Bolton mother and daughter in court for neglecting pony

A mother and daughter from Bolton have been banned from keeping equines after leaving an emaciated pony for dead on a freezing Bolton field.

The pair also received suspended prison sentences after admitting to neglecting a pony that had to be put down.

Chloe Hudson, 27, and Shantel Tansley, 46, of Ainsworth Lane, were prosecuted by the RSPCA and sentenced at Wigan Magistrates’ Court on March 20.

The offence related to the neglect of a bay pony named Jewell, one of five equines kept by the pair in a field at Higher Pasture Barn on Broadhead Road in Bolton.

Jewell had to be put down (Image: RSPCA)

A concerned neighbour who kept horses on adjacent land contacted the RSPCA on January 7, 2024, after becoming alarmed by the ponies’ condition.

In a statement, the neighbour described two of the ponies as “skin and bone,” and said Jewell “looked ready to drop.”

The neighbour noticed she was suffering from diarrhoea and was uninterested in eating after she had offered to put hay out for the defendant’s equines during a period of snowfall a week later.

When she was looking after her own horses a couple of days later she saw that Jewell had collapsed in the neighbouring field.

A vet attended the scene and determined that the only humane option was to put Jewell to sleep.

Jewell at Higher Pasture Barn in Broadhead Road, Bolton, (Image: RSPCA)

“I ran down to the field and saw that the pony was laid on her side and not moving. She was breathing but she didn’t get up. The temperature was around minus six, it was freezing cold,” said the vet, who tried unsuccessfully to contact Hudson.

“The pony had profuse diarrhoea around her back end and on her tail and that had frozen to the ground. I was shocked by her condition.”

RSPCA inspector Jennie Ronksley said none of the equines kept in the field had natural or man-made shelter and the field was open to the elements with witnesses describing 80 mph gusts of gusts.

The vet, who attended at the field, stated the pony was dying and he put her to sleep. When he rolled her body over the extent of emaciation became clear as her pelvic bone was protruding and femur was visible through wasted thigh muscle.

“It was clear that this pony did not get into this condition overnight and with more timely intervention and treatment (for a possible parasite infection) there would have been a different outcome. Her owners were negligent in failing to move her to a more sheltered and warmer environment and failing to seek veterinary help,” concluded the vet.

In mitigation, the court heard that both defendants were “very regretful” and had now rehomed all the other equines they owned. Hudson was pregnant at the time of the offence and suffered from mental health issues, while Tansley has received treatment for cancer.

As well as the disqualification, Hudson was sentenced to a 20-week prison sentence, which was suspended for 24 months. Tansley received a 16-week prison sentence which was also suspended for 24 months.