An owner who failed to provide veterinary, farrier and dental care for her horses has been handed a lifetime ban from keeping equines.
Some of the six horses were so lame they could hardly move around in a field at Hen Heads Farm at Kings Highway near Haslingden.
Julie Lee, 50, of Spittens Farm, Roundhill Road, Accrington, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Animal Welfare Act and was sentenced at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court on 12 April.
She received an 18-week prison term, but magistrates agreed to suspend her punishment for two years.
The RSPCA was alerted about the neglect of the horses and inspectors Susie Micallef and Alison Fletcher attended with officers from the World Horse Welfare at a large moorland field on 12 October last year.
They found four of the equines had overgrown hooves and a vet later confirmed they were suffering from lameness. Three were overweight and examination showed others had not received proper dental care.
Vet Suzanne Green, who was called out by the RSPCA, was forced to put to sleep three of the horses at the farm to end their suffering.
The other three were taken to boarding accommodation, where another of the horses, a bay Welsh mare, was put down three days later to alleviate her suffering.
In the view of the veterinary surgeon, the owner had not met the needs of the horses as she had failed to provide adequate veterinary care, farrier treatment and dental care as well as treatment for thrush and a suitable diet.
The 12-year-old Shetland pony was in so much pain she could barely move.
Inspector Fletcher said in a statement: “She had extremely overgrown hooves, with the front hooves curling upwards and over.
“The pony looked extremely uncomfortable in its standing position. Every little move appeared to leave the pony in agony and she was reluctant to move at all. It was obvious that she was in need of urgent veterinary attention.”
An appaloosa mare and a gelding, who both were suffering from overgrown hooves and were lame, were also put to sleep by the vet.
Inspector Micallef noted the mare was so lame she was shifting weight from one foot to the other. Of the gelding, the vet said she did not appear to have received any farrier treatment for at least 12 months.
“This has caused pain and suffering for a period of many months,” she stated.
An examination of the bay Welsh mare showed she had not received dental treatment “in a number of years”.
A fifth horse was suffering from overgrown hooves and dental problems, while a sixth horse also had not received proper dental treatment.
In her statement, the vet said: “The severely overgrown hooves and painful lame hooves [of the horses] were easy to be seen even by a lay person and the owner should have sought both veterinary and farrier attention for this.”
The magistrates said they agreed to suspend Lee’s prison term because of her previous good character and had given her a reduced sentence of 18 weeks because of her prompt guilty pleas.
The defendant was also told to complete 200 hours of unpaid work as well as 10 rehabilitation activity sessions while a deprivation order was made against her regarding the two surviving horses, who will soon be made available for rehoming.
Lee also has to pay court costs of £700 and a victim surcharge of £128.
Her ban means she will not be permitted to own horses and equines for life, while she will not be able to apply to terminate the court order for 10 years.
After the verdict, Inspector Micallef said: “This was a really harrowing case and all the staff who dealt with it were upset with what happened.
“The defendant told us she’d just get the knackerman down and have all the horses shot. They’d all just been left in a field unable to walk.
“This sad case reminds us that treatment of equines such as this simply will not be tolerated.”
