A Victorian woman accused of starving dozens of horses on her rural property has claimed the animals became sick after escaping to a state park and nearby eucalyptus farm.
Christine Weisheit has pleaded not guilty to 55 animal cruelty offences for allegedly mistreating horses at a property near Ararat.
She is accused of starving the horses, keeping them inside contaminated yards and stables, and failing to provide appropriate veterinary treatment.
The RSPCA seized 21 horses from her property in February 2016 and took them to Golden Plains Equine hospital, many of them were emaciated and suffering from painful hoof conditions.
Weisheit faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday where she was shown photos of more than 15 horses with visible rib cages, among those taken from her property.
She said all but one had escaped from her farm and ran into either the state park, which borders her property, or a nearby blue gum farm.
Weisheit claimed two groups of up to eight horses escaped, some up to four times.
Three horses were put down after returning from the eucalyptus farm and the rest came back sick and unable to digest feed, she said.
"Three of them, one after another, just collapsed and we had to put them down and it was heartbreaking," she said.
Weisheit said the blue gum farm's soil was contaminated and the horses who fled to the state park may have ingested poisonous plants or baits.
She isolated the horses that returned to her property, placing them into separate yards to put them on special diets.
The court previously heard some of these yards were dirty and contained high levels of faecal contamination. A vet who visited the properly said he found no evidence that any food was being provided to the horses.
But Weisheit said she was feeding the sick horses a diet of wild oats, barley, hay and camomile.
"Their weights went up and down like a yoyo. The horses that went out in the blue gum farm, they were a struggle," she said.
She said she called a Miners Rest veterinarian for help with some of the horses, but was told they were "tied up with all the race horses".
The court on Tuesday struck out three of the 50-plus charges against Weisheit, including aggravated cruelty and cruelty causing death.
The hearing continues.
