"Spectacular" recovery by seized animals, court told (From Bucks Free Press)

"Spectacular" recovery by seized animals, court told

2:09pm Friday 23rd January 2009 in News By Andy Carswell

“PAINFULLY thin” horses, donkeys and ponies found at a south Bucks farm made a “spectacular” recovery after being seized and put into care, a court heard today.

One of the 14 animals increased its body weight by 72 per cent in three months as a result of receiving adequate food.

The equines were removed by RSPCA inspectors from Spindles Farm, in Chalk Lane, Hyde Heath, on January 4 and 5 last year and taken to the Horse Trust at Speen.

A further 111 were seized the following week.

Those taken to the Horse Trust were considered to be in the worst condition, Bicester Magistrates Court was told.

Paul Jepson, a vet and director of the Trust, told the court the general condition of the animals was “staggeringly, depressingly bad”.

He said: “The animals were depressed. A bunch of animals like that, you would normally expect them to barge and push. They didn't do any of that. They just stood in most cases with a hangdog look about them.

“They were very obviously in a very poor condition.”

All of the horses were given a body condition score of either one or two out of five.

Some of them had long-haired coats, said Mr Jepson.

He said: “A long coat usually hides very effectively a poor body condition, but in this case you could see very clearly they were what I would describe as painfully thin.”

Robert Seabrook QC, prosecuting, asked Mr Jepson to describe his observations on how the animals' condition progressed.

Mr Jepson said: “The turnaround in most cases was pretty spectacular.”

Mr Seabrook asked if this was due to any medical treatment. Mr Jepson said the animals did not receive “any high tech treatment”.

He said: “They just had the basic care you would expect to give to animals. Their needs were attended to.

“They were provided with shelter, deep, cleaning bedding, space, food and water.”

The animals were wormed twice in the first month of their arrival.

Mr Jepson was asked for his opinion on how the animals had got into the state they were when they arrived at the Horse Trust.

He said: “Simply, I don't think they had had the care and attention. They had been astonishingly badly looked after.

“None of them were anorexic. They all had an appetite. These animals were wanting to eat. When offered food, they ate it.”

Several showed signs of “parasitism”, with some blood tests indicating traces of salmonella.

One horse showed signs of an “extremely infectious” equine disease called strangles. Mr Jepson told the court it should have been isolated from other animals.

The animals showed “significantly low” levels of an enzyme called albumin in their bloodstream.

Mr Jepson said: “That will happen if you have intestinal damage through, for example, starvation, or if you are not producing it in the liver in sufficient quantities. When you get reduced production, it can be an indication of starvation.

“This was a fairly consistent finding in this group of horses. My interpretation was that was a combination of intestinal damage and compounded by the inadequate nutrition affecting the production of albumin.”

One horse increased its body weight by 50 per cent, from 230kg to 345kg, between January and April while in the care of the Horse Trust. Another put on 132kg within three months, and others put on 112kg and 99kg.

Mike Fullerton, for the defence, asked Mr Jepson if he was aware a number of animals at Spindles Farm had a good body condition. He replied he was not.

Mr Fullerton said a body conditioning score of two was in the 'acceptable' range, according to guidelines. Mr Jepson said it was, but added the body conditions of the animals he examined were still “a bit low”.

Mr Fullerton suggested some horse keepers deliberately keep animals suffering from strangles in with other horses as a way of inoculating the others. Mr Jepson agreed.

One of the seized horses was put down earlier this month due to a severe worm problem it had not been able to overcome.

Mr Jepson said it had been wormed five times since being taken into the care of the Horse Trust.

Five defendants, James Gray, 44, Julie Gray, 41, and Cordelia Gray, 20, all of Spindles Farm, Jodie Gray, 26, of Park Road, Ashford, Middlesex, and a teenager who cannot be named for legal reasons, each deny 12 charges under the Animal Welfare Act.

The trial continues.