THE OWNER of the two horses thought to be abandoned in a field in St Albans has come forward to reassure people about the situation and the animals’ welfare.

Richard Anderson, who is currently based in Watford, said he had read about his horses whilst visiting his father in the area and been concerned that people were confusing his horses with a horse that was kept in the same field earlier this year.

Mr Anderson, who has kept horses for over 20 years and visits his horses on the field on Highfield Park Drive every day, said he was concerned that people were feeding his animals under the mistaken belief that they were helping them through winter.

He said: “I’m down here every day and there’s a fresh bale of hay there whenever it’s needed. They’ve got water and if I owned the land I would build them better shelter, but they do have the trees and hedges to protect them.

“I assure people, I do care about these animals and will be looking after them all through the winter and long after that.”

Mr Anderson admitted that people were probably concerned that his horses would suffer the same fate as a horse rescued from the field earlier this year which had been abandoned and was close to death.

He said: “That was nothing to do with me and fortunately the RSPCA were able to take the horse away. Obviously the RSPCA have responded to claims made by members of the public that I’m mistreating the animals but they’ve come down to inspect them, given me some advice and left.

“They have told me they are happy with what I’m doing and I have always followed their recommendations.

“The biggest danger to their health right now is members of the public feeding them whatever type of food they want.”

The RSPCA confirmed that another horse was removed from the same field prior to Mr Anderson moving his horses in, but that this was unrelated to Mr Anderson.

They also said that they had investigated claims made by members of the public but were assured that Mr Anderson was providing for his horses.