A former horse dealer was “reckless and negligent” in treating a Shetland pony that died after a bite wound.

Marcus Bristow failed to treat the injury properly and it died before it could even be put down, Ashford magistrates heard.

Chairman of the bench Andrew Wickham told him: “We don’t think you intended to cause suffering but by your recklessness and neglect this is what happened.

“As a horse dealer by profession you should know better in the care of ponies and horses.

“We find it difficult to understand why the neglect was so great.”

Jim Richards, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said that the chestnut mare, which had recently given birth to a foal, had been bitten on the neck by a horse in a field at Singleton Hill, Ashford, in June 2007.

Bristow had sprayed the wound with antiseptic but, in the summer weather, it became infested with maggots and flies.

The infestation eventually blocked its windpipe.

The mare was rescued by the RSPCA but died within two days, and before it could be put to sleep.

Bristow, 28, of Mock Lane, Singleton, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal between June 7 and 12 last year.

David Lloyd-Roberts, for Bristow, said: “It certainly wasn’t deliberate, he should be dealt with on the basis of recklessness.”

He said that Bristow had carried out the treatment on the advice of a retired vet and explained: “He attempted to treat the injury but had done so inadequately.”

The court heard that Bristow, now a landscape gardener, had previous convictions but not concerning animals.

Bristow was given an 11-day prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

He was also given a 12-month supervision requirement with 200 hours’ unpaid work.

He was additionally ordered to pay £2,500 towards the RSPCA’s prosecution costs and banned from keeping animals for five years.