The six horses which allegedly almost starved to death after being neglected by their owner are well on the road to recovery.

The condition of the animals, kept in a paddock in St. George's, caused outrage in the equestrian community when photographs of one of the horses appeared in The Royal Gazette last month.

And both the Government vet and animal health officials immediately sprung into action, demanding that the owner, former blacksmith and carriage driver John DeShields, begin taking proper care of the horses.

Yesterday, four weeks after the plight of the starving beasts was revealed, it was confirmed that they have made "a significant improvement''.

Bermuda Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals chairman Dr. Andrew Madeiros said: "I went out on Friday with the Government vet and one of our inspectors. The inspectors have been going up there almost on a daily basis.

"There certainly has been a vast improvement -- the horses have had their coats clipped and groomed and the stables are clean and they've also got hay in the stables.

"There's only one thing on my list that we don't think has been done and that was getting the horses vaccinated, although I understand that Mr. DeShields is getting that done.

"But everything else has been done -- they have been wormed, had their teeth filed and their feet trimmed and shod -- they're putting on weight and are looking quite good.

"Even the one that looked the worst is looking better -- they have all made a significant improvement.'' Dr. Madeiros added that one of the horses might still have to be destroyed, although he stressed that this was because it was extremely old and suffering from arthritis, not because of neglect.

Dr. Madeiros also said two of the animals have begun some gentle exercise and could be out working again within a month or so.

But he reiterated the horses would still be closely monitored for the next few months to make sure they make a full recovery.

"I believe he has started exercising a couple of horses lightly, although he's not to use them commercially until they are checked by the Government vet,'' Dr. Madeiros said. "Mr. DeShields has done what he was supposed to do and now we're just keeping a watching brief.''