A Welsh couple have been given suspended prison sentences after three ponies were found in a collapsed barn, RSPCA Cymru has said.
The distressed ponies were not able to stand without hitting the roof and conditions were so bad the shed was “bursting at the seams” with soiled faeces, said the animal charity.
Banging noises could be heard from the site and RSPCA officers found the bones of a dead pony on a nearby muck heap.
“I will never forget the sound of hearing a pony trying to bang his way out of a collapsed shed,” said RSPCA inspector Keith Hogben.
“It was an horrific discovery – with three ponies trapped beneath fallen metal roofing sheets, in conditions so horrendous I was left cold.
“They were desperate to get out, but had no way out before we arrived.”
Stan and Heather Strelley, both 48, from Carway, Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, admitted four Animal Welfare Act charges relating to a total of 35 ponies.
They were given 16 weeks and 12 weeks respectively, suspended for one year, at Llanelli Magistrates.
Both were banned from keeping ponies and horses for five years, and ordered to carry out rehabilitation activities.
Magistrates heard that in one paddock several ponies had overgrown hooves and cuts and scrapes to their bodies.
The animals were surrounded by bricks, metal, glass, and old machinery.
A further 20 ponies were found in a barn, part of which was collapsing, living on many feet of faeces.
Some 22 of the ponies were signed into the care of the RSPCA, helped by local vets, farriers, police and World Horse Welfare.
The other 13 remained at the property and the couple now have 28 days to make alternative arrangements.
Insp Hogben added: “Remarkably, both individuals were showing their ponies – and continued to do so during our investigations.
“There was a clear priorities problem: some animals were groomed and treated far better, while others were left in appalling conditions.
“It was one rule for some – and another rule for the others.”
