A man caught on video dragging a young horse behind a vehicle said it was a method he used to “break in ponies”.
Geoffrey Williams, of Aberbran, Brecon, has been fined £1,000 having pleaded guilty to an animal welfare offence. The 63-year-old was sentenced on 6 May at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court.
The court heard the RSPCA had been shown three video clips, taken on 2 April last year, showing a “black-coloured young cob pony who was attached by a headcollar of some sort, via a length of rope, to the back of a quad or gator type vehicle that was moving down a sloped field”.
RSPCA animal rescue officer Rohan Barker, who visited Williams and showed him the video, said: “He confirmed that it was him in the video and explained that the method he was using was a method he had used for years to break in ponies.”
In a written statement, a vet from another charity said the videos showed the pony and vehicle moving from left to right on each of three occasions.
“Everything exhibited in the videos indicates that the driver of the quad vehicle exposed the pony to a series of harmful physical and mental experiences that caused distress, fear and risk of physical injury and lasting harm,” the vet said.
“Fearful learning experiences are generally not erasable and therefore the pony has in all probability been left with not only a likely physical legacy of harm from the experiences seen in the videos; but also a lifelong fear of handling that could be triggered by exposure to any number of stimuli (like another similar vehicle) in the presence of an unsuspecting future owner/trainer.”
Williams had pleaded guilty to failing to meet the needs of a pony to be protected from pain, suffering and injury through an unacceptable and inappropriate method of handling. In mitigation, he said it was a method he used to “break in ponies” but accepted that training methods had moved on and he had not repeated the behaviour.
As well as the fine, he was ordered to pay £400 costs and a £400 surcharge.
RSPCA inspector Keith Hogben said: “The RSPCA believes that all animals should be trained using kind, ethical and science based methods by appropriately qualified and regulated professionals. Equines need calm, consistent and sympathetic handling by competent people. A consistent gentle approach should be used, and training should be based on a reward-focused system.”
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