THE bodies of more than a dozen dead and decomposing horses - many of them abandoned by their owners - have been found on a Tredegar common.

Up to 14 dead ponies were photographed by charity workers on Cefn Golau Common on April 12, with a group of 35 live ones near the Tredegar and Rhymney Golf Club.

Two dead horses were found on Manmoel Common, near Crumlin, on the same day, while one live horse was taken by Bransby Home of Rest for Horses, in Hereford, and four live horses by the Society for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies (SWHP) in Monmouth.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said the majority of ponies on Manmoel and Cefn Golau commons are not wild mountain ponies.

She said: "They are ponies that are being illegally grazed by owners who are not taking responsibility for them.

"They are not micro- chipped so we are unable to identify the individuals who are abandoning their horses.

"We are continuing to monitor these ponies and helping to ensure their health and well-being."

Ann Keating, founder of the Welsh Ponies Rescue and Rehoming Project (WPRRP), was a member of the group that walked across Cefn Golau Common, sited half in Blaenau Gwent and half in Caerphilly borough, and sent images of the dead animals to the Argus.

Some of the images were too graphic to publish.

Miss Keating said: "The last cold snap of weather, very poor grazing, not being able to gain weight, and heavy worm burdens have really taken a grip on the ponies.

"We fear a rise in ponies being dumped again due to very poor sales in markets and all this meat scandal."

The practice of micro-chipping horses before they can be sold is now law. but with mountain ponies fetching only £15 to £20 at auction, the cost of micro-chipping often outstrips their value, said Tredegar west councillor Haydn Trollope.

"It is a big bone of contention with me that people leave horses all over the mountain without looking after them, although 1 don't know who owns these horses," he said.

Anyone with information about the owner or owners of the horses can call the RSPCA inspector information line on 0300 123 8011 in confidence.

'People can't Iook after them and they get dumped'

ABOUT 27 horses living on Gelligaer Common were found dead eight years ago In similar circumstances, said Miss Keating, who looks after ponies there.

"It happens every few years," she said. "The horse market has gone to the floor and they are being given away or are so cheap that people get them but have no idea how to look after them and no money to do so.

"They are dumped on the common and start breeding and it escalates. With bad winters a lot die and the owners take no responsibility," she said.

"You can tell some of them have had owners because they are used to being handled."