The extent of the mutilation was clear to anyone who saw it.
"A friend who saw it said that its hooves were removed, and it was fully gutted. I saw the ribs fully exposed but didn't realise it was missing its hooves," she said.
Auckland Council manager of public affairs Glyn Walters said the horse was branded, which led officers to believe it was a retired race horse or similar.
"The brand may lead us to the owner but, at this stage, there have been no further developments."
The horse's remains were removed and buried.
SPCA chief executive Bob Kerridge said revenge, rather than the horse's meat, was the likely motive.
"Something like this you have to ask what the reason for it is - is it a personal vendetta? It can happen, animals are quite often used as a way of getting to people."
He said one of his first suspicions was that there was more to the incident than killing the horse for its meat.
"[It is] a likely vendetta of some sort against an individual who owned the horse ... the way people give payback for want of a better word. We do know companion animals can be used as pawns where there are violent acts.
"It is not unusual for people to use animals and threaten their partners or enemies and do things to animals as a way of getting back."
He said it was a cowardly act because the animals were defenceless.
"When you add the vindictiveness to it, it is not only cowardly, it's rather sickly."
