Officers from World Horse Welfare (WHW) found Thoroughbred filly, Galaxy, pictured, in a weak, malnourished and dehydrated state at Barcham Stables, near Soham.
Concerned members of the public called the charity and as a result, officers seized the 15.2hh mare from the site.
Yesterday, (August 15) Michael Hammond, of Lester Piggott way, Newmarket, was sentenced at Cambridge Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to causing Galaxy unnecessary suffering.
Hammond, who described himself in court as an “assistant racehorse trainer”, was ordered to pay £1,000 costs to WHW and to complete 40 hours of unpaid work in the local community.
Hammond had originally pleaded guilty by letter but magistrates deemed the offence so serious that his presence was required at court.
Galaxy’s owner, Miss Heidi Challis, of Queensway, Soham, was also in court.
She had also pleaded guilty, but the court accepted she had played a lesser role in the horse’s condition. She received a £70 fine and was ordered to pay the charity £470 in costs.
It was in January this year that a member of the public, concerned about how thin some of the horses were at Barcham Stables, called WHW to the site.
Jacko Jackson, one of the charity’s field officers, attended the stables and found one horse in particular in poor condition, and so gave advice to Mr Hammond.
On a subsequent visit, accompanied by Trading Standards, improvement notices were issued on 10 of the horses, and WHW also offered to have three horses of concern signed over into their care to help alleviate the situation. This offer however was refused.
Although during the visit a little improvement was seen, the charity still felt that the situation needed monitoring.
Prior to the improvement notices expiring, Jacko’s fears were realised when on February 28 the charity received another call from a member of the public to alert them that a horse on the premises was collapsed.
Jacko said: “I am disappointed however that Mr Hammond has not received any sort of ban from keeping or caring for horses.
“For someone who was supposedly rehabilitating ex-racehorses like Galaxy, it beggars belief that a horse in his care could get into such a state, particularly as we had offered help and advice previously.
“We can only hope that this does not happen again, and I would like to send my thanks to all the concerned members of the public across the UK who take the time to call us when they see a horse in distress.”
Galaxy continues to go from strength to strength under the care of staff at Hall Farm. It is hoped that once her rehabilitation is complete she can go on to find a loving new home through the charity’s rehoming scheme.
Viki Cooper, supervisor at Hall Farm, said: “When Galaxy came in to Hall Farm she was incredibly weak. We had a vet on hand to treat her straight away.
“She had to have an emergency fluid drip due to her dehydration and diarrhoea, and antibiotics to fight off a salmonella infection, and for the first few days it was touch and go.
“A few months later Galaxy is now a different horse. She is full of life and is continuing to gain weight. Galaxy is a very gentle and willing mare so we’re sure she will continue to flourish as her rehabilitation continues.”
(Cambridge News - Aug 19, 2013)
No comments:
Post a Comment