CONVICTED (2024) | horse breeder Jane Elizabeth Moore, born 3 December, of Jemoon Stud, Deira, The Common, Market Weighton YO43 4LE – kept 36 neglected horses in squalor with ten of them having to be put down.
The RSPCA and World Horse Welfare found 36 horses living in squalor at Jane Moore’s East Yorkshire stud farm.
One of the horses was in such poor condition he had to be put down immediately, three more were euthanised two days later and six other horses were euthanised in the following months.
When inspectors visited Moore’s yard in early 2023, they found a number of animals in distress, including a stallion called Puzzle Pic n Mix, who had dental issues and a diseased penis.
A male Cleveland Bay called Earlswood Traveller had lameness and a lice infestation, and another stallion called Spadge was also lame, had a sinus cyst and ‘obvious ill health’.
A bay mare, Henby, had ulcerated cheeks, and five other horses called Hedi, Whizz, Robbie and Nellie were in poor condition and also lame.
Bay mare Cassie was a victim of ‘poor husbandry’, piebald mare Pollyanna was infested with mites, and Basil, JDJ5 and Sammy also had inadequate dental care. Bay gelding Archie and a chestnut mare had not been given pain relief of proper hoof care, and a piebald mare called Lucky had an infected sheath that had not been treated.
RSPCA Inspector Natalie Hill told the court: “All the horses were living in extremely dirty stables with little food or water. They all had overgrown hooves and they were in poor body condition.
“Within one stable block there was a very strong smell of urine and the horses’ rugs were found to be very dirty and extremely heavy. It appeared to me that all the horse stables had not been cleaned in some time and on some horses their feet were very long and overgrown.”
A vet’s expert report to the court said Moore had failed to ensure a suitable environment for her equines, failed to provide adequate veterinary care and failed to ensure they were kept in a healthy body condition.
Of the 36 horses, 22 were underweight and most were suffering from dental issues and overgrown hooves, while three had lice and mite infections.
Moore pleaded guilty to 10 offences of causing unnecessary suffering to 17 horses and one charge of failing to meet the needs of 36 equines.
The court heard defence mitigation that Moore was “no longer up to the task of looking after such a large number of horses”.
It was claimed she had been isolated and lonely after a marriage break-up and the loss of her parents and her pride had prevented her from asking for help.
The court heard that at the time of the charity’s visit, she was in hospital and relying on friends to care for the horses. She also had had a lack of finances which prevented her dealing with some of the health problems.
The chairman of the magistrates told Moore: “This was a case where these animals were so obviously struggling that intervention was obvious and necessary. The fact that it was not forthcoming was down in large part to your own pride and your refusal to ask for help.”
Inspector Hill said after the hearing: “These horses were found in dreadful conditions with multiple health problems. They were being kept confined to their stables for long periods and it appeared they were rarely exercised.
“One sadly had to be put to sleep on the day we first visited, although that course of action had been recommended by a vet several months before. There were several other horses in very poor health too, including one whose teeth had grown through his cheek and was in a lot of pain and discomfort.
“In all 10 of the 36 horses have had to be put to sleep and the others have got long-term health issues from being neglected for such a long time, such as ligament and joint problems, that only a small number will be able to be rehomed.”
Sentencing | 20-week prison sentence, suspended for two years; £13,099.27 in court costs and £154 statutory surcharge. Disqualified from keeping equines indefinitely.
York Press
Horse & Hound
BBC News
Yorkshire Post
Jemoon Stud’s Facebook page, last updated in June 2023, advertises that the farm ‘breeds quality show/competition horses including pure/part bred Cleveland Bays. Currently standing five stallions, producing for the future.”
Moore was listed as one of around 30 registered breeders of pure Cleveland Bays by the Cleveland Bay Society in 2022 – one of whom was the late Queen Elizabeth.