Unwanted horses are being passed from owner to owner, often being treated cruelly by those who do not know how to care for them properly.

That is the warning from the animal welfare group, the SPCA, which has dealt with 40 complaints about cruelty to horses in the past year.

And SPCA President Heather Kromer warned that with open space on the Island diminishing rapidly, the problem is likely to worsen.

"Animal ownership is a responsibility and one could argue that the larger the animal, the greater the responsibility," she wrote in a recent society newsletter.

"Many horses continue to be imported to Bermuda, despite diminishing open space needed for turnout for these animals. A major concern of the SPCA is the cycle of ownership of horses where the animals go from owner to owner once they are no longer wanted ? they are being treated as expendable items.

"Many of the horse cruelty cases that the SPCA investigates involve horses no longer wanted by their original owners and sold or passed on to other owners who keep them in conditions entirely unsuitable for their existence."

Mrs. Kromer said in many cases the horses become victims of cruelty either intentionally or through ignorance, inexperience or because owners lack the resources to properly care for them.

"Our goal is to encourage all horse owners to be responsible by not treating their animals as disposable items to be traded off from person to person. Rather, horse ownership should be viewed as a long term commitment.

"In instances where a horse is no longer wanted, care should be taken to find the right new owner, one that is experienced and has the resources and desire to properly care for a large animal.

"Alternatively, in some instances it would be more appropriate for older or unfit horses to be retired or euthanised," she said.

According to SPCA shelter manager Theresa Ince, most of the calls about cruelty pertain to concerns about inadequate stables, bedding and unclean conditions such as horses spotted standing in mud.

Other callers ring in to report concerns about carriage horses that appear to be limping or overloaded. Most of these are tackled by SPCA staff educating the owners about proper care and then conducting follow-up visits.

However, as previously reported in , the organisation won a court victory earlier this year against one owner, who was convicted of what was described as Bermuda's worst-ever case of horse neglect.

Seven animals were removed from the care of Calix Darrell by the SPCA after they were found in terrible conditions at his Southampton stable.

Darrell a 68-year-old truck driver from Fairvale Lane, Warwick, pleaded guilty to cruelty charges and was banned from keeping animals for five years and handed a suspended sentence.

The horses were found shut up in dark stables, with filthy bedding, no water and unkempt hooves. Several were underweight and one of them was so emaciated he had to be destroyed immediately. Two more of the horses failed to recover from their ordeal and had to be put down later. The surviving horses were looked after at a private stables in Bermuda after the SPCA rescued them and the charity was recently able to secure a new home for them in the USA.

Mrs. Kromer said that although the recent Darrell case had been successfully prosecuted, the society wants to attack the root of the problem in addition to the symptoms.

Wendy Roberts, whose daughter Chalsey spends hours each day training and caring for her horse Solo Crusader, said she was concerned about reports of other less fortunate animals.

"I support the SPCA's campaign 100 per cent," she said.

Solo Crusader and Chalsey compete in a full range of sports disciplines including jumping and dressage.