A council has taken legal action to end the saga of a woman who has shared a home with her horse for nearly two years.
And among the demands that Western Isles Council is making to allow Stephanie Noble to keep the horse in her semi-detached house is that every door that the pony uses at the property – including the front door – must be at least four feet wide.
Currently Grey Lady Too passes through four doors to go in and out of the house from inside her stable in the front living room.
In addition the council is insisting that the four-year-old dappled grey must have at least two feet clearance above its head while in the living room at the home in Back on the Isle of Lewis.
But a defiant Ms Noble, who has been served with an animal care notice, says she will fight the moves and is even threatening to sue the council for damages over the “harassment”.
She says that when the horse’s thick bedding – which raises the pony’s height – is removed from the living room “there’s enough room to stand a Shetland pony on her”.
Twice divorced Ms Noble, 67, said she had no choice but to move her pony into her home after the animal was allegedly “dumped” on her lawn on Christmas Eve two years ago following a dispute with the owner of the land where the filly had previously grazed.
After passing through the front door and another two doors, visitors are confronted by the sight of a horse munching hay happily in the undecorated living room.
Ms Noble has also worked with horses in the US, where she lived until 1994.
Ms Noble – a qualified British Horse Society instructress and trainer – has meanwhile moved her furniture upstairs into her bedroom and says the filly is well-cared for. “The pony is very happy in the lounge and the Scottish SPCA have checked her and say she is good health.
“This move by the council comes from people who don’t understand animals.
“I don’t think any horse or pony should be put out in this climate in winter – and that is where she’ll end up if they force me by the end of the month.
“If I get taken to court I will fight it with very good and sound arguments.”