Court issues lifetime ban for neglect

A woman has received a lifetime ban from keeping horses after 1 of her 2 horses was found dead and the other emaciated.

Rachel Hall, 25, of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, was sentenced at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court last Friday (16 May). She had pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a gelding and a mare.

The RSPCA was called last November after concern about Ms Hall’s 2 horses, Sam and Polly (above). Sam was already dead. Although Polly was taken into RSPCA care, she later died later from ill health. Both horses were extremely emaciated, on poor grazing and with no evidence of access to food or water.

Sam was dead by the time the RSPCA arrived

RSPCA chief inspector Rob Hartley was “appalled by the level of neglect”.

“This was a particularly nasty case where the suffering of the horses was completely unnecessary,” he said. “These horses had not been receiving any care at all and had basically been completely ignored.”

Ms Hall was found to have failed to address problems of poor body condition and weight loss, provide a suitable environment, diet and fresh water, and meet the horses’ needs for reasonable daily care and supervision.

She was given an 8-week custody order suspended for 12 months, a 12-month supervision order, 80 hours of unpaid work and made to pay £2,000 in costs plus an £80 per victim surcharge.

Mr Hartley said that he was “very happy that the seriousness of this case has been reflected in the sentence”.

Martha Terry

H&H features editor

Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on dogs of all shapes and sizes. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs, one a street dog from Gambia who was abandoned at three weeks old. Now, her constant companion, whether by her feet at her desk or walking cross-country courses, is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.