GRAPHIC PICTURES: '˜Mistreated' Derbyshire horses given all-clear by RSPCA

The horses - which are kept in a field in Marehay near Ripley - had appeared to be underweight and injured in recent months and a number of the young foals had actually died.

A reader contacted the Ripley and Heanor News about the case recently complaining that the RSPCA had ‘done nothing’ about the horses and had not even responded to local people’s concerns.

The RSCPA have today released a statement, however, through a spokesperson.

It said: “We were made aware of concerns for some horses in a field off Warmwells Lane, in Marehay, after photos of them were shared on social media.

“We share concerns about these images, but after a visit to the field discovered that they had been taken some months ago and the horses are now in a reasonable state of health.”

“We would like to reassure people that the welfare of these horses is very important to us. There is often a lot of work going on behind the scenes to improve animal welfare, even when we cannot publicise the work due to legal, data protection or other reasons.”

What do you think? Should the owners get a second chance or if you let your animals get in this state should you be stopped from owning them?

Let us know on our Facebook page or by emailing [email protected].