Owner banned from keeping horses after emaciated pony found dead in Brighouse stream

Harriet Midgley, 26, of York Place, York Street in Brighouse, was also ordered to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work for her neglect of 12–year-old Pip.

Midgley was sentenced at Kirklees Magistrates' Court on July 10 after pleading guilty to an offence of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

The court heard the animal welfare charity was called in to investigate after Pip’s body was found in a stream at Wood Bottom Lane in Brighouse on January 11, 2025.

RSPCA Inspector Adam Dickinson, who went to the location the following day, described the scene in his written statement to the court.

He said: “I walked through the entirety of the field, which was covered in snow and ice.

“There were several hazards scattered across it, including barbed wire, razor wire, sharp and rusty metal fragments, metal sheeting and broken fence posts.

"Several trees had teeth/gnaw marks where the bark had been stripped.

“There were some bins which were used to store horse feed and chaff. These appeared to be quite old and there was a strong, unpleasant smell from them.

“This is an area where there was once a pig barn. Several hazards were present, and the floor was very unsteady, with lots of gaps and areas where an animal could become stuck or fall through.

“The floor was completely covered in faeces and was approximately 10cm thick for the most part, with some areas being 20 to 30cm deep.

“There was an empty bucket towards the wall and an empty hay net at the front.

"The supporting beam and some fence panels appeared to have been gnawed at.

“The area of the beck where Pip was found could not be accessed any other way than down the bank. This was down a seven to eight-metre drop and a gradient of approximately 70 degrees.

"You could see the flattened vegetation and it appeared that Pip had fallen down the bank, rather than walked.”

There were two garage-type areas, also strewn with hazards, containing seven buckets and one large tub, which were all frozen solid with ice.

The only accessible water was in the stream, where Pip was found deceased.

The court heard the grey Shetland, who was taken to an equine crematorium, was in very poor bodily condition.

His spine, ribs and hips were visibly prominent and there was a small wound above his left eye.

Pip’s shoulders, neck and head were all stained brown from where he had been submerged underwater.

The court was told that other people had raised concerns with Midgley about inadequate fencing, lack of grazing and the poor living environment, but offers of help were refused multiple times.

Following snowfall on January 5, no footprints were seen in the field afterwards, and Midgley confirmed to someone else that she had not been out to feed Pip since.

A vet who gave written evidence in the case, said: “Overall, it is not clear whether the pony was alive when he entered the stream and drowned or whether he died prior to accessing the stream.

"It is likely from the evidence of Adam Dickinson that the pony fell from the top of the banking due to the environment in that area on his arrival.

“The stream was the only available water source for a number of days and so it is highly likely the pony was trying to access it. The pony was in an emaciated state and as such, he would have been far too weak to traverse a bank as steep as that.

“I cannot confirm this was the absolute scenario that led to the pony being found dead within the stream, but given the circumstances of the environment and the emaciated condition of the pony it seems highly probable.

“However, there is clear and consistent evidence that the pony was in an emaciated condition and that the cause of this was likely primary malnutrition over many weeks. The pony was visually and obviously underweight in July 2024, as demonstrated by photographs, and therefore the owner had more than ample time to respond to his failing health.”

The vet added Midgley had failed to provide an adequate diet, suitable environment and appropriate veterinary care and had neglected the most basic aspects of equine ownership which had led Pip to suffer.

CCTV showed the Shetland had been provided with hay by a member of the public on December 30 before the pony was discovered dead 13 days later.

In her interview with the RSPCA, Midgley said Pip had never looked as thin to her as he did in the image she was shown when he was found.

She said he looked to be losing weight about two to four weeks before she last saw him but that he was fed often.

Apart from an initial visit, he had not seen a vet in the time she had owned him and she saw no reason to, the court was told.

In mitigation it was said the defendant, who had pleaded guilty to one Animal Welfare Act offence at a hearing on 30 April 2026, had provided well-intentioned but incompetent care.

The court was told she was someone who had a “deep love of horses” and was well thought of at the premises where she had previously kept equines.

As well as the life ban on keeping equines, Midgley was also given an 18-month community order with a requirement to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £750 and a victim surcharge of £114.

She will not be able to contest the ban for ten years.