Man banned from owning horses for leaving stallion in tiny stable

A Surrey man has been banned from owning horses for 10 years after pleading guilty to keeping a stallion — Dobbin — confined in a small shack for months on end.

Edward Wray, of Staines, appeared at Staines Magistrates Court on 27-28 March where he pleaded guilty to unreasonably confining a stallion in a structure and failing to remove field hazards and provide proper fencing.

A charge of failing to prevent Dobbin’s lice infestation was dropped and he was found not guilty of failing to treat the pony’s worm infestation.

RSPCA inspector Alan Ramsey was called to the field in Short Lane, Stanwell, in March 2007 after reports that Dobbin was being confined.

“We found the stallion in a shack and believe he never came out. There was insecure fencing around the field and a number of dangerous hazards, like protruding wire and metal,” said Mr Ramsey.

The stallion was taken into the care of the RSPCA.

Mr Ramsey returned to the field that May after a vet certified that Wray’s other ponies were not being kept in safe conditions and a further seven ponies, a mule and a donkey were taken into care.

Laura Dobson of the Blue Cross charity said: “The ponies have now been with us for just over 10 months and two are due to foal any day now.”

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