A horse breeder has been banned from keeping equines for 24 months after she was found guilty of two animal welfare offences.
Dianne Cox, 64, who has been breeding horses for around 30 years, had denied neglecting horses in a field off School Lane, Wike, Leeds in April 2020, but was found guilty after a trial at Kirkklees magistrates' court.
The RSPCA said the horses were left to suffer with overgrown hooves, lice infestations and inadequate dental care. Cox had previously been warned by RSPCA officers in 2018 and 2019 about the condition of her horses, the court heard.
Cox, of Churchill Flats, Pool in Wharfedale, 10 miles north of Leeds city centre, was banned from keeping horses. The court also imposed a deprivation order on three horses - Sam, Pepsi and Tony.
Cox appealed her conviction and sentence shortly after the trial concluded but abandoned it on January 26 this year, meaning the RSPCA - which has met the cost of caring for the horses at a private equine facility since the start of the investigation - can now legally begin the process of rehoming them.
RSPCA inspector Kris Walker, who led the investigation for the animal welfare charity, said: "After nearly three years, we’re pleased that this long-running case has finally concluded and we can, at last, start to find permanent new homes for Sam, Pepsi and Tony.
"The contrasting pictures of the horses now and then speak for themselves, and we’d like to say a huge thanks to the staff at the equine yard who have supported them on what has been a very long journey. It’s clear that once they started to receive appropriate nutrition, endoparasite care and dental treatment, they started to go from strength to strength, although Sam is likely to be permanently lame to some degree and will need closely monitoring for the rest of his life due to the chronic neglect of his hooves."
The court heard how inspector Walker visited the field in Wike on April 12 2022 following concerns for the horses’ welfare and they were seized by police on the advice of a vet.
Grazing at the site was extremely sparse, fencing was in a state of disrepair and loops of sheep netting and loose barbed wire had the potential to cause injury.
The court heard Cox had previously been warned by RSPCA officers in 2018 and 2019 about the condition of her horses and given notices to improve their welfare but had failed to heed the advice.
Sam was found to be in lean to poor bodily condition with his ribs, hips and pelvis visible. His hooves were severely overgrown, splayed and cracked, causing him to trip on both front feet when he walked. He was also lame and suffering from laminitis, an extremely painful inflammatory foot condition.
Pepsi was similarly malnourished, while Tony had suffered patchy hair loss as a result of an untreated lice infestation, a condition which was present in all three animals.
A vet who gave evidence at the trial said the horses had suffered because Cox had failed to take preventative health care measures to protect them from pain, injury, suffering and disease.
In mitigation, the trial was told that Cox had 30 years experience of breeding horses and had appropriate qualifications.
Her solicitor said the offence had arisen because of her considerable difficulty in locating a farrier. He said there was evidence she had one booked for April 20 - eight days after the horses were removed from the field - and that she was also purchasing regular food from an agricultural supplier.
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