Owner of skeletal horse admits not checking on it for 18 months

Owner of skeletal horse admits not checking on it for 18 months  

A 59 year old man from Kent who appeared before Hastings Magistrates Court on Thursday 26th February 2009 has been found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a 14.2hh bay mare by failing to provide veterinary care and an appropriate diet.

Defending himself, Peter Rix of The Street in Ashford, admitted that he had not checked the horse for 18 months and boasted that he ‘hadn't called a vet out for 20 years' and was ‘proud of it'. He has been banned for keeping horses for five years and has been ordered to pay costs of £4,500.

World Horse Welfare Field Officer Ted Barnes first visited Mr Rix's rented land on Cottage Lane, near Battle in East Sussex in late January 2008 following a call from a concerned member of the public.

 
Named ‘Sharny' by charity staff, she has gone on to make a
full recovery.

"I could see the full length of her spine which was raised and prominent and all her ribs were clearly visible," says Ted. "The whole of her pelvis was raised and there was dried faeces covering the insides of both hind legs. She was having difficulty walking and her coat was thick, dirty and infested with lice."
Ted immediately sought the assistance of RSPCA Inspector Steve Craddock and an independent veterinary surgeon but in the short time it took them to arrive at the scene, the mare had collapsed with exhaustion. Together they were able to get her to her feet and remove all three horses to secure holding yards.

It was touch and go as to whether the skeletal mare would survive. She was so weak she had to be suspended in a sling for six weeks with round the clock care.