An ageing former Dublin coal-horse called Silver was a "dreadful" sight when vets examined her on the grounds of Westport House Country Park last summer, a court was told yesterday .
Ribs were showing on the mare, and body sores were being attacked by flies, Judge Mary Devins was told at Westport District Court where the owner of Westport House, Mr Jeremy Browne (Lord Altamont), appeared on a charge of ill-treating the 12-year-old animal.
Mr Browne (65) pleaded guilty, but said it was an act of omission rather than commission. No positive act of cruelty had been committed on the animal, which they had been trying to nurse back to good health as it was "an old friend" on the estate.
Judge Devins, who was shown photographs of the mare, said the animal had been in a dreadful condition, and it had taken a lot of care to restore her to better health. She imposed the Probation Act, but ordered that the defendant make a contribution of €10,000, of which €6,340 was costs, and the remainder, €3,660, would go to the ISPCA.
The court was told that Westport House and country park attracted between 50,000 and 60,000 visitors every year, and there had never been complaints about any of the animals on the estate over the past 45 to 50 years.
Insp William Keaveney said the horse was in a very poor condition when examined by vets on July 24th following a complaint by a member of the public.
Her ribs were visible; she had sores which were being attacked by flies; her hooves were in need of attention; and her teeth were worn. The mare also had arthritis in the joints.
A third veterinary inspection, carried out at the ISPCA centre in Longford, revealed that the horse's general level of nutrition needed to be increased.
Mr Tony Bell, of the ISPCA, told the court that the general condition of the pony was now good. She had put on significant weight.
Cross-examined by Mr Aidan Crowley, defending, Mr Bell agreed that Lord Altamont had failed to attend to the horse. It was negligence rather than cruelty. However, negligence did cause cruelty.
He agreed that other animals on the estate had been inspected and were all found to be in excellent condition.
Mr Crowley said a vet had attended to the horse six or seven weeks prior to the detection. His client accepted there should have been more specialised veterinary intervention.
The horse was on public display at a time when the house and country park were attracting huge visitor numbers from here and abroad. July and August were the busiest months.
He said in 40 years his client had never come to the attention of the courts. His client was now 65, and it would be a travesty for him to get a criminal conviction.
Lord Altamont told the court it would have been easier to put the horse down from an economic point of view, but she was an old friend and they wanted to nurse her back to health.