has been fined $250 in Magistrates' Court and forbidden to own another horse for three years.

Aleemudeen Bad'a, formerly known as Alan Tweed, was also ordered to give his mare to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

He was taken to court after SPCA inspector Louis Ray found the mare in an emaciated state.

"If you like animals, maybe you ought to think about something a little smaller, a little less costly,'' Senior Magistrate the Wor. Will Francis said.

Tweed, of Long Ridge Pass, had pleaded not guilty to permitting unnecessary suffering of the mare and failing to provide suitable and adequate food, water and care.

"From being sick with colic, she went off her feed so naturally she lost quite a bit of weight,'' the 42-year-old told Mr. Francis. "I knew all the horse needed was about eight weeks of good food. From (my 30 years' experience), once you keep a horse in that manner on a long chain outside, they never get sick.

"She was thin, but definitely not sick.'' Earlier, Ray said he visited a vacant lot west of Frog Lane and to the east of Roberts Avenue on August 7, 1991.

He said the mare was tied by a 15-foot chain to a fence with very little foliage nearby. There was a five-gallon bucket tied to the fence with a little water in it.

Ray said he recognised the animal as being Tweed's and found him along Palmetto Road.

He said he told Tweed his horse was in a terrible condition and gave him seven days to contact a vet and have the horse examined.

Ray said he re-examined the horse on August 11 and found its condition had not changed and approximated its weight at 769 pounds.

Two days later, Tweed told him he had not yet contacted a vet. Ray said on August 22, he and Government veterinary officer Dr. Neil Burnie removed the horse from the premises.

The horse weighed 784 pounds and was taken to the SPCA for proper care and treatment.

Dr. Burnie said the horse did not have parasites and there were no symptoms of any other disease which could have caused its weight loss.

"We therefore elected to pursue a course of action providing merely food and water to this animal and as a result, the horse has begun to gain weight within a short period of time. It gained 156 pounds in four weeks and has continued to gain weight to this day,'' he said.

"I have never seen a horse suffer such a dramatic loss in body weight as that which Mr. Bad'a claims occurred in this horse.

"(He) claims his horse has been off feed repeatedly since its bout of colic.

This in itself is absolute evidence that a vet should've been called. His 30 years of horsemanship should have lead him to that conclusion and let him know the mere presence of green material in front of a horse is not evidence that it's consuming enough or indicative of the condition of the animal.'' Tweed, who was unrepresented, said the mare had access to plenty of food and water.

"I had bought 30-feet of brand new chain, plus I had added another 10 feet or more of rope to the chain so the horse could be comfortable moving around and getting exercise. She always had plenty of water.

"I was giving it to her slowly to build her up slowly. Plus she had plenty of grass. The horse was knee deep in grass.'' Mr. Francis disagreed with Tweed.

"You did not do what the horse obviously needed, despite a desperate plea from Mr. Ray, to do so,'' he said. "I am quite satisfied beyond any doubt that the Crown has well proved its case. If you want to own a horse make sure you have sufficient funds, property and land available or whatever is necessary to own a horse.'' Ray said the horse could be sold for anywhere between $500 and $2,000.

"(Wednesday) we had the horse weighed on the same scale and found it weighed 1,322 pounds,'' he said. "The animal is in excellent, first-class condition.'' Crown Counsel Mr. Stephen Harrison suggested that it be sold to allow the SPCA to recover as much of the $2,486 as possible it spent helping it recuperate.

NEGLECTED MARE -- SPCA inspector Mr. Louis Ray and the emaciated and dehydrated mare he found last August chained in a vacant lot near Frog Lane field. The nine-year-old horse is now in excellent condition and its former owner, Aleemudeen Bad'a, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering.