A BRITISH man who operated as a horse whisperer and ran a rescue centre has been banned from owning horses for four years after being convicted of three counts of cruelty involving his own herd.

Raymond Sparks-Clark (43) with an address at North Lane, Otherey, in Somerset, was sentenced last week in Taunton Deane Magistrates’ Court after a four-day trial. He was found guilty and banned from owning horses for four years, as well as being given a two-year conditional discharge. He was ordered to pay costs of £400.