News stories
Magical decision for Marvin in court
A tethered pony has had his future finally secured, 18 months after his rescue.
Handsome 13hh blue and white pony Marvin was tethered in an Essex field when he attracted the attention of a member of the public, who was worried that the pony didn’t look healthy enough to get through the oncoming Winter and rang our Welfare Helpline. As the pony was close to Ada Cole Centre in Essex, our experienced Regional Field Officer Jo Franklin went to check on him immediately.
Whilst tethering in itself is not illegal, if the tethering is causing suffering then the owner is in breach of animal welfare laws. The young stallion – who we have since named Marvin – was underweight and had wounds on his head and nose caused by the headcollar, which was padlocked to a very heavy chain staked to the ground.
Jo contacted the local RSPCA inspector, and together they arranged for a vet to assess Marvin’s condition. The vet agreed that Marvin was suffering as a result of his low weight, untreated wounds and unsuitable method of tethering. Marvin’s owner was contacted and the pony transferred under police supervision to Redwings Ada Cole for veterinary treatment and much needed TLC.
Marvin’s owner refused to sign the pony into Redwings’ care, or admit that he was guilty of causing suffering, so the RSPCA began legal proceedings to ensure that Marvin did not have to be returned. The new Animal Welfare Act did not come into force until April 2007 – and Marvin was reported to Redwings in December 2006 - so Marvin’s owner was prosecuted under the previous Protection of Animals Act.
After three days of evidence, the judge at Basildon Magistrates’ Court agreed that Marvin’s owner was guilty of causing his pony unnecessary suffering, fined him £3,000 and gave him a three-year conditional discharge. He was forced to relinquish ownership of Marvin and the pony has now been signed over into Redwings care.
"Marvin is a very cheeky chap," said Jo, "and it is sad to think that anyone could have treated him so irresponsibly. We’re grateful to the member of the public who originally alerted us to his situation and to the RSPCA, vet and judge who ensured that Marvin’s story did eventually end happily ever after."
Being just eighteen months old and a stallion when he was rescued, as Marvin regained health and strength he became quite a lively, headstrong character! Now that legal proceedings have concluded, we will finally be able to geld Marvin as he is now legally signed over to the charity. This means he will be able to be turned out with other equines, be generally safer for staff to look after and have a much calmer outlook on life.
As he is young and now in excellent health, it is likely that in the future Marvin may be re-homed under our Guardianship scheme, which means that he will be able to have an active family life whilst remaining in the ownership of Redwings.
To read about more recent Redwings welfare work, follow this link to the Welfare section of our website. To report a horse or pony in distress, please telephone our Welfare Helpline on 01508 481008.
