Authorities have determined that a group of horses believed to be shot to death in their Utah pasture instead died of dehydration.

In July, the Davis County Sheriff's Department responded to a call from a caretaker indicating that four horses had been found dead in their pasture. At the time, authorities believed someone rounded the horses into a corral and fatally shot them.

However, Davis County Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Sgt. DeeAnn Servey said that on Sept. 5, investigators determined the horses died from dehydration.

“It was extremely hot here and there was a great deal of decomposition, and some of the decomposition resembled gunshot wounds,” Servey said. “But evidence gathered by investigators, animal control, and a veterinarian supports the fact that the four horses expired from dehydration