Man fined after handling pony in ‘unacceptable and inappropriate’ way

Nation.Cymru Team

A man has been sentenced after he admitted to the “unacceptable and inappropriate method” of handling a pony after videos showed him dragging the horse which was tied to a vehicle.

Geoffrey Williams (d.o.b 28/9/1962), of Aberbran, Brecon, pleaded guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act in that he failed to meet the needs of a pony to be protected from pain, suffering and injury through an unacceptable and inappropriate method of handling.

He was sentenced at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court Wednesday 6 May and was ordered to pay a £1,000 fine, £400 costs and a £400 victim surcharge.

In mitigation he said it was a method he used to ‘break in ponies’ but accepted that training methods had moved on and he had not repeated the behaviour.

The court heard that the RSPCA had been presented with three video clips showing a black and white pony being dragged behind a vehicle. The incident happened on 2 April last year.

RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Rohan Barker, who visited Williams and showed him the video, said. “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.

In a written statement from a vet from another charity, they said the three videos showed mostly a black-coloured young cob pony who was attached by a headcollar of some sort, via a length of rope, to the back of a quad or gator type vehicle that was moving down a sloped field.

The vet explained that the videos showed the pony and the vehicle moving from left to right in each of the three videos and showed three different occasions when this activity was performed.

In conclusion the vet said: “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.

“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.”

Following sentencing, 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.”

For more information about equine care please visit, https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/horses