A STABLES owner, accused of causing unnecessary suffering to three horses, two of which were subsequently destroyed, was angry when the Scottish SPCA carried out a raid on her premises armed with a warrant.

Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard that Jackie Kemp initially refused to speak directly to SSPCA staff but then told them: “You’ve done it this time girls.”

Kemp, 53, of Balmule Steading, Dunfermline, was appearing in the dock on the second day of trial.

She is accused of causing unnecessary suffering to a mare named Brogan and a gelding called Beano at Wester Denhead, Roscobie, Dunfermline, between 20th November, 2015 and 20th February 2016.

She is also accused causing unnecessary suffering to a mare named Molly at Balmule Farm between 21st November 2015 and 21st February 2016.

The horses were taken into the care of Scottish SPCA and the two mares were later destroyed.

Former SSPCA inspector Leanne McPake, 36, was the lead investigator on the case.

She told the court that on her first visit to Wester Denhead she was concerned about the condition of some horses and sought a warrant from the court.

This was granted and SSPCA officers returned to both locations on 17th February 2016.

She was asked by depute fiscal Dev Kapadia about the condition of a stable where the mare Brogan was kept.

She replied: “The bedding wasn’t fresh and it needed mucked out. Brogan was underweight and you could see her ribs clearly.”

Another stables area was described as “dilapidated, in a state of disrepair and very muddy underfoot”. The witness said there was a piece of wood lying on the ground with nails sticking out of it which horses could have stood on.

SSPCA inspector Nicola Liddell, 46, was also present during the visit.

She said there were about 13 horses and ponies out in a field in freezing conditions. “About five of them were shivering with the cold. It was a very cold day. Some had rugs on them and some didn’t.”

Jackie Kemp arrived later in the day and the depute asked what her reaction had been to the presence of the inspectors.

“She didn’t want us there, didn’t like us being there. She asked us to go and sit in our van as she wanted to speak to her vet,” she replied.

Ms Liddell added: “She said, ‘You’ve done it this time girls. This is going to court’.”

Previously in the trial, vet Chris Calder, 35, a lecturer in equine practice at Edinburgh University, told the court he had carried out examinations of the three horses taken away.

He said Beano was “incredibly underweight” and had a number of ailments as did the other two.

Brogan had bacterial infection on the skin of her back, rump and hind quarters.

The horse also had cracks in her hooves and the vet marked her overall body condition as 1 out of 5.

The witness said he was called back to treat Brogan on 26th February 2016. “She was lying flat on the ground, groaning, thrashing around on the floor and her eyes were rolling. She was showing signs of extreme pain.”

The horse was unable to get up and despite various drugs being given continued to be in distress. After three hours, the vet decided with the agreement of the SSPCA that the horse should be euthanised.

The same fate befell Molly, whose body condition had been put at 0.5 out of 5 by the vet.

In his report on this horse, Mr Calder said she was “extremely under-weight” apparently because of “a severe lack of feeding” and had a “horrendously thin body condition”.

Kemp denies the charges and the trial before Sheriff Chris Shead was adjourned until next week.