said.
"The unfortunate death of the horse as a result of the injuries it sustained from being struck by a motor vehicle is the latest in a long line of incidents associated with the horses on this property," Ryan wrote in an email to NBC Connecticut.
Animal control received seven complaints since 2011 about the "health and welfare" of horses stabled on the Polo Grounds and horses escaping from the property onto the roadway, Farmington police Lt. Colin Ryan. Brouillard was "given warnings to repair the inadequate/broken fencing" surrounding the Polo Grounds, Ryan said.
Farmington's planning department said the office has not received any complaints about the property.
Brouillard was issued a $250 cash bond.
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NBC Connecticut called Brouillard for comment, but he could not be immediately reached.
