Blackpool horse breeder handed 10-year animal ban

Eleven neglected horses had to be put down following a visit from RSPCA inspectors

A breeder who kept horses in such "squalor" that 11 had to be put down has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

Nicola Haworth, who owned Haworth Arabian Stud in Blackpool, kept 31 horses in "dilapidated" mud-caked stables, the RSPCA said.

Some of the animals were found "shaking in pain" with "crippling lameness".

Haworth was convicted of two offences under the Animal Welfare Act by magistrates in the seaside town.

As well as the ban, the 58-year-old, who has taken part in horse shows, was made subject to a curfew between 08:00 to 18:00.

She was also ordered to pay £4,000 in legal costs

'One horse collapsed'

The RSPCA said its inspectors found the animals being kept in stables had not had their doors opened in months.

Dirty bedding was stacked half way up the doors and, once opened, could not be closed again because of the rubbish, RSPCA Inspector Carl Larrson said.

He continued: "There were horses with such crippling lameness from overgrown hooves that their legs were shaking with pain.

"They were unable to step down off the pile of muck out of their stables. One collapsed as it reluctantly made its way off."

Six horses were put down immediately and five more put to sleep on welfare grounds later.

The remaining 20 horses were taken away for care and re-homing.

Haworth, of Jubilee Lane in Blackpool, was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to 24 horses and failing to meet the needs of 31 horses.