???No advice Shysmum but I'm not surprised at all, sadly.
I've seen some horrific abuse here in France which is why I will never sell anything of mine over here again, even though I came here with the intention of breeding. I bought back two of mine because they were sold on to completely inept owners.
I sincerely hope your maire is better that what we had here for years. In the closest village to us, a few years ago, someone put a TB mare and new born foal on a tiny triangle of land, no more than 1/4 acre, in January. The weather was wet, windy and then turned cold, the same as we've had this year. They had no hay/feed, no shelter and no rugs. I tried desperately to find out who the owner was so I could offer a large box until the weather improved and plenty of hay but no one was interested. The foal died in the February, I was beyond angry, the maire couldn't look me in the eye whenever I saw him after that.