Woman banned from keeping horses as Rural Crime Team supports RSPCA prosecution

A Rothwell woman whose two horses had to be put to sleep after she failed to care for them properly has been banned from owning, keeping or caring for equines for five years.

Kelly Hoyle, aged 42, was prosecuted by the RSPCA for causing unnecessary suffering to a young stallion called Reuben by failing to get him treatment when his penis became infected, and failing to meet the welfare needs of a mare called Tia.

Both animals were found in badly emaciated condition in a field in Naseby, after RSPCA inspectors asked for assistance from Northamptonshire Police having previously received a complaint about the welfare of some of Hoyle’s other horses.

That complaint led to a police visit in late 2022, when examination of a large number of horses on the site revealed three needed ongoing veterinary care, which Hoyle had agreed to arrange.

When she failed to do so a warrant was granted under the Animal Welfare Act, but when police officers executed this in February 2023, they found no trace of the three animals, whose whereabouts remain unknown.