Lincoln Crown Court hears former school teacher Sarah Moulds describe impact on her life after she kicked and slapped pony called Bruce Almighty
A horse rider who was filmed allegedly kicking and slapping her own family pony was delivering a punishment to a horse for an action not caught on camera.
RSPCA prosecutors allege Sarah Moulds, 39, of Somerby, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, caused "fear and distress" to the animal who also suffered physically and mentally at the time.
The former teacher denies causing unnecessary suffering to her grey pony, named Bruce Almighty, at the Drift, Gunby, on November 6, 2021.
This morning, the court heard that Mrs Moulds was standing trial because hunt sabouteurs had captured a video during a meeting of the Cottesmore Hunt, which had been passed onto the RSPCA which brought the prosecution.
This afternoon (Wednesday), prosecution expert, Dr Suzanne Green, was cross-examined by defence barrister Derek Duffy who described how the beginning of the incident was not caught on film.
The jury heard Bruce was initially at the front of the horse box when Sarah Moulds put her own ride into the vehicle.
Mr Duffy suggested Sarah Moulds, as per Defra guidance and her interview, was delivering an immediate punishment to Bruce because he had walked away.
“The horse is trained not to walk away, it is a child’s horse. It does what it is not supposed to do,” Mr Duffy said.
Mr Duffy also suggested to Dr Green that it was entirely speculative to claim she knew what the horse was thinking and that Bruce had suffered bruising as a result of the kick.
He also argued use of a whip was permitted in both show jumping and horse racing, and Dr Green accepted it could be dangerous if a horse got out loose on a road.
The jury heard Bruce was 13 hands tall, and could not be ridden by an adult, and was being regularly ridden in events.
Dr Clive Madeiros, a veterinary surgeon who was called as a defence expert on behalf of Sarah Moulds, said in his opinion the horse did not suffer unnecessary pain and suffering.
“I’ve looked at the video dozens of times, forensically, the evidence that goes with it, Sarah’s statement, the horse is disciplined, the horse is always loose,” Dr Madeiros said.
“Sarah Moulds grabs the horse as soon as she can, and chastises it.
“As soon as that horse was restrained by Sarah Moulds he was chastised, he was disciplined.
“When you look very closely at it, all four slaps, it’s very difficult to see if there is any contact.
“The contact at the time is minimal, then you have the kick.”
“If you put a lot of pressure on the sternum it creates an uplift,” Dr Madeiros added. “It is a normal reflex.”
Dr Madeiros said he did not see any evidence of fear in Bruce.
“That horse went back into the trailer as you would expect.”
There was also no evidence Bruce had suffered any bruising from the kick, Dr Madeiros concluded.
Dr Madeiros added: “When you look at the head I don’t think it is fear and pain, I think it is more likely to be discomfort.”
Under cross-examination from prosecution barrister Hazel Stevens, Dr Madeiros said he believed the chastisement was “necessary and appropriate.”
“From the evidence I’ve seen Bruce was chastised for four seconds, accepted it and returned to the trailer.”
Dr Madeiros agreed he did not advocate physical chastisement, telling the jury: “That is my personal opinion.”
Giving evidence from the witness box in court room number two, Mrs Moulds confirmed she had no criminal convictions and had never come to the attention of the RSPCA for mistreatment of animals.
“I’ve been involved with horses nearly since I was old enough to walk , four years old,” Mrs Moulds said.
Mrs Moulds confirmed she was a primary school teacher in her local village at the time of the incident, and still owned four horses, including Bruce.
“We are lucky enough to have stables, the horses are put out each day.”
Mrs Moulds explained: “When Bruce leaves us in that moment that child is holding the rope because she does not want to let Bruce go.
“I shouted at her to let him go. He is 400 kilos. At that moment there is a number of horrific things that could happen. She could fall. She could trip.”
Mrs Moulds insisted Bruce had not walked off before.
“If Bruce becomes a dangerous pony he can not continue his idyllic life with us.
“I was loading my horse, Bob, because he was the biggest of the three. I returned to the front of the trailer where the other two children were with the two ponies when Bruce took off.
“She was trying to hold him. I shouted ‘let go, let go’ because it was unsafe for her to hold the rope.
“At that moment Bruce is loose, going down the road 25 to 30 metres away.
“A quad bike shooed him back, he is having a bit of a jolly, getting to the back of the trailer.
“You can see in the video Bruce is returning to the other pony that I am then holding, Gloria.”
Mr Moulds described how she then decided to kick Bruce, before wafting her hand across his head.
“In that moment he had done something incredibly dangerous, and in that moment I decided to discipline him,” Mrs Moulds said.
“We have seen it slowed down in milliseconds, but in reality it was four seconds.
“My intention was then, as I said back in my interview in November, was to discipline him.”
Mrs Moulds added: “There was minimal contact and no pain to my hand.
“He made no attempt to escape, we load him back into the trailer and go about our normal lives.
“The next day he met me just as normal, in his happy way at the gate, as he always has to be let out first.
“If anybody had come out they would have seen there was no bruising, no injury, that Bruce had never shown any fear towards me.
“Four seconds does not define a relationship between an owner and a horse.”
Mrs Moulds said the medical examination of Bruce could not take place until November 16, because she had to go into hiding.
“We were escorted from our house on the Monday by the police because they were concerned about our safety, and we were in hiding until the Sunday.”
Mrs Moulds explained how she also rang her boss and explained there was a video in circulation.
Under cross-examination from Miss Stevens, Mrs Moulds denied she kicked out in temper.
“No it wasn’t temper, I think you can see in the video it wasn’t temper,” Mrs Moulds added.
Mrs Moulds said she believed two of the wafts did not make contact.
“I did it quickly, it was four seconds.”
Asked why she clenched her fist for the third and fourth slaps Mrs Moulds admitted: “I don’t know why.”
Mrs Moulds broke down in tears as she told the prosecutor any suggestion that she would chastise Bruce again was ridiculous, adding “my life has been torn to pieces”.
“Without considering what those two children went through, considering I lost my job,” she added.
“We never went trail hunting again because these people threatened to kill me.”
