A woman from East Sussex has been banned from keeping equines for 10 years after five horses were found in very poor condition in a field.
After photographs of horses in a poor state were sent to World Horse Welfare, they investigated alongside the RSPCA.
Sharon Baker, who is 57 years old, pleaded guilty to one offence of causing unnecessary suffering to five equines under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
She was also given a 12-month community order under which she is required to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days when she appeared for sentencing at Hastings Magistrates’ Court on 5 February. The defendant was also told to pay costs of £1,000 and a victim surcharge of £114.
An inspection of the field at Burgh Hill, near Etchingham, revealed that one of the horses was underweight. Later examination by a vet showed the others were suffering from health problems like lice infestation, intestinal inflammation, caused by a lack of parasite control, and dental problems, which meant one horse had to have a large number of teeth removed.
RSPCA Inspector Georgina Bowles and an officer from World Horse Welfare made a pre-arranged welfare check on 27 March 2025 to the location where the defendant kept 13 equines. The owner phoned the inspector shortly before the visit to say that she was in hospital and she would not be able to attend, but it became clear to the officers viewing from the perimeter of the field that some equines were in a poor condition.
“From the gate I could clearly see an extremely skinny horse that had a rug on,” said the Inspector in a statement to the court. “Its bones were very sharp under the rug and its back end was flat, not round as it should be. It was also clear a few of the horses were suffering from fur loss on the face and body.”
A vet who attended the location confirmed that five of the horses were in a suffering state. These were piebald cob geldings Obi and Dozzer, a chestnut gelding called Texas, Phoebe, a chestnut mare, and Thunder, a New Forest pony gelding.
Police rural crime officers were called to attend and the horses were seized and placed in the care of the RSPCA. Advisory notices were also issued to a relative of the defendant, who attended the scene, to improve the living conditions and provide vet treatment for some of the other equines.
In mitigation, the defendant admitted she had taken “her eyes off the ball” with the care of the equines, but that the suffering was restricted to a short period of time.
Speaking after the hearing, Inspector Bowles said: “These equines suffered from poor animal husbandry and were left in this field for a period without proper care and attention. Owning an animal is a privilege and ensuring appropriate veterinary care when needed is a key part of the responsibility we have towards them.”
Images © RSPCA.
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