The Windsor-Essex Humane Society is investigating after receiving a number of complaints about the condition of horses at a Windsor home.

The horses at a County Road 42 property appear to be quite thin, but the owner says the animals are not malnourished.

A police officer from Chicago was visiting the area and his friends were talking about the horses.

When the officer, Joe Melone, took a look for himself at two horses, he immediately called the Windsor-Essex Humane Society.

“I was disgusted by what I saw. It was absolutely horrible. It was malnourished; it was infested with flies. One of them has a terrible sore on (it),” Melone says.

“The whole point of the matter is if you have an animal, a pet, you need to treat it properly, and if you can't, you need to give it to somebody who can."

Melanie Coulter with the humane society tells CTV Windsor he's not the first to call about the horses.

“Our officers have received a number of complaints about this property and it continues to be an active investigation."

Melone says he's disappointed that animal welfare investigators have not been able to accomplish more after his complaint.

He says on one occasion, the homeowner threw a bale of hay at the horses when enforcement officials were on the property, as a way of appeasing their order to feed the animals.

Melone claims officials left without taking action.

Coulter says because the investigation is ongoing, the humane society is limited in the information it can provide.

“Sometimes our hands are tied in taking the kinds of actions people would like us to take as quickly as they'd like to see, but our officers are dealing with this situation and it is an ongoing investigation."

In an interview with AM 800's Teresinha Medieros, horse owners Shawn Berthiaume and Jennifer Bellemore defended the health of their horses.

“These horses are not malnutritioned (sic),” Berthiaume said.

He says one of the horses in question is a 29-year-old former champion show jumper.

“I feel in my heart that she deserves to live out (there) to the day she passes away. It’s not for somebody to tell me that I'm under nutritioning (sic) the horse and she's too skinny."

Melone says he has been feeding the animals but that's not enough. He wants the animals removed.