Horse lay minutes from death after being abandoned in 'field from hell' He pleaded guilty to two other charges of failing to protect 14 horses from pain, injury, suffering and disease, and two of failing to provide a suitable environment. Hope had been rescued in November 2011 after being spotted by a passing van driver tangled in barbed wire, caked in mud, and unable to stand after slipping down a bank in muddy conditions in the field near Davies home. A vet arrived at the scene and bought her to save Hope's life whilst the RSPCA were called in. An RSPCA inspector and officers from two other equine welfare charities visited the field and Mr Davies was advised to move the other 16 horses because of the appalling conditions. But the following month all were taken into police possession on veterinary advice. Fifteen of them were placed in RSPCA care whilst the 16th owned by a third party, was returned. One of the horses in RSPCA care later had been put to sleep due to an unrelated inoperable condition. The fourteen others will remain in RSPCA care until new homes can be found for them. Two mares have had foals which aren't yet weaned and can't be separated. RSPCA chief inspector Cathy Hyde said today: "We always hope for a ban on keeping animals as the best way of ensuring others don't suffer in future and I'm glad the court sentenced Mr Davies to a ban." She added: "We tried to work with Mr Davies and, despite initially complying with our advice, it became apparent that he wasn't going to make the necessary improvements to the environment. Sadly he failed these horses, allowing them to suffer as a result of his actions or lack of them. Though Mr Davies moved them to another part of the field, the conditions still weren't good enough and as the weather worsened so did their physical health. We were visiting them every day to check on them and grew increasingly concerned. Finding somewhere new to keep 15 shire horses is no easy task and we gave him every chance, but in the end it was necessary for us to go down this route. Vet Simon Constable said of the 15 seized, 56 out of 60 feet had bacterial infections causing the horses pain and added that the animals had been 'constantly standing in filthy conditions.' He said of a a black shire cross: "The foot was full of faeces and mud. The horse had been suffering for at least two months, as a conservative estimate. This was obvious by the putrid smell. The horses were itching, biting and scratching themselves. There was evidence of self harm of all the horses. At Hyndburn magistrates court Davies who used to run a countryside leisure firm which went bust said he had owned horses for 54 years and bred horses as a "hobby." He claimed he fed the horses an excessive number of carrots as a way of "flushing" the worms out of their system, as opposed to traditional medication and claimed he cleaned the horses' feet "around twice a week." His lawyer Miss Louise Cowen said: "He has kept horses since he was a young boy, it is a source of sadness and regret that he may never be able to keep horses again - that in itself would be a punishment to this individual. He would describe himself as being a horse lover. But district judge Peter Ward said: "Mr Davies had too many horses and he could not adequately deal with them. The inadequate control and the level of the infestation was so much that it caused suffering. Mr Davies was not able to keep on top of the number of horses, and the condition in which they should be kept.  He told Davies: "I accept you didn't breed horses to make profit, it was a hobby. You were reluctant to get rid of the horses but you had horses that you couldn't cope with - that's what it comes down to. As a result they were neglected and they did all suffer. The judge ordered Davies to complete 300 hours unpaid work and abide by an 8pm to 7am curfew. He was also ordered to pay £85, 737.17 in costs and compensation.