CRUELTY TO A HORSE

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3208, 26 July 1932, Page 5

CRUELTY TO A HORSE

B/OOF WORN TO THE QUICK.

POLICE PROSECUTION SUCCEEDS.

A story of serious cruelty to a horse "was. told at the local Court (Messrs G. A. Empson and W. Jeffery presiding) on Monday morning, when a Paterangi farmer, Chhajja Singh, was charged with cruelly ill-using a horse on 18th July, the animal having its right fore-hoof worn to thi quick. Constable Rimmer said that on 18th July he saw a horse in a local blacksmith's shop, observed that the horse was in pain. Its hcfof was badly worn. Witness took the animal and placed it in the pound. Singh came along and was annoyed at witness' -action. • Defendant wanted to take the horse home, for use in carting hay to dairy stock. Defendant had staged that he drove the horse to Te Aw&mutu. The blacksmith had told de&ndant the hoof was so badly worn'that neither a shoe nor a slipper could be put on. The horse was not in good condition. The hoof was also split', and witness judged it had not been shod for some time. William Finlay, horse master,, said he had inspected the horse m the pound. It was in a very bad-state, the hoof being badly worn and the flesh visible. The animal was m pam, and the foot could hardly be put to the ground. He saw the horse yesterday, and it still suffered. Recovery would take a long time, and required careful treatment by someone competent to deal with it. The horse was an old one; the hoof was practically tion-existent. If the horse was not properly attended to it would suffer pain for a long time. Summed up, it was a bad case of cruelty, to use a horse in that condition. No ordinary farm work could wear the hoof as badly as it was worn. Defendant said he was farming six miles from Te Awamutu. He had had the horse for eleven years, and drove it and another horse to Te Awamutu to be shod. The smith, after examining the horse, said the hoof was too badly worn tk) be shod. Witness used the horse for farm work, and had never used it on the road for years. He found the horse was_ lame, and as he could not treat it he brought it to a smithy for attention, walking it all the way. The lameness was more apparent at the end of the journey. The horse had never shown signs of lameness previously, except for a split hoof four years earlier. The horse in question was not used much on the farm. The Bench recorded a conviction, with a fine of £5 and costs 15 s 6d. The defendant richly deserved the penalty, for he knew perfectly well that the animal was not fit to be taken on to a road. Defendant, to a query as to what he intended to do with the horse and what treatment it would be given, said he wanted to take it home. Defendant was told he was liable to a fine of £2O and two months' imprisonment. The horse would have to be treated humanely'or further action would result.