15-year ban for owner who failed to notice horse’s ‘extreme’ injury
The owner of a horse found with tangled in fencing with an untreated wound crawling with maggots has been banned from keeping equines for 15 years.
Emma Shirley Myers, of Southfields, Frome, appeared before Yeovil magistrates on 16 March.
The 35-year-old had previously admitted charges relating to Boycie and Jasper; two horses kept in Shepton Mallet.
The court heard RSPCA inspector Marie Griffiths visited the site after the charity was alerted by a member of the public.
She found Boycie with fencing wire wrapped so tightly round one leg that he was unable to put his foot to the ground. Warning, graphic image.
“The field was covered with dangerous materials such as metal and even a garden hoe,” she said.
“The horse had become trapped in one of the fences. As a result he could no longer put his foot on the ground. The leg that was trapped smelt like rotting flesh; the smell was quite overpowering.”
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Vet Pippa Smith, who treated the injury, said it was “extreme” and that the horse cannot have been checked for some days.
Boycie was signed over to the RSPCA’s care.
“He’s made an amazing recovery,” Ms Griffiths said. “I honestly did not think he’d make it when I first saw the wound on his leg. Thanks to the care he has been given since he’s been with us he’s bounced back and is now up and running round.
“Boycie is getting better every day and we hope to soon find him the loving home he truly deserves.”
Myers was also sentenced to 150 hours’ community service and ordered to pay £300 in court costs and an £85 victim surcharge.
It is understood that the horse had got into another field and that Myers had asked the landowner to remove him, but this did not happen and the horse became stuck.
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The youngster was very thin and suffering from “extensive skin damage” from maggots, as well as a lice infestation and
Myers was unaware Boycie was trapped and injured as she’d been feeding them in the dark because she could only use her partner’s car at certain times of the day.
She said the horses were being fed and cared for and that in 20 years of owning horses, she had had no similar incidents.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.