A Fife trainer has denied allegations she neglected three of her horses so badly that two of them had to be put down.
Jackie Kemp, 53, of Balmule Steading, Dunfermline, is accused of causing unnecessary suffering to a mare named Brogan and gelding named Beano at Wester Deanhead, Roscobie, between November 20 2015 and February 20 2016.
She is also accused of similar charges involving a mare named Molly at Balmule Farm, Dunfermline, between November 21 2015 and February 21 2016.
The horses were taken into the care of the Scottish SPCA. Brogan and Molly were subsequently destroyed on humane grounds, although Beano recovered after treatment.
Vet Chris Calder, 35, a lecturer in equine practice at Edinburgh University, told Dunfermline Sheriff Court he was called to examine all three animals and found them “emaciated”.
He said Beano was “incredibly underweight” and suffering from rain scald, skin conditions, hair loss and a parasite condition and had not been given proper dental treatment.
In the case of Brogan, Mr Calder assessed her body condition score as one out of five, adding that her bones were visible and she showed signs of worms, skin conditions, rain scald and hoof cracks. He was of the opinion she had not been given appropriate nutrition.
Mr Calder said he answered an out-of-hours call from the Scottish SPCA on February 20 2016 after Brogan’s condition worsened.
“She was lying down in her stable, lying flat out, groaning and thrashing around on the floor,” he said.
“Her eyes were rolling and she was showing signs of intense pain.”
Mr Calder said he and Scottish SPCA staff tried various means to get Brogan to stand up but it was clear she was in an “unrelenting” pain and he recommended euthanasia on welfare grounds.
Mr Calder said Molly was protective of her food and displayed “ravenous behaviour”. He said the horse appeared “horrendously thin” and had large clumps of mud and dirt on her legs, consistent with standing in wet muddy conditions for long periods of time.
He was called out again on February 21 to treat Molly out-of-hours and found her lying down and unable to stand. She was also put down for welfare reasons.
Defence solicitor Phillip McWilliams suggested Mr Calder had exaggerated the horses’ conditions, producing photographs and a report from another expert, Martina Stewart, which contradicted his findings.
He said Brogan weighed around 400kg when a post-mortem was carried out and suggested this was “adequate” for a horse of that size.
Mr McWilliams also noted that all three horses were well over the age of 20, adding: “For a horse to reach that age, one would think someone would have to care for them appropriately.”
He added that Kemp deliberately kept Beano lean because he became lame if he was fed too much.
Mr Calder accepted that keeping a horse lean would be appropriate in such an instance, but insisted: “To have a horse emaciated would not be.”
The trial, before Sheriff Christopher Shead, was adjourned until Friday.
