A WOMAN who was found to have caused unnecessary suffering to a horse has had her ban from keeping animals overturned.

Natalie Morris, 40, of Bush Row in Haverfordwest, was barred from owning or keeping animals in April after being convicted of failing to provide adequate nutrition and failing to provide adequate protection against adverse weather conditions for her 12-year-old horse Ben.

On that occasion, Morris was sentenced to a one-year community order at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, as part of which she was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. She was also told to pay £1,200 in costs.

However, on Wednesday, Morris appeared at Swansea Crown Court to appeal against the ban.

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Harry Dickens, prosecuting, said Ben was found in a field on Clay Lane in Merlin’s Bridge in February last year in an “emaciated condition” and with “severe rain scald on his back”.

Rain scald is caused by consistent exposure to wet and muddy conditions and is a bacterial infection that results in the formation of matted scabs on the horse’s skin.

When Ben was seen by an RSPCA inspector, they said the horse had an “extremely poor body condition caused by rain scald and poor nutrition”, while a veterinary surgeon described Ben as having “a body score of one out of five”.

The RSPCA attempted to contact Morris “multiple times”, but she refused to be interviewed as she said the horse was not hers.

Mr Dickens said that Ben had been delivered to Morris in July 2021 in “good condition”.

Ben was taken in to RSPCA care for treatment and was rehomed.

Ian Ibrahim, representing Morris, said: “The main point of the appeal is the blanket ban on owning and keeping animals.

“She has extensive background and history in dealing with animals.”

He said the ban meant that the appellant had had to give up another horse that she had owned for 12 years, as well as the fish that she owned.

The court heard Morris had no previous convictions and that – other than Ben – there was no evidence of cruelty towards any other animals.

The appeal was successful, as it was determined that the ban was “neither necessary or proportionate”.

The disqualification was removed. Morris must pay a £200 contribution to the costs of the case.