A former primary school teacher who was sacked after being recorded kicking and hitting her horse caused it “fear, distress and psychological suffering, as well as pain”, a court has heard.
Sarah Moulds is standing trial at Lincoln crown court after pleading not guilty to two charges of animal cruelty in a case brought by the RSPCA after a video of the attack was shared widely on social media.
The RSPCA alleges she caused the horse, a grey male pony named Bruce Almighty, “unnecessary suffering by kicking and hitting” him.
The prosecutor Hazel Stevens said the incident, filmed by Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs, took place during a meeting of the Cottesmore Hunt on 6 November 2021.
The jury watched the video clip showing Moulds’ actions towards the horse on a road in Gunby, Lincolnshire, which Stevens said caused it “fear, distress and psychological suffering, as well as pain from the inflicted kick and the blows”.
She said: “The prosecution case effectively is that this pony suffered physically and mentally at the time, and that this suffering was unnecessary.”
Moulds, 39, alleged that in the moments leading up to what can be seen in the video footage a child was holding the pony by a lead rope on a grass verge next to her horsebox when it moved into the road dragging the child behind it.
When the child let go of the rope, the horse continued down the road before returning and was caught by Moulds, who “immediately chastised it” by kicking it in the chest and delivering multiple blows to its face.
“There was no risk to the horse from other road users at the time and no real attempt by the horse to evade being captured,” Stevens told the jury. “The horse acts adversely to each blow.”
When interviewed by the RSPCA inspector Keith Hogben in the days after the incident, Moulds said she felt her actions were “necessary in that situation”.
“Bruce is a child’s pony and I had left him stood in a safe place with the two children,” she said. “By running into the road he risked causing harm to himself, the child and other road users. If I hadn’t chastised him and he continued to behave in this manner, then it would not be appropriate for him to be handled by children.”
Stevens said an examination on 16 November 2021 showed the horse had “no physical or external injuries” and was “in good health”.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, the equine veterinary surgeon Dr Suzanne Green said: “By physically kicking a horse that hard, you will obviously incite fear into the horse. It’s not a pleasant experience, it’s a painful experience.
“The overall conclusion I reached was that Bruce was caused unnecessary suffering by the actions of Sarah Moulds in that video, and that her actions towards Bruce were not proportionate, they were not appropriate and they weren’t responsive to anything.
“That horse has got nowhere to go. He’s not fighting back, he’s not hurting her. He’s just trying to get away.”
The trial, expected to last two days, continues.
