According to the Irish Examiner, a spokesperson for Jessica Kürten and her husband Eckard yesterday said the couple categorically rejected that there are doubts concerning the welfare of Georgina Forbes’s horses.

Martina Brueske said there was no foundation to Forbes’s claim that a German court had stated the wellbeing of five horses — Castle Forbes Libertina, Castle Forbes Cosma, Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois, Castle Forbes Vivaldo and Paddington — depended on them being urgently returned to Forbes.

"Jessica and Eckard are satisfied that the horses are in perfect health. Over the years, the horses have been frequently tested at shows under FEI rules, the results of which are published regularly. The horses also have been fully vaccinated," said Brueske.