AT Naas District Court on Monday, March 3rd, Chloe Walker Reid (25) with an address at Cnoc Na Greine, Kilcullen, Co Kildare and James Boland (26) of Oldgrange, Monasterevin, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to three offences each under sections 11 and 12 of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.

The court heard evidence from ISPCA inspector James McCormack, who described responding to a report regarding a horse in a field off Hand Lane, Maddenstown, Co Kildare in January 2023. He told how he found a chesnut gelding that was visibly underweight with its ribs, hips and spinal bones protruding. The horse was very unsteady on its feet and standing with its legs splayed. Its stomach was making noises, and it defecated a spray of faeces that covered part of its tail and legs.

Inspector McCormack organised for a vet to examine the horse in situ and the vet confirmed that the animal was unwell and needed immediate veterinary attention. It was recommended that it be moved to a local equine veterinary hospital for further assessment.

Inspector McCormack described how, as arrangements were being made for the removal of the gelding, he was approached by a woman, who introduced herself as Chloe Walker Reid and said she was the owner of the horse. She said that she had the horse since the previous November, and that its condition had been deteriorating over the previous number of weeks. She admitted under caution that the horse had not received veterinary attention, saying that she didn’t have money for a vet.

The horse was seized and transported to a veterinary hospital, where the examining vet found that it was extremely emaciated with no fat evident anywhere. It was so underweight that the vet assigned a body condition score of 0 out of 5. It was diagnosed with chronic colitis and was later euthanised to prevent any further suffering. The vet was of the view that it had “suffered greatly”.

Inspector McCormack described how he later called to Ms Walker Reid’s home to conduct an interview under caution and there met James Boland, who claimed that he was the owner of the horse. Ms Walker Reid again admitted that the gelding had not received veterinary care, but said that she had bought it a new rug and wormed it. Mr Boland was interviewed on a later date and claimed that the horse’s condition had declined rapidly in the days prior to its seizure. He too admitted that veterinary attention was not sought.

Viewing photographs, which he described as “depressing”, Judge Desmond Zaidan said that the horse “must have been in hell” and suffered a lot of pain that could have been prevented with early intervention.

He said that he could not get his head around the fact that both defendants worked in the equine sector and had knowledge, saying that they “let the horse down badly”.

Judge Zaidan imposed five-month custodial sentences for each of the three charges on both of the accused, with the sentences to run concurrently. He also ordered that they pay €1,028.59 to cover vet fees incurred by the ISPCA. The Judge commented that horses feel the same pain as humans, but they do not express it orally, and that this horse “had no one to speak on its behalf”.

Inspector McCormack commented: “This was a very sad case to see a beautiful horse in obvious pain and suffering that went on over a period of weeks, and it led to the horse having to be euthanised to prevent further suffering. It is not okay to allow an animal to suffer such pain and it is every animal owner’s responsibility to provide a level of care and kindness to all animals in their care. We continue to work on behalf of all neglected animals and we will continue to bring these cases before the courts.”