Owner found guilty in court after emaciated horse dies
A Hertfordshire horse owner has been found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a pony, which died due to neglect. The trial took place at Hertfordshire Magistrates Court last Wednesday (16 April).
Wendy Hayes’ Champers — a Cremello mare — was in a state of severe emaciation when an RSPCA inspector visited last February. She was removed from the field in Hertford Heath on vet’s advice and died 2 days later following a prolapse.
The court heard that Ms Hayes, of Broxbourne, was an experienced horsewoman and stable owner who had given the pony to a friend. When the friend was unable to look after the pony, she had passed her back to Ms Hayes. Due to a dispute over the ownership, Ms Hayes admitted that she had not attended to her regularly.
Sentencing is expected on 19 May at Stevenage Magistrates Court. Under the animal welfare act, the maximum sentence is a £20,000 fine and/or up to 6 months in prison.
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Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion 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.