Gardaí were trying to locate the owner of four horses killed on a Co Louth road yesterday morning.
The horses, which had no microchip identification, were killed after they were hit by a van while running loose just before 6am at Rassen near Hackballscross, a notorious stretch of the N53.
The driver, who is believed to be in his 30s and from Northern Ireland, walked from his van with only a scratch on his face and was taken by a passerby to Louth County Hospital. He was discharged a short time later.
Louth county vet Garrett Shine who went to the scene said: “It was a horrific sight. From their injuries it would appear three of them were killed instantly.”