'All the signs of exhaustion' - Second horse dies following Appleby Horse Fair

Two horses died at the event this year. Credit: ITV Border

The RSPCA has confirmed that a second horse has died at the Appleby Horse Fair.

The charity said that the overworking of horses was a significant animal welfare issue this year.

They claim that a horse was "worked to death" on Wednesday before the fair officially begun.

It has been confirmed though that a Shetland Pony also died on Saturday, with the RSPCA saying it "showed all the signs of exhaustion."

RSPCA Chief Inspector Rob Melloy said: “There are a lot of wonderful people and animals at the fair, who it’s really enjoyable to meet and get to know. You only need look at the Appleby Horse Project’s Best at Appleby Awards, which celebrate horse health, happiness and horsemanship.

“Unfortunately, there is also an element of people who think it’s okay to drive horses to the point of exhaustion, and disappointingly we’ve seen the most serious results of that this week.

The clean-up began following the conclusion of the event. Credit: PA

“Everyone knows about the horse who died at Jubilee Bridge on Wednesday, but we had a Shetland pony who died in the residential section at the back of the Trade Field on Saturday too, which showed all the signs of exhaustion.

“We believe a lot of overworking was happening at night, though it was not being reported, and we had to deal with the consequences the day after. In the case of the Shetland, we were called to the stallion early in the morning, and suspect he was overworked in the evening.

“A lot of our warnings and interactions were about exhaustion and if the weather had been a little bit hotter we may have been talking about more than these two deaths.”

Another horse also died on Wednesday before the start of the Appleby Horse Fair with the RSPCA saying it was "worked to death."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...