BASTROP, Texas -- A horse was tied to the back of truck and dragged down a country road, and deputies are show searching for the man they say is responsible.
The horse has gaping holes all along the side of his body where the hide was ripped away by the asphalt and gravel along a highway in Bastrop County.
"To think that someone would hurt an animal like that...is..hard," said Sgt. Ric Cole who is Bastrop County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations
Sgt. Cole said Mariano Resendiz Villafuerta had been boarding the horse at a ranch there. On the morning of November 10th, deputies say Villafuerta tied the horse's reins to the hitch of his pickup truck and took off.
"He drug it at a high speed till the horse couldn't keep up. And then when the horse fell, he drug it," Cole told us.
Cole says the horse was dragged for about 150 yards before Villafuerta finally decided to stop. Investigators say he had obviously lost his temper or was angry about something, but took it out on the horse.
The horse was taken to a veterinarian clinic and animal rescue shelter where he is slowly healing.
Villafuerta is facing one count of animal cruelty, but deputies have not found him yet. He doesn't have a drivers license or a social security number on record.
If you have any information about Villafuerta, please immediately contact the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office at