A horse which was effectively taken into care after living in alleged cramped conditions in a residential house could be returned to its owner if suitable accommodation was arranged, a court has heard.
The Comhairle seized Stephanie Ann Noble’s adult Connemara pony, called Grey Lady
Too, in February 2014, claiming its living conditions for the previous two years
in the front room of the ex-
Though Ms Noble is still the official owner, the local authority is forced to pay thousands of pounds in looking after it.
The council has gone to court to try and obtain legal ownership so it can sell the horse.
Advocate Mark Mohammed has been hired by the council for the case.
Giving evidence, council animal health inspector Kenny Macleod assured him the horse looked healthy and “perfectly well” when he saw it.
The local authority was only interested in the long term health and welfare of the horse and was willing to return it if satisfactory accommodation was arranged.
He agreed with the advocate that was why the council did not try to pursue Ms Noble for a potential criminal offence when she allegedly refused to obey an official care notice serviced on her to ensure proper housing for the animal.
The inspector said the large pony was rehoused with professional stables on the island of Benbecula as, “historically, Ms Noble can be quite difficult.”
“The further away from (Lewis) the better,” he added.
The council has “no problems” in handing back the animal if the owner made “alternative arrangements,” he stressed.
Mr Macleod told the advocate that Ms Noble had never asked for the horse to be returned and he was not aware if she had even applied to the court to get it back.
He said Ms Noble informed then the “horse had been dumped in her garden on Christmas Eve by the owner of ground where the horse grazed and she had no choice “ to take it inside her own home.
She cleared the living room of all furniture to rig up a “makeshift stable which took up much of the room. There were bales of hay under the window and some feed as well,” he added.
Mr Macleod said he obtained a vet’s professional opinion which concluded Ms Noble failed to comply with the formal code of practice over the care of horses.
He said the “horse could go through the window” if suddenly frightened, as the improvised stable “could not hold it.”
Electrical sockets were taped over but Ms Noble provided “no evidence” they were isolated from a live supply, raising concerns of sparking a fire or being injured if the horse kicked out, the court heard.
The vet reported a layer of cat litter, topped by straw, covering the wooden floors, “seemed particularly inadequate” for a pony that size, said Mr Macleod.
The case before Sheriff David Sutherland was adjourned to a later date.
House horse case airs in court
16 January 2016