A YOUNG woman from a travelling background has been banned from keeping horses and ponies after the RSPCA took over care of her piebald cob.

Debora Smith, 21, left her 18-year-old pony tethered in the open on roadside verges during the intensely cold and snowy spell last Christmas and New Year, York magistrates heard.

On January 11, the RSPCA were so concerned about his condition, they removed him from Holtby Lane, Holtby. A vet assessed him as being severely underweight, but not emaciated.

Smith’s solicitor Andrew Craven said she did not have a paddock or stable to keep him in as she lived on Outgang Lane caravan site and was a member of the travelling community, but had tried to feed him in the extreme weather conditions.

Smith pleaded guilty to neglecting to keep her animal properly fed. She was fined £100, plus a £15 victim charge and £200 prosecution costs. She was also banned for 18 months from keeping equine animals including horses and ponies.

Phil Brown, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said it had spent £1,890 on vets’ bills and stabling for the pony. After removing it from the roadside, a vet’s report indicated that in addition to its lack of food, it had been suffering from another unrelated condition that was so severe it had to be put down.

Smith told an RSPCA inspector the pony had not seen a vet or had clinical treatment for seven years.

Mr Craven said Smith had looked after Kelly since receiving her as a gift from her father when she was nine years old. There had been no criticism of her care for the pony in the 12 years she had been looking after him.

During the cold spell, she had had difficulty getting to him and she couldn’t leave water for him because it froze.

So she had taken water to him twice a day. She had given him food, but not enough for him to cope with the bad weather, and had intended to feed him up after the cold spell ended.

She had also intended to have him wormed, the court heard.