Woman who failed to meet needs of nine ponies sentenced

An Ebbw Vale woman has been banned from keeping animals for ten years after she failed to meet the needs of nine ponies.

Lisa Wall (d.o.b 12.03.1993) of Festival Drive, appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 25 February after previously pleading not guilty to three offences under the Animal Welfare Act.

At a trial on 6 February she was convicted for the offence that took place between 8 March and 19 April in 2025 of failing to ensure that the needs of eight ponies were met in one or a combination of the following ways:

• Need for a suitable environment
• Need for an appropriate diet including access to water
• Need to be maintained in an appropriate body condition
• Failure to protect from disease (lice infestation)

At a second trial – which was heard in her absence on 9 February – she was also convicted for failing to provide proper and necessary veterinary treatment for a Shetland Pony’s wounds.

Ms. Wall also did not meet the pony’s needs to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease due to a failure to investigate and address poor body condition. This offence took place in late September, early October 2025.

She was sentenced for all three offences at Newport Magistrates’ Court and, as well the ten-year ban on keeping animals, she was ordered to pay a £300 fine for each of the three offences. In total, Ms. Wall was ordered to pay £3,512 in costs.

‘Poor body condition’

In a statement provided to the court by RSPCA Inspector Keith Hogben it was said that the eight ponies he found on 19 April 2025 were in a “poor body condition” and living in an unsuitable environment in a field off of Festival Drive.

Inspector Hogben said: “I initially observed three cob type ponies in a fenced field alongside the main road. The ponies were alert and active but seemed hungry, they were stripping the new buds of the trees in the field.

“The grazing was poor and I could not see signs of supplementary feed, there were several black buckets in the field that contained a little water in each. Two of these ponies were in thin condition with their spines clearly visible.

“There were also hazards in the field including metal, hard plastic, broken fencing, the base of an old caravan to name a few.”

He said he walked down a driveway where he found four caravans – two static, two tourers. He shouted ‘Hello’ several times but no-one was present.

He added: “There were several empty dog kennels on site but no sign of animals, there were many hazards around including broken fencing, metal, glass bottles, wood, plastic, toys, a derelict building with horse faeces present to name a few.

“As I walked back to my van I came across five other ponies. These ponies were all alert and active with two being lean to the touch.”

RSPCA Care

An equine vet was called to the location as no owner at the time could be found and all eight horses were taken into possession by police and handed into the care of the RSPCA.

In a statement provided to the court from RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Sian Burton she said it was on 4 October last year when she attended land off Park Road where she met two police officers who were already at the location.

In the yard they found the chestnut pony who was “bright in itself” but had a missing tail.

She said: “It had exposed bone on its dock and no hair on its tail. By this I mean the long hair you’d normally see on a horse tail was not there and the boney bit at the top (the dock) was exposed and dropping blood. It had wounds all around its back end and the wounds were crawling with maggots and it smelt very strongly of infection.”

The pony was taken into possession by police and handed into the care of the RSPCA.

In a statement from a vet, who examined the pony, he said he estimated his body condition score to be 1.5 to two out of five.

Damage

The vet added: “Examination revealed a large patch of matted coat with severe, established myiasis (fly strike/maggots) over the upper hind quarters.

“The tail was damaged with the lower half completely degloved and desiccated with coccygeal bones exposed. On the dorsal dock/tail head there were two deep puncture wounds and multiple lacerations and a superficial skin abrasion more distally.

“All these wounds were affected by maggots. The underside of the tail was damaged and deep lacerations were present and scalding of the skin caused by discharge from the other wounds present.

“The dorsal anal sphincter was absent – approximately 25-33% completely removed with an associated rectal tear that extended approximately two inches internally.

“Multiple deep peri-anal and perineal wounds were present extending at least three inches in depth and distally to the pelvic bone.

“There was significant tissue loss in this area which had been exacerbated by the presence of large numbers of maggots in all wounds.”

Under sedation all wounds were cleaned and flushed and the pony was given antibiotics, pain relief and anti-parasitic medication.

The vet added that in his opinion the initial wounds were consistent with dog bites as several deep punctures and tissue loss were present. The prognosis for this pony was poor and euthanasia was advised on welfare grounds.

Rehomed

Out of the eight ponies removed earlier in the year, two ponies were put to sleep on veterinary advice. The other six remain in RSPCA care and will be rehomed.

In mitigation the court heard that Ms. Wall stated that the Shetland Pony “was nothing to do with her” and was intending to appeal that matter.

In respect of the original eight ponies, she stated that she had been asking others to look after them whilst she was in hospital and it “wasn’t her fault”.

Following sentencing, Investigating officer, RSPCA Inspector Keith Hogben said: “Every animal deserves to be treated with kindness and respect and if you are responsible for a horse you must make sure their needs are met and receive the appropriate care and veterinary treatment when needed.”