Gardaí say they are now satisfied that the horse that was doused with petrol and set on fire in a field in Tallaght in south west Dublin last night was already dead.
A spokesman at the Garda Press Office said the horse may have been dead for some time.
The incident was reported to the gardaí and the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals by a member of the public who witnessed it.
The horse was found in a field on a main road near the Luas line between Tallaght and Citywest.
Yesterday, the DSPCA had said the horse died from the injuries after it was set alight.
