A woman who starved dozens of horses on a rural property in Victoria still owns 45 of the animals, a court has been told.
Prosecutors are fighting for Christine Weisheit to be permanently banned from owning horses after a magistrate found her guilty of more than 50 animal cruelty offences.
The self-described "experienced horse owner" was accused of starving horses, keeping them inside contaminated yards and stables, and failing to provide appropriate veterinary treatment.
The RSPCA seized 21 horses from her family property near Ararat in February 2016 and took them to Golden Plains Equine hospital.
Many of them were emaciated and suffering from painful hoof conditions.
The bulk of the charges Weisheit was found guilty of related to 27 horses.
Weisheit, now aged 66, currently has 55 horses on the property, 10 of which are agisted, Melbourne Magistrates Court was told on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Amelia Beech said Weisheit owning so many of the animals was concerning, especially given her modest income.
Ms Beech pointed to Weisheit's prior animal cruelty convictions and pushed for her to be permanently disqualified from owning horses.
Previous sentences did nothing to stop the 66-year-old from being cruel to animals, and she refused the RSPCA's help before the horses were seized, the prosecutor said.
Weisheit's defence barrister Luke Howson urged the magistrate to order his client to pay a fine, and said it wasn't a case of intentional cruelty.
"It is one ... where the offender has found herself in a position where she was unable to cope to some extent," Mr Howson said.
"She may be criticised for finding herself in that position, but it's not a calculated set of offending, rather one where the real (cause) is more a lack of wisdom than malice."
At one point, Weisheit had up to 120 horses, the court was told.
Weisheit's first prevailing love was with horses and she and her mother were subjected to death threats after media attention about her long-running criminal case, Mr Howson said.
Weisheit had improved the property to make it more fit for horses, the barrister said.
The plea hearing continues.
