In a tale straight out of the pages of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Rugg-Easy discovered her thoroughbred Stella was missing from the stables last August.

She quickly suspected her neighbour Gemma Beavis had taken the animal and eventually hatched a late night plan to get the creature back on August 7 this year.

But on discovering the horse was missing John Thompson, a friend of Ms Beavis, attempted to reclaim Stella four days later.

When Mrs Rugg-Easy was alerted to the theft by her dog barking, Thompson attacked her with a horse whip.

It mirrors the case Sherlock Holmes and 'Silver Blaze' when the detective was called in to find a missing thoroughbred which had been taken to a nearby farm by the horse's trainer.

In the Conan Doyle tale the trainer was able to take the horse without alerting the owners because he was familiar to the guard dog, which didn't bark to alert the owners of the theft.

Holmes points Scotland Yard detective Gregory to 'the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.' When Gregory replies that the dog did nothing, Holmes replies: "That was the curious incident.'

The feud started last year when natural health scientist Mrs Rugg-Easy, 77, who owns the small livery yard and Morgan stud farm, was forced to give up Stella when she was diagnosed with vertigo and doctors banned her from riding.

She says she entrusted Stella with former employee Ms Beavis under the agreement that she would be able to monitor her care at her stables.

But on the night of August 14, 2011, Stella, who Mrs Rugg-Easy, had owned for seven years and schooled for five, was taken from the farm.

The horse was kept away from the farm at another stables for almost a year before Mrs Rugg-Easy snatched her back on August 7, 2012.

Mrs Rugg-Easy claims Stella was worth around £50,000 when she loaned her, but when she got her back she was lame and now only worth around £2,000.

Then just four days after winning back her horse Mrs Rugg-Easy and her daughter and grandaughter were attacked by drunk Thompson when he appeared in their stables - an act Ms Beavis denies having any knowledge of.

Mrs Rugg-Easy was left with a black eye and whip marks after the attack.

She said: "Gemma would not speak to me so I had no way or getting her to give me the horse back. Instead she wrote horrible things about me on Facebook.

"I was told it would cost me 15 to 30 grand in legal expenses to prosecute her for stealing my horse - so I had no choice but to get her back myself.

"I put thousands of hours into schooling her and looking after her properly. That woman rode her when she was lame."

She added: "She was worth £50, 000 when I loaned her. Now she is probably worth less than 2, 000 - or just butcher meat.

"It's unbelievable that I have to keep going to court to prove I own a horse which I clearly do and have all the paper work for."

Thompson pleaded guilty to three counts of assault at Canterbury Magistrates' Court on Monday following the attack on August 11.

He was jailed for 160 days, but the sentence was suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work and must pay £250 compensation and £85 costs.

But despite the conviction Ms Beavis said she still plans to fight for her legal right to Stella.

The mother-of-four, who works as a cleaner, said: "I kept Stella at Dorothy's stables for a while before asking if I could move her to another stables half a mile down the road. Dorothy said yes.

"Then I started getting solicitors' letters saying I had to bring Stella back. She claimed the horse was on a life-time loan agreement.

"I refused to give the horse back as I believed I rightfully owned her.

"We were good friends, I did some mucking out for her. She knew I could not afford a horse and I was extremely grateful that she gave me Stella.

"I do not know what made Dorothy change her mind.

"I do not want to fight with the woman. It is sad that it has got like this. It has hit my family hard too, my children are very upset and I am suffering from stress.

"She is making me out to be a horse thief and saying I do not look after horses properly.

"Stella was not lame when she was in my care. I looked after her and had her checked over by a vet who came to see my friend's horse.

"Why would her daughter offer me another horse in exchange for Stella if I didn't care for horses properly? I said no as I had fallen in love with Stella.''

She added: "John's crimes had nothing to do with us."