The remains of a slaughtered horse have been found in rural northwestern Miami-Dade County. 

The mutilated horse was found dumped in some bushes at Northwest 137th Avenue and 178th Street, near Okeechobee Road. 

"How the animals are butchered is just horrifying, really horrifying," said Dr. Heidi Thomas. 

Thomas works at Calder Race Course, making sure the thoroughbreds are always ready to race. 

"The thing about it that struck me was that it looked like it had been done recently. So, probably this horse, you know, had been someone's horse not that long ago," Thomas said. 

The slaughtered horse's halter was still attached. 

"Most everyone at the race track would be horrified to think that any horse that comes from there ends up in this kind of a situation," Thomas said. 

The parts not found hidden in the brush were found in large garbage bags, leading investigators to believe whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing. 

"In this case, I would say probably they held the horse and tied it up and then shot the horse and then shot it again," Thomas said. 

Thomas is also the veterinarian for the Animal Recovery Mission, an organization created to combat illegal horse slaughter. 

For the past couple of years, ARM has been on a mission to find a shut down illegal slaughter farms in South Florida. That is why so many horses have been found slaughtered lately. The meat is a delicacy in some cultures and can be sold for about $15 per pound on the black market. 

"They take everything they can get from the animal that they can get money for and then just leave it," Thomas said.