A Hampshire man who caused unnecessary suffering to six horses at a farm near Woking has been given a suspended jail term and a 20-year ban on owning equines.

Staines Magistrates Court heard that horses belonging to Russell Bennett at his site in Ripley had suffered from lice, parasites, weight loss and respiratory conditions.

Equally upsettingly, officers also found a heavily pregnant horse unable to produce sufficient milk for a hungry foal at its feet because of its poor condition.

Ripley was sentenced on November 27 after pleading guilty to a single count of causing unnecessary suffering to six horses he kept between February and April 2024.

The 48-year-old of Dunley Hill, North Warnborough, was given an 18-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, following an investigation by the RSPCA.

Magistrates sitting at Guildford heard that Bennett failed to provide the six horses with adequate nutrition and did not address their poor body condition and weight loss while failing to provide treatments for multiple ailments.

The RSPCA initially responded amid concerns for two horses kept in the farm off Portsmouth Road but found four more in varying states of suffering inside a barn when inspectors arrived with Surrey Police.

“On entering the barn I immediately saw a dun mare who looked to be in very poor condition, she was very thin with her hips, ribs and spine clearly visible,” said RSPCA Inspector Natalie Kitchin in her witness statement.

“A bay mare was also in poor body condition and producing very little milk to sustain her foal, who had very concerning lung sounds and a cough.

“Outside the barn in a field was a bay filly and a chestnut colt, both found in very poor body condition with nasal discharge and lice.”

Inspector Kitchin called for a specialist equine vet to attend and examine the horses, with all six being certified as “suffering” or “likely to suffer”, prompting their removal into RSPCA care.

The dun mare was later put to sleep after deteriorating from the effects of colic while the pregnant mare gave birth to her foal in RSPCA care.

Bennett, who the district judge accused of showing “little remorse” for his actions, was also ordered to undertake 300 hours of unpaid work along with being disqualified from owning horses, ponies, donkeys and their hybrids for 20 years with no appeal allowed for a decade.

“It was very difficult to see six beautiful horses in such a state,” said inspector Kitchin after sentencing.

“It is completely unacceptable to allow animals to get into such a severe state of poor health.

“I’m glad we were able to remove these horses with assistance from the police, and am very pleased that the five surviving horses, and the foal that was born in our care, are doing well, and when they are ready, can be found loving new homes.”

The court heard in mitigation that Bennett was of previous good character, now has no other horses, and is a carer for his wife and adult daughter, and receives benefits.