EXPERTS have warned horses are increasingly at risk of sex attacks amid a shock surge in abuse in Switzerland.

There were 105 cases of the maltreatment of horses in Switzerland in 2014 — 10 per cent of which involved people having sex with them, according to Tier im Recht, an animal welfare group.

“This rate is relatively elevated compared with other types of animals,” Andreas Rüttimann, a legal expert with the group, told reporters, The Local reported.

There are an estimated 110,000 horses living on 18,000 Swiss farms. At least one of the beasts are being sexually assaulted every three days, as animal rights workers tell of fears there are as many as 10,000 people in the country with a sexual interest in them.

The group said the number of unreported horse abuse cases is likely much higher than reported, given that so many people in the country are involved with equestrian activities.

Overall, there were 1,709 incidents of abuse against animals in Switzerland in 2014, up from 1,542 from the previous year, according to Tier im Recht.

While dogs remain the most common animal targeted by Swiss sexual abusers, horses are becoming increasingly popular as part of this worrying new trend.