SEQUIM — The owners of 16 horses confiscated by the Clallam County Sheriff”s Office in February are scheduled to ask a judge for the return of their horses Thursday.
Neither Buffy Campbell, 41, nor Heather Gouldart Campbell, 19, has been criminally charged.
Their horses were seized Feb. 16 from pastures off Olson Road southwest of Sequim.
The Campbells are scheduled to appear in the animal custody hearing, a civil case, at 2 p.m. in the Clallam County Courthouse.
As of Tuesday, the hearing was still on the court calendar, but the hearing may be rescheduled, said Tracey Kellas, Clallam County animal control officer.
If the hearing is canceled, it is not a sign of a lack of action on the part of authorities, Kellas said.
“We’re not dropping the case or returning the horses at this time,” she said.
Kellas said that the neglect and abuse case is large and is expected to take some time to be done right.
Malnutrition
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said the horses that were seized were suffering varying degrees of starvation and malnutrition and were estimated to be underweight by between 50 and 200 pounds each.
The horses are being kept at several locations in the county, including several private barns where property owners have agreed to board those in most need of special care.
A few remain in the pasture, but their care and feeding is being overseen by authorities.
The horses are still recovering, though at different rates, Kellas said.
Some of the horses have improved to the point that they can be fed a better quality hay, she said, while others are still struggling with the simplest feeds.
None out of danger
None of the horses is out of danger yet, Kellas said.
Kellas said a mare suffered a bout of colic, and the three most severely malnourished horses, including an anemic 10-month-old filly, a mare with skin infections and an older gelding, are still “touch and go.”
A pregnant mare had an allergic reaction to her feed and is losing all her hair, Kellas said.
“The vet bills are rather outrageous now,” she said.
Even minor health problems that would be little more than an annoyance to healthy horses could kill the malnourished animals, she said.
The Olympic Peninsula Humane Society is collecting donations to help defray the costs of the special care of the horses.
Donors can stop by the Humane Society shelter at 2105 W. U.S. Highway 101 in Port Angeles, phone the society at 360-457-8206 or donate at any First Federal branch, said Mary Beth Wegener, executive director of the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society.
Wegener said the Humane Society also will take deliveries of grass hay and Equine Senior horse feed.
The horses especially need salt blocks with selenium and specialized feed, including “senior” and “mare and foal” feed — bagged feeds formulated for special dietary needs.
The fund is being operated under the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society Horse Rescue organization, she said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
