Reading man sentenced for mistreatment of horse

A Reading man who admitted leaving his horse to suffer with a painful untreated skin condition has been banned from keeping horses for eight years.

Daniel Banham from Carters Hill was also sentenced to eight weeks custody, suspended for 12 months, following the investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.

The animal welfare charity were called with concerns about a young horse in Fordingbridge in Hampshire who had severe skin lesions over his body.

A vet who carried out an examination of the young horse and found him to be in a suffering state asked Banham about the skin condition and was told he thought it was rain scald and he used coconut oil to the lesions.

In their report, the vet said:

“This horse was suffering from the consequences of inadequate management. The poor management led to dehydration, malnutrition, painful skin condition and severe liver disease that can have life threatening consequences.

“He failed in his duty by failing to seek veterinary help for his horse's very obvious and severe skin condition and concerning weight loss. Added to this his choice to apply coconut oil to his skin significantly increased this animal's pain and suffering by conducting and amplifying the sun's heat onto his severely damaged skin. Those responsible for the animal must take positive steps to ensure they care for the animal properly and in particular must provide for the animal's need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.”

RSPCA Inspector Tina Ward, who investigated for the animal welfare charity, said:

“Our plea to all animal owners is to make sure they always receive care and treatment from veterinary experts when they need it.

“They are completely reliant on their owners to ensure their needs are met and they are kept safe and healthy. Owning an animal is a privilege - and ensuring appropriate veterinary care is a key part of the responsibility we have towards them. It’s so sad that, in this instance, that responsibility was not met.”

Alongside the eight year ban and suspended prison sentence, Banham was ordered to pay £300 costs, a £154 victim surcharge, and carry out 20 rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) days.

The horse was also signed over into the care of the RSPCA and can now be rehomed.

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