A WOMAN has been disqualified from keeping horses for five years after being found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a pony which was found collapsed in a barn in Frampton on Severn.

Alice Jones, 19, of Raleigh Close, Gloucester, appeared before Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on Monday (January 30) in a prosecution brought by the RSPCA.

She was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a pony, named Blue, after failing to investigate the cause of his weight loss between February 19, 2016 and March 3 2016, contrary to Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

The animal welfare charity was contacted by a concerned member of the public who had spotted Blue in a collapsed and emaciated state in a barn at Packthorn Farm, Whitminster Lane, Frampton on Severn.

Inspector Mark Lewis said: “Sadly Blue had been starved to the point when he was incredibly thin and unable to stand.

“Unfortunately he was in such a terrible state that he had to be immediately put to sleep to ease his suffering.

"The post mortem showed his condition wasn’t because of an underlying disease - it was simply down to the fact he wasn’t given the food he needed.

“Owners have a responsibility of care to their animals. To allow an animal to get into such a shocking state is inexcusable.”

Jones was also ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and must pay £600 court costs and a £60 victim surcharge.