I think the jury just found a loophole and used it. IGNORANCE is no excuse, period. Any human outside of the nutward can look at something, put themselves in its place and determine if it is suffering. I think the child in question should have a mental health check.
There is no excuse for the death of that pony but pure neglegence by the owner, had she cared for the animal, the child would not have seen fit to torture the animal to death.
No matter the intentions, all the animal knew was that it was tied up so it could not defend itself or flee and beaten until it died.
The owner should be on trial for abuse and neglect.
Sometimes death is better than living a hard and suffering life, I am glad the pony is dead to be honest, it could have suffered much longer than it did.
Just my take on the situation.
When I was younger maybe 5 or 6, I found a kitten that was obviously dying. It was stick thin, could not walk, its eyes and nose were matted shut, it was gasping for air, and it was covered in it's own feces. I knew it was kinder even at my young age to put it out of it's misery than to let it suffer any longer. So what did my little mind cook up? No I did not drown, suffocate, or beat it to death like most would think. At 6 years old I realized that this would only make the suffering worse. So I took a rock the size of my head and dug a hole, put it in, and crushed its head in one swing.It has scarred me to this day, but I could not let it suffer. Yes this is harsh and might make some cringe, I apologize. My point is that if a 6 year old can reason and has an idea of suffering even though she had never killed anything or watched something being killed, an 18 year old should have at least been able to grasp the concept.