A Norwich woman has been given a 10-year ban from keeping horses after being found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to two equines in her care.
Initially, the charity World Horse Welfare received a call from a member of the public about a five-year-old thoroughbred gelding in a field, who was reportedly bony and underweight.
Welfare officer Jacko Jackson said: “[The gelding] was nine-tenths lame in his near foreleg. He was taken to our Hall Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre and we left details for the owner to get in touch — but she never did.”
The gelding, later identified as ‘Henry’, was also discovered to have the start of a keratoma — a benign tumour that can cause pain and lameness.
Working with other charities, Mr Jackson tried to identify the owner of Henry, and in doing so visited another site in the vicinity, where he found Angel, a 25-year-old Arab mare.
The mare was in an emaciated condition and was suffering from acute diarrhea.
“We were able to discover that Sally Rix was the owner of Angel, and she signed the mare over to the charity,” said Mr Jackson.
“We suspected that Mrs Rix was also the owner of Henry and were able to prove this through tracing his history as a registered thoroughbred.”
Henry is making good progress and will be re-homed in the future, however Angel was in such a poor condition that she had to be euthanased.
As well as a 10-year ban, Mrs Rix was sentenced to 240 hours community service and ordered to pay £500 in costs.
RSPCA inspector Ben Kirby said: “This case is a good example of how animal welfare organisations can and do work together to help animals in need.”
