A DOZEN horses have been removed from a North Yorkshire equestrian centre by a national animal charity following an incident which saw a dead horse allegedly dumped in a mum-of-two’s garden.

Beckie Warner, 26, found Kit, the seven-year-old former racehorse she rented, dead in her garden on the night of October 15, after it had been humanely killed and allegedly driven from a nearby equestrian centre in a JCB bucket.

The animal had been leased from its owner and kept in a DIY livery, where a regular fee is paid for the horse to stay in a field owned by the nearby GG Centre, but the responsibility of looking after it does not fall with the business.

It has emerged the RSPCA has removed a dozen horses from the GG Centre since then.

A spokeswoman said: “There are more than 700 horses in the RSPCA’s care throughout England and Wales and these 12 horses were moved to another facility. The horse involved in the dispute was not in the care of the RSPCA and the veterinary surgeon who examined the body at the scene stated that it was put to sleep humanely, meaning no prosecution under animal welfare legislation can be taken.

“The RSPCA is sympathetic to the strength of feeling surrounding this incident and does not condone what happened. However, this is a police investigation and it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”

Two men were arrested by North Yorkshire Police in connection with the incident in the early hours of Thursday, October 16.

A 53-year-old man was released the same day without further action, but a police spokesman said a 36-year-old man was charged on Monday with one count of criminal damage.

Edward Harvey Johnson, owner of the GG Centre, previously told The Press Kit had hurt one of his staff when they had tried to move it from the field into a horsebox.

The animal was due to be tied in Ms Warner’s garden as Mr Johnson said the fee for its livery had not been paid for three weeks, but he said his staff were concerned its behaviour could hurt itself or others and decided to have it put down humanely by a licensed specialist.

The 36-year-old man is due to appear at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court later this month.