Katrina Till, 39, and Liam Till, 19, of Deykin Road, received lifetime bans from keeping equines on Thursday (December 3). They had both previously (on November 24) been found guilty of offences relating to the Animal Welfare Act.
These included failure to explore and address the horses' poor body condition, failure to provide adequate diet, failure to provide sufficient worm and lice control, and failure to provide adequate foot care.
Liam Till was disqualified from keeping equines for life and received a suspended prison sentence, a community order for 18 months and £750 costs.
Katrina Till was also disqualified from keeping equines for life and received a community order for 18 months, plus £750 costs.
Both also received a confiscation order regarding the horses' two foals.
Redwings Horse Sanctuary assisted the RSPCA with the rescue of the horses on two separate occasions.
On October 3, 2014, two-year-old 13 hands (hh) piebald cob Bella was removed from a field in Staffordshire, and then 20-year-old 14hh palomino cob cross Holly was later seized on December 19, 2014.
Both mares were seized on veterinary grounds having been discovered in very poor condition.
Their foals were also removed because they were still dependent upon their mothers.
Following their rescues, Bella and Holly were initially offered boarding and care at Redwings' Oxhill centre while their cases were investigated by the RSPCA.
Bella initially showed signs of improvement while in the care of the Redwings Oxhill team, being bright and alert and eating well.
However, within three months of her rescue she began to lose her appetite and struggled to maintain her weight.
Suspecting liver compromise, Bella together with her foal was moved to the sanctuary's veterinary hospital for a liver biopsy and blood tests, which confirmed serious liver disease.
Despite Redwings' veterinary teams' best efforts to combat the disease, Bella's liver was damaged to such an extent that they had no option but to seek permission from the police to put her to sleep in February 2015.
Bella left behind her foal Arabella, who was named by the Redwings team in memory of her mother.
Holly initially arrived at Redwings Oxhill as a severely underweight and unhandled mare, displaying wild, frightened behaviours.
Holly and her foal were transported to Redwings' quarantine centre in Norfolk.
As well as being "incredibly malnourished", Holly was found to be suffering from worms, lice and a lack of dental care.
Similarly to her field mate Bella, Holly only improved partially before Redwings' veterinary team uncovered evidence of liver disease.
The disease was so serious that despite best efforts to support her liver, Holly's condition continued to deteriorate with rapid weight loss and loss of appetite, and she was put to sleep in March 2015.
As with Bella, Holly left behind her foal, seven-month-old Savannah, so named by the sanctuary.
RSPCA inspector Kate Levesley said: "When I found Bella and her foal they were in such a bad way – poor Bella was emaciated and was unable to provide any milk for little Arabella.
"It was a relief when police removed them and placed them into the care of Redwings.
"Then, it was shocking to find Holly and her foal Savannah in an equally bad way just two months later, and so thankfully again, police were able to remove them and place them at Redwings.
"This ban means that these two people will not be able to neglect horses again."
Redwings' head of welfare and behaviour, Nicolas de Brauwere, added: "We're very pleased with the guilty verdict and sentencing of Bella and Holly's owners.
"But as with so many welfare cases we see, this should not have happened to these mares in the first place.
"We believe their liver disease was as a result of ragwort poisoning; as they were not provided with suitable grazing or an adequate diet, it is most likely they would have consumed ragwort in their field.
"Holly's foal Savannah initially displayed similar symptoms of liver compromise as shown by her mother and Bella, but as this has been caught early we're very hopeful for her future.
"It's very upsetting that in both cases Bella and Holly responded well in the early days after their rescue – having been given the basic care and nourishment they were so desperately lacking from their owners – but then went downhill so rapidly.
"Their case is extremely upsetting, but we take some comfort in that justice has been served for the mares – and for their foals."
(Lichfield Mercury - Dec 12, 2015)
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