A WOMAN who gave away a beloved horse on loan has been left distraught after she discovered it dead in a field in Mildenhall, near Marlborough.

Fiona Cialfi, 70, loaned two horses, Pye and Tash, to Mark Hope of Hopelands Equestrian last year, under the belief that the horses would live out their days under his care.

But last week she had a call to pick up both mares, which were in foal, but arrived to find Pye was lying dead in the field, covered in mats and rugs.

Residents in the village had also alerted the RSPCA about up to 30 horses in the field off Woodlands Road after becoming concerned about their welfare.

Mr Hope accepts getting into difficulty over the winter period and says he believed Pye died from colic. He added that he was committed to caring for the animals and has since found new homes for all 29 broodmares at the field. A farrier who provided care to Mrs Cialfi’s surviving mare has described its conditions as the worst he had seen in his career, after the broodmare was taken back by its owner.

Farrier Ben Pinion, 36, said: “In my opinion her feet were in such a state I wouldn’t even try and say when they last had attention. It is certainly the worst I have seen in my career, since 1999. It would have been uncomfortable for the mare and the she was in a poor state in general.”

Mr Hope says he spent £1,000 a week caring for the horses and despite asking for help from the RSPCA, has not received any support.

Mr Hope said: “They are broodmares at the end of the day, we’ve had the RSPCA and vets up there and they believe the horses are fine.

“I have struggled all through the winter to keep these horses going, and now I have found a home for all 29 of them.

“The RSPCA has not done anything to help me. They were going to send Horse Welfare to help me, not because they needed to be taken away but to ease the burden.”

Mrs Cialfi, 70, from Kent, said: “It was the most basic of things. The field had no grass or hay, no shelter and no rugs. Her worm count was 500, it should be 250 and it took us more than two hours to scrape and clean her hair."

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: “Unfortunately we are unable to discuss complaints about specific people and what action may have been taken.

"We understand how frustrating that is for animal lovers but releasing information could prejudice any investigation or could lead to us being fined.”