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A man from Brecon has been fined £1,000 after admitting he subjected a pony to an unacceptable method of handling by dragging the animal behind a vehicle. 🐴
Geoffrey Williams, 63, of Aberbran, pleaded guilty to a single offence under the Animal Welfare Act at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 6 May.
The videos
Three video clips captured on 2 April 2025 showed a young black and white cob pony attached by a headcollar and rope to the rear of a quad-type vehicle as it was driven down a sloped field. The footage showed three separate occasions on which the activity took place.
RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Rohan Barker visited Williams and showed him the recordings. “He confirmed that it was him in the video and explained that the method he was using was a method he had used for years to break in ponies,” said ARO Barker.
Veterinary evidence
A vet from another charity provided a written assessment, concluding that the pony had been exposed to harmful physical and mental experiences.
“Everything exhibited in the videos indicates that the driver of the quad vehicle exposed the pony to a series of harmful physical and mental experiences that caused distress, fear and risk of physical injury and lasting harm,” the vet stated.
The expert warned of long-term consequences: “Fearful learning experiences are generally not erasable and therefore the pony has in all probability been left with not only a likely physical legacy of harm from the experiences seen in the videos; but also a lifelong fear of handling that could be triggered by exposure to any number of stimuli (like another similar vehicle) in the presence of an unsuspecting future owner / trainer.”
Mitigation and sentence
Williams told the court the technique was one he had long used to break in ponies, but accepted that training methods had moved on and said he had not repeated the behaviour.
Magistrates ordered him to pay a £1,000 fine, £400 in costs and a £400 victim surcharge.
RSPCA response
RSPCA Inspector Keith Hogben said: “The RSPCA believes that all animals should be trained using kind, ethical and science based methods by appropriately qualified and regulated professionals. Equines need calm, consistent and sympathetic handling by competent people. A consistent gentle approach should be used, and training should be based on a reward-focused system.”
