A WOMAN running a horse and carriage service at Queen Victoria’s former holiday home has been banned from keeping horses for life after admitting neglecting animals in her care.
Beverly Knight, of York Avenue, East Cowes, pleaded guilty to leaving seven horses in unsanitary conditions and failing to treat problems with the legs and feet of two of them.
It comes after the RSPCA was called to Osborne House Estate on the Isle of Wight after concerns were raised by the public about how horses used to take visitors to the property were being treated.
Inspectors then discovered the stables had not been cleaned out for two months and two Clydesdale horses, named Claude and Reilly, were underweight and covered in mites that had been left untreated.
RSPCA inspector Mark Buggie said: “These horses had been left to suffer living in awful conditions. One of the horses was even standing on top of a pile of muck so high that his head was in the rafters.
“The defendant cooperated fully with our investigation and obviously regrets that the situation got as bad as it did.
“This case is a reminder that owning animals can be a big responsibility, both financially and otherwise, and owners have to make sure they can provide for the needs of the animals dependent on them.”
The conditions in the stables
Knight, 34, who was working for the site as a contractor, also received an eight-week suspended prison sentence, was fined £250 in court costs, ordered to pay £80 court surcharge and must complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
The RSPCE confirmed all seven horses have now made a good recovery and found loving new homes.
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