HIGHLY DISTRESSING: Four horses are brutally beaten to death in Northern Spain

THE animals, an endangered species ‘garranos’, were found with severe head injuries in Galicia.

Two neighbours reportedly discovered the corpses, along with another five horses which they released, in a deworming corridor, lined up, one behind the other, on Sunday, January 19.

The four animals, along with the other five that were still alive, were locked up between two iron railings in a cattle deworming corridor in Oia, in the south of Vigo.

The horses were micro-chipped and belonged to four different owners located in several municipalities of the region.

The farmers told Spanish press that the animals ‘never bothered anyone’, they lived on a high, very secluded area known as O Areeiro (Viladesuso, Oia), which is only frequented by cyclists now and again.

In order to reach the location where the horses were, a one-kilometre non-asphalted track would have had to have been crossed and the ‘culprit’ would have needed experience to be able to lead the wild horses away.

An iron bar, believed to have been used to beat the animals, was found at the scene of the incident.

The Seprona opened an investigation into the brutal attack on Monday 21.