A WOMAN who allowed her horse to suffer for at least three months with a painful hoof condition was banned from keeping horses for three years.

June Margaret Curnow, 58, of Creekmoor Lane, Poole, failed to administer treatment to dun mare Missy, who was suffering from chronic laminitis, despite an RSPCA warning, Bournemouth Magistrates Court heard.

The horse, aged between 15 and 17 years, found it painful to walk, developed abscesses and finally had to be put down, said RSPCA prosecutor Jeremy Cave.

Curnow, who also has to pay £2,000 of RSPCA costs, was given a conditional discharge by district judge Roger House but warned she could find herself back in court if she commits any further offences in the next three years.

Mr Cave told the court that Curnow ignored vets’ advice to give the horse painkillers because she said she was worried about them affecting Missy’s liver.

Later, Missy developed abscesses which Curnow also failed to get treated. And she failed to keep the horse standing in deep shavings which would have lessened its pain as vets had advised, said Mr Cave.

When the horse was finally seized under the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act, she had “an elevated heart rate indicating the pain that the horse was suffering”, said Mr Cave.

“She was hostile to the use of painkillers in relation to this horse,” he added.

Curnow pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Missy by failing to provide the animal with adequate treatment between November 15, 2007, and February 15, 2008.

The court heard that Curnow’s daughter had lost her battle with a terminal disease and Curnow was struggling financially during that period.

It heard that “horses were her life” and she hoped to keep them again in the future.

Curnow also had a mistrust of medical practitioners because her daughter had been “misdiagnosed”, the court heard.

District Judge House said it was not a case of deliberate cruelty but added: “You should have been aware of the suffering being caused.

“The horse was in such a state it couldn’t be saved. That puts a fairly serious complexion on it. You are a lady who has experience of keeping animals. You had lots and lots of advice. You may genuinely have thought you knew better but sadly the animal was lost.”