Contains distressing images
The former owner of the Undercliff Pony Rescue in Rye has been banned from keeping horses and ponies for 10 years after five animals were found in a very poor condition in Etchingham.
The RSPCA and World Horse Welfare investigated after being sent photographs of the field at Burgh Hill.
Later examination by a vet showed four of the animals were suffering from health problems including lice infestations, intestinal inflammation caused by a lack of parasite control and dental problems, which meant one had to have a large number of teeth removed. A fifth was found to be underweight.
Sharon Baker, of The Ridge, Hastings pleaded guilty to one offence of causing unnecessary suffering to five equines under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. She was sentenced at Hastings Magistrates’ Court on 5 February to a 12-month community order of 120 hours of unpaid work on top of the 10 year ban.
RSPCA Inspector Georgina Bowles and an officer from World Horse Welfare made a
pre-arranged welfare check on 27 March last year to the location where the defendant kept 13 horses and ponies. “From the gate I could clearly see an extremely skinny horse that had a rug on. Its bones were very sharp under the rug and its back end was flat, not round as it should be. It was also clear a few of the horses were suffering from fur loss on the face and body,” said the inspector in a statement to the court.
A vet confirmed that five of the animals were in a suffering state. They were piebald cob
geldings Obi and Dozzer; a chestnut gelding called Texas; Phoebe, a chestnut mare; and Thunder, a New Forest pony gelding.
Police rural crime officers were called to attend and animals seized and placed in the care of the RSPCA.
In mitigation, the defendant admitted she had taken “her eyes off the ball” with the care, but that the suffering was restricted to a short period of time.
The RSPCA says all the horses and ponies have since been “happily rehomed”.
Speaking after the hearing, Inspector Bowles said, “These equines suffered from poor animal husbandry and were left in this field for a period without proper care and attention. Owning an animal is a privilege and ensuring appropriate veterinary care when needed is a key part of the responsibility we have towards them.”
In March 2024 volunteers and horse bailiffs moved several animals, including mares and a mule, away from Rye’s Undercliff Pony Rescue on Cadborough Marsh. It was closed soon after.
Image Credits: RSPCA .