MARION COUNTY, Fla. -  A Marion County horse trainer is in hot water and a horse owner is speaking out after a video began circulating on social media apparently showing Benito Cotto Colon, 34, kicking, punching and yanking the reins and bridle of a horse he was hired to train.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office arrested Cotto Colon after investigators were sent the video by the horse's owner who told them she had received it from Cotto Colon's spouse. 

The horse owner said she hired Colon over a year ago to train and care for her horse, MCSO said.

The video showed the abuse and clearly showed Colon "kicking the horse in the abdomen four times as the horse was showing obvious signs of distress and fear during the incident," deputies said.

Investigators located a Facebook post from Colon where he admitted to being the person in the video.

"Minutes before what appears in that video, the horse nearly threw me off. If I had fallen the way it was about to happen, the horse could have seriously injured or even killed me," Cotto Colon wrote in the Facebook post. "Because of that, I dismounted and continued working the horse from the ground. Yes, that is me in the video, and I take full responsibility for my actions. I acknowledge that the way I was handling the horse at that moment was not appropriate, and I sincerely apologize for it."

"That video was later shared with the intention of harming me. Anyone who truly knows me, my work, and my history with horses knows that I deeply love these animals and would never intentionally hurt a horse."

In his post, he claims that the horse nearly threw him off before the video was taken and acknowledges that his behavior was not appropriate for horse training, MCSO said.

Colon was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail. He has since been released on a $1,000 bond following his first appearance in court Saturday.

The horse, a Bay Paso Fino named El Secreto de Besilu, was determined to be healthy when analyzed by a veterinarian.

Reached by WESH 2, the horse's owner provided the following statement:

"My name is May Marroquín, and I speak with deep pain in my heart as the owner of El Secreto de Besilu. What my horse went through was heartbreaking, and no animal should ever be subjected to abuse or cruelty. Animal abuse must stop. The existence of a video allows the truth to be seen and helps create awareness about who people are trusting with their animals.

Silence only protects the abuser.

Secreto was examined by a veterinarian and is doing well. The PFHA and the USEF are taking action in this matter and are working in coordination with law enforcement.

I hope this case opens eyes and reminds everyone that animal welfare must always come first."

Meanwhile, horse experts told WESH 2 that non-horseracing trainers are not required to have licenses in Florida.

"It's just quite frankly abuse," said Bridget Brandon, an equine expert witness and owner of The Equine Expert, a company that provides witness testimony in equine cases.

"When you use force, you create a fear-based method for training."

Brandon said the video is bad, and the yanking of the reins and bridle is especially heinous.

"Horses mouths are very sensitive and it can create pain, it can create permanent damage to the horse," Brandon said.

She said, because most are unlicensed, the onus of finding a reputable trainer is on the owner of the horse, and that abuse is easy to spot when you see it.

"As a horse lover and somebody who has been involved in the horse industry, what I did witness on that video, I know that people that are involved in the horse industry would not see that as a standard training method," Brandon said.

Click here to view video and complete article and story on WESH.com