Horse owner must pay £1,300 after leaving pregnant mares and stallion at ‘dumping ground’

TWO pregnant horses and a stallion were left to fend for themselves in a ‘dumping ground’ after their owner ditched them in a field to graze.
Photos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Duchess while pregnant.

Picture: RSPCAPhotos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Duchess while pregnant.

Picture: RSPCA
Photos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Duchess while pregnant. Picture: RSPCA

A black stallion Friesian, named Eli, and two bay thoroughbred pregnant mares, Sophia and Duchess, were so under-fed their ribs were clearly visible and their bodies skinny.

Both Eli and Sophia had misshapen and overgrown broken hooves. The mares both gave birth but one foal was stillborn, leaving only foal Zazoo.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sophia was later put down after an independent vet found she had contracted incurable colic.

Photos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Duchess while pregnant.

Picture: RSPCAPhotos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Duchess while pregnant.

Picture: RSPCA
Photos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Duchess while pregnant. Picture: RSPCA

All three had been left on land to fly graze by Joshua Pedelty, 30, of Allaway Avenue, Paulsgrove, who this week was convicted of neglect at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court.

In a prosecution brought by animal welfare charity the RSPCA he was found guilty and fined £300 – and handed a three-year ban on keeping any types of horses.

The three horses had been rescued from the Causeway, off Sussex Road, in Petersfield in June 2018.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

RSPCA deputy chief inspector Sandy Barlow, who investigated for the animal welfare charity and worked alongside field officers from World Horse Welfare to rescue the horses, said: 'Fly-grazing of horses is a big issue, and can lead to welfare problems. Often the land used for fly-grazing is unsuitable for horses.

Photos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Eli after being rescued.

Picture: RSPCAPhotos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Eli after being rescued.

Picture: RSPCA
Photos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Eli after being rescued. Picture: RSPCA

‘In this instance the area where they had been left had become a dumping ground for horses, and is totally unsuitable.

‘This case is a reminder that owning horses is a huge responsibility and owners have to make sure they can assure the welfare of the animals dependent on them.

‘Keeping horses in good condition and meeting their welfare needs can be difficult if an owner is moving them from place to place in this way without always guaranteeing the appropriate environment, such as suitable grazing, access to water and shelter, so we believe fly-grazing horses often experience welfare problems.’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Eli, Duchess, and Zazoo the foal, have fully recovered and will soon be rehomed.

Photos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Duchess while pregnant.

Picture: RSPCAPhotos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Duchess while pregnant.

Picture: RSPCA
Photos of horses neglected by Joshua Pedelty, who was convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court and banned from keeping horses after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA. Pictured is Duchess while pregnant. Picture: RSPCA

Pedelty must pay a £300 fine and £1,000 costs.

He denied three charges of causing unnecesary suffering to an animal under the Animal Welfare Act.

But Portsmouth magistrates convicted him of all three charges on Monday. His ban was suspended for 28 days.