Law enforcement authorities in Texas are hoping the public can help them identify whoever is responsible for leaving the remains of two dead horses tethered to a telephone pole on alongside a rural road in Midland County.

Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter said that the remains of the two horses were recently discovered tied to a telephone pole along Farm to Market Road 1788. Both horses appeared to have died elsewhere, he said.

"It looks like someone drove the deceased horses there in a trailer, tied them to the telephone pole while they were still on the trailer, then drove off and left them there," Painter said.

Painter said this incident is the most recent in a series involving at least three dead or injured horses abandoned along that stretch of road. In July, another horse was discovered shot and abandoned along the same roadside. The animal received veterinary treatment, survived, and was placed in the custody of the Midland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Painter said