POCATELLO — After two months of investigating complaints accusing a local landowner of not properly caring for horses on his property, the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that weather conditions and the uncertainty of the animals’ health required them to take action.

Capt. Kevin Fonnesbeck with the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office said complaints about the suspected condition of the 16 horses began coming into his office in early October. Concerns included the possibility that the horses weren’t being given water or feed.

“We have had an officer working on it pretty much since then — following up,” Fonnesbeck said.

He said that frigid temperatures and the fact that the horses are actually wild, or untrained, led officials to decide they needed to bring the animals in from the fields to get a closer look.

“Until we can actually look at and inspect the animals and see what is going on there, it’s really hard to make a determination,” Fonnesbeck said of their condition.

With the help of a local animal rights advocate group, the Portneuf Animal Welfare Society, officials set up a makeshift corral on the property of David “Wolf” Hart at Bench Road and East Chubbuck Road. The hope was that by placing food into the corral, they could draw the horses in.

PAWS investigator, Jo Lynn Anderson, said Tuesday morning that once the animals were in the corral, the hope was then to be able to transport them to the nearby Bannock County Fairgrounds, where they could be cared for until any potential charges against Hart could be adjudicated.

No charges were filed as of Tuesday evening, according to the Idaho Repository of court data. But Hart is currently facing six misdemeanor charges based on incidents in January and February. They include four charges of animal cruelty and two charges of permitting animals to go without care.

Hart is slated to go to trial on the charges on Dec. 27. Both Anderson and Fonnesbeck said Tuesday morning that Hart was being cooperative.

“He said he wants to see them taken care of too,” Fonnesbeck said. “He is doing the best with what he says he can do. This isn’t a hostile thing up here. He is working well with the officer and PAWS.”

Later Tuesday evening, Anderson said about seven horses remained roaming the Hart property and that PAWS members were going to attempt to bring them in on Wednesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, PAWS had rounded up about several of the horses and they were transported to the Bannock County Fairgrounds.

“They will be watered and fed and if they need veterinarian attention, we will have our veterinarian come in and attend to them,” she said.