Women sentenced after horses found in ‘emaciated state’ in Bognor Regis

The RSPCA rescued the animals, Magic and Lexi, from a flooded, mud covered field in Bognor Regis last December.

Nybella Stephens, 25, and Gemma Stevens, 36, both formerly of The Millers, Yapton, were sentenced at Brighton Magistrates’ Court in their absence on Friday, November 27, confirmed the RSPCA.

The case was proved in their absence after they also failed to attend an earlier hearing in September.

The court heard that RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Marie Stevens and RSPCA Inspector Cora Peeters attended a muddy field in Shripney Lane, Bognor Regis in December last year where the horses were being kept.

There, they witnessed Magic, a fifteen-year-old chestnut gelding eat away at a wooden fence post because he was so hungry and there was nothing to eat, according to the RSPCA spokesman.

Inspector Peeters said: “Approximately 75 per cent of the field was flooded and the remainder of the field was deep with mud.

“The hedges and trees had been stripped of their bark by the horses. I couldn’t see any form of Ad-Lib feeder or hay on the ground.

“Both Magic, belonging to Stevens, and Lexi, a bay mare belonging to Stephens were extremely thin and their bony protrusions were clearly visible.

“A vet attended and confirmed both horses were in a suffering condition to the extent that they were in an emaciated state.”

Magic had ‘an extremely good appetite’ and dragged his rescuers to grass as soon as he was removed from the field, the spokesman said.

He weighed 356kg – meaning he was at least 100kg underweight, according to the RSPCA.

Lexi weighed 384kg, whereas a thoroughbred of a similar height would be expected to weigh 450-500kg.

The horses were seized by police and removed to a private boarding facility to begin their recovery.

When they were reweighed less than three weeks later, Lexi had already gained over 20kg and Magic had gained 50kg.

Both defendants, who have failed to attend any of their court hearings, were found guilty of three offences each under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, said the RSPCA.

In addition to the 10-year disqualification which bans them from keeping equines, donkeys or their hybrids they were fined £660 each and ordered to pay costs of £425 and a £66 victim surcharge, the spokesman confirmed.

Magic and Lexi, who have both made great recoveries, will be rehomed by World Horse Welfare, said the charity.