The company that is charged with maintaining the beaches in Almuñécar and La Herradura, Urbaser, came across a dead horse on Playa Cabalajío.

The Policía Local inspected the dead animal to see if it had any identifying marks or an electronic chip – it hadn’t, so Urbaser set about burying it.

It was a strong easterly gale that had washed the unfortunate animal up onto this popular beach in Taramay during the evening of Friday the 20th.

The Head of Urbaser, Miguel Cabrera, couldn’t believe his eyes, he said when his workers reported the find. The horse, he concluded, had been in the sea for a while, which was evident by its state of decomposition.

“Until now we have removed dead dolphins, turtles, wild boar and even a wild goat, but this is the first time that we have had to remove a dead horse,” he said, adding, “we wouldn’t be surprised if it had been thrown off a ship after dying, given its state.”

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)