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A man has been banned from keeping animals for five years after two horses he owned were found almost emaciated and riddled with lice.

The two piebald cob mares belonged to Alfie Doyle, from Maidstone, who said he only took them from a member of the Travelling community because they were not being cared for properly.

But a court heard the 34-year-old, who is from the Travelling community himself, failed to get any veterinary treatment for them.

One mare had reddening and disease in one eye, and later had to have it removed.

RSPCA inspectors found the animals on land which was said to be unsuitable for horses to graze on. It was a rubbish-laden field with no proper fencing in the vicinity of St Katherine’s Road, Erith. It had no shelter for the horses and their manure was not removed.

They were taken into the RSPCA’s care and Doyle, of Hampstead Lane, Nettlestead, was later charged with two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal between January 11, 2024, and March 13, the same year.

He was also charged with being the person responsible for the duty of care for the animals to ensure their welfare by failing to house them in a suitable environment and protecting them from pain, suffering, injury or disease, by failing to provide proper and necessary treatment for their worm and louse problems.

Doyle admitted all three offences when he appeared in court in October last year.

At the time, sentencing was adjourned to allow a pre-sentencing report to be carried out. He returned to Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on Monday, February 17, to hear his fate.

RSPCA prosecutor Sophie Read told the court both horses had poor body weight and and one had a disease in its right eye.

Ms Read added: “A welfare officer went to the site in Erith, near Thamesmead, and there was no fence and there was rubbish in the field there were not a lot of grazing areas and it was a poor place to keep horses.

“They were hunched up and both had poor body conditions and one was more lethargic than the other.”

On March 12 last year, a vet went to see the horses and deemed them to be suffering and the animals were taken into the RSPCA’s care when Doyle agreed to sign them over to the organisation.

Ms Read then explained an animal expert examined the mares and the first was deemed to be about three years old while the other was judged to be about seven.

The younger horse was given a body weight score of 0.5 on a scale from zero to five, with zero being emaciated and five being a good body condition.

The animal was also found to have a skin condition likened to alopecia and its right eye was diseased.

The RSPCA prosecutor added: “The other horse had a body weight score of one out of five and had a heavy louse infestation and both horses had to be de-wormed.

“The worm droppings were large in their manure and the younger horse had to have its right eye removed, but both animals are now doing well.”

She said a notice left for Doyle to take measures to stop the horses from suffering had not been acted upon. Doyle said he had not seen the note.

The animal organisation was asking for him to be disqualified from keeping animals in the future.

She added: “The horses were in a high level of pain and almost emaciated and that’s enough to warrant a blanket ban.”

The RSPCA said its costs for looking after the mares and veterinary care had come to £3,194 so far.

A probation officer who interviewed Doyle said he had told him he acquired the animals from an associate in the Travelling community because he was aware they had been neglected but that the transaction “may not have been as thorough as a regular business”.

The officer added: “He had the best intentions at the time, but he admitted to me that the environment [they were kept in] was not suitable and he failed to take action.

“He told me he tried to feed and get meds for them but again, it was through an arrangement with an associate in his community.

“There is no substance misuse [for Doyle] and he works in the plumbing and building industries.”

Magistrates asked Doyle if he had anything to say.

He replied: “I took them on, on the spur of the moment as I knew they were unwell and had been badly treated and I tried to do the right thing.

“I made a mistake and I was wrong, but I fed them regularly. I was feeding them outside and I tried to seek medical advice, but it didn’t work out that way.

“I identified myself [to the RSPCA] straight away as I had nothing to hide. I had only just put them there and I had not seen the note.

“I’ve had stress and anxiety and if I see an animal suffering from now on I will call the RSPCA.”

Magistrates told Doyle the offences passed the custody threshold but they would take his punishment down a notch as he had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

As a result, they jailed Doyle for 12 weeks for the offences but suspended the term for 12 months.

He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 10 rehabilitation sessions.

The chairman of the bench said: “You must complete them, as if not, you will go to prison.”

Doyle was also ordered to pay £400 court costs and a £154 victim surcharge and will pay what he owes the court at a rate of £100 a month.

He was also disqualified from owning any animal for five years.

Magistrates ordered the £3,194 spent by the RSPCA in caring for the animals to be paid to the charity out of central court funds.