Women banned from keeping horses after two found emaciated in Bognor
The pair were in desperate need of food
Two West Sussex women have been banned from keeping horses for 10 years after two they owned were found in an emaciated state in Bognor.
RSPCA inspectors found Magic and Lexi in a muddy field in Shripney Road last December.
RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Marie Stevens and RSPCA Inspector Cora Peeters saw Magic, a fifteen-year-old chestnut gelding eat away at a wooden fence post because he was so hungry and there was nothing to eat.
The pair's owners, 25-year-old Nybella Stephens and 36-year-old Gemma Stevens, both formerly of The Millers in Yapton, were sentenced at Brighton Magistrates’ Court in their absence on November 27th.
The case was proved in their absence after they also failed to attend a hearing at the same court on September 18th.
Inspector Peeters said: “Approximately 75% of the field was flooded and the remainder of the field was deep with mud. The hedges and trees had been stripped of their bark by the horses. I couldn’t see any form of Ad-Lib feeder or hay on the ground.
“Both Magic, belonging to Stevens, and Lexi, a bay mare belonging to Stephens were extremely thin and their bony protrusions were clearly visible. A vet attended and confirmed both horses were in a suffering condition to the extent that they were in an emaciated state.”
The horses were seized by police and removed to a private boarding facility to begin their recovery.
When they were reweighed less than three weeks later, Lexi had already gained over 20kg and Magic had gained 50kg.
Magic had an extremely good appetite and dragged his rescuers to grass as soon as he was removed from the field. He weighed 356kg meaning he was at least 100kg underweight. Lexi weighed 384kg. A thoroughbred of a similar height would be expected to weigh 450-500kg.
Both defendants, who have failed to attend any of their court hearings, were found guilty of three offences each under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
In addition to the 10-year disqualification which bans them from keeping equines, donkeys or their hybrids they were fined £660 each and ordered to pay costs of £425 and a £66 victim surcharge.
Magic and Lexi, who have both made great recoveries, will be rehomed by World Horse Welfare.