The Ontario County Sheriff's Office says it's investigating complaints about a horse owner after one of his horses was struck and killed by a pickup truck early Thursday morning.

Deputies responded to a call for horses in the roadway on County Road 14 in West Bloomfield around 2:30 a.m.

Four horses had gotten loose from Jim Miller's property located nearby.

Deputies and Miller tried to herd the animals back to the barn when one of the horses ran into the path of oncoming pickup truck.

The horse died at the scene. No one in the truck was injured.

Neighbors say Miller's horses are not cared for properly and are not in a secured enough area.

"There has to be some kind of dignity for these animals. And if in fact a human made an error and didn't have the appropriate fencing, which in this case is 100 percent, because these animals at this particular place get loose all the time. All kinds of neighbors have tried to help, have tried to catch them. People are calling me crying because they know this horse,” said neighbor BJ Wadsworth.

The horse was taken to Miller's property. Neighbors say it was on the front lawn, visible from the roadway.

Miller did not immediately return a request for comment.