Shetland pony rehomed after neglect prosecution

A Shetland pony found with hooves so overgrown they were beginning to curl will now be rehomed following a successful court prosecution.

RSPCA Inspector Simon Evans attended a field in Efail Isaf near Church Village in March this year where Shetland pony Fergus was discovered with severely neglected hooves that forced him to walk at an awkward angle.

His owner, David Andrew Davies of Llantwit Fardre, pleaded guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 12 November. He failed to meet Fergus’s needs by not protecting him from pain, suffering, injury or disease, failing to provide adequate farrier care, and preventing him from exhibiting normal behaviour patterns.

Davies was disqualified from keeping equines for two years, though the court suspended the disqualification order for six weeks to allow rehoming of his other horse. He received a 12-month community order, must complete 100 hours of unpaid work, and was ordered to pay a £114 victim surcharge and £400 costs. A deprivation order was made on Fergus, meaning he will be rehomed by the RSPCA.

Inspector Evans described finding Fergus in the field: “In the field were two equines, a piebald cob mare in normal body condition and a bay Shetland gelding with two white, hind, socks and tail. The Shetland, too, was in normal body condition but its hooves were overgrown and beginning to curl upward, forcing the pony to walk at an awkward angle.”

He watched as Fergus walked and observed he “placed the tip of its front hooves onto the floor but then almost rocked back onto the heel of the hoof, so that the tip of the hoof was off the floor again”.

Inspector Evans added: “Due to the unevenness of the misshapen hooves, the pony’s feet were also made to roll outward, with the weight seemingly taken on the outside of each hoof.”

An equine vet confirmed Fergus was suffering unnecessarily due to lack of farrier care. In their professional opinion, the pony was suffering due to “severely overgrown hooves” leading to pain and placing additional strain on tendons and joints. The vet noted the pony’s gait was “markedly altered by the severity of his overgrown hooves” which would restrict natural roaming behaviour.

The vet stated: “In my opinion, the timescale of suffering would equate to months to years. The pony’s hooves were approximately 10cm overgrown.”

Inspector Evans had previously visited the field in 2023 and given advice to the owner. The court heard in mitigation that the offence was not deliberate and Davies had personal pressures.

Fergus has now had his hooves trimmed in RSPCA care and will be made available for rehoming.