Colorado authorities are seeking whoever hobbled a mare, tied her to a fence, and left her to die during a recent spell of hot weather.

Moffat County Livestock Investigator Gary Nichols said a horse owner reported finding his horse dead on his property on July 6.

“The owner had last seen the horse under a tree near a fence on July 5 when he went to fill the water trough that was about 180 feet away,” Nichols said. “The next day, he found the horse with its back legs hobbled with a rope and tied was tied to the fence with another rope.”

Nichols said the horse had a body condition score of 5 on the Henneke scale and showed no signs of abuse