A man has been banned from keeping horses for 10 years following his treatment of a Shetland pony.

The RSPCA was told that two ponies were kept on land in Llansteffan, around eight miles south of Carmarthen, and that they were in need of a welfare check. An inspector from the animal charity, Keith Hogben, visited the site on June 18 last year where he found a pony lying dead on the ground.

“When I arrived at the location I observed a dead grey Shetland type pony in thin condition, [with] hair loss [and] with a chain attached to a collar around its neck but not attached to anything at the other end,” said Mr Hogben. He added that close to the dead pony was of the Shetland type pony breed that had a “skin issue” who was in “thin body condition with its spine and ribs easily visible.”

The pony was sprayed with a purple spray and had been tethered by a chain from its head collar to a tree. There was a bucket of water but the RSPCA said it had been placed there by a concerned member of the public who ended up calling the charity and not the owner. Stephen Edward Griffiths, 62, of Old School Road, in Llansteffan, said the pony had been left to lie there for a couple of days as his broken down tractor was unable to move the body. Griffiths added the RSPCA that he had only had the ponies “for a couple of months” and had in fact rescued on from the Cross Hands area.

An equine vet said in a witness statement: “He was in a very poor body condition. His access to available forage was limited due to the tether as the available space he could access was well grazed. He also had a very heavy lice infestation.” The vet added the body scoring given to the pony, who had been tethered on a chain approximately eight feet from a tree – was 0.5 out of five. The pony has since been treated and rehomed, WalesOnline reported.

The dead pony that was also found on the land had also been in a “very poor body condition” and was given a body condition score of 0.5 out of five. The vet, who concluded that the pony had been dead for days, added: “Her spine and spinous processes were protruding, her ribs obvious to see despite her long coat and a skeletal body pelvis.”

Griffiths appeared at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court to be sentenced on Thursday, February 13, after having previously pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act. He admitted to having caused unnecessary suffering to a male Shetland pony by failing to adequately investigate and address the cause of his poor body condition.

He went on to also admit that he failed to ensure the needs of animals – a female grey Shetland pony and a male skewbald Shetland pony – were met that included need for a suitable environment, adequate diet and failing to address their poor body conditions, rain scald and lice infestation.

Griffiths has been disqualified from keeping equines for 10 years and handed concurrent 16-week prison sentences for each of the two offences, which will be suspended for two years. He was also handed a one0year community order and told he must complete a 15-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.

He was then ordered to pay costs of £250. In mitigation, the court was also told that Griffiths was genuinely remorseful.

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