SEQUIM — Many horse lovers have called to offer help in various forms for the 16 neglected horses, including a foal, that were seized Thursday by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
The offers have included cash donations, horse feed and pastures as a temporary home for the horses, Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said Sunday.
The horses were seized from a mother and daughter who said they had rescued them.
Deputy Tracey Kellas, Clallam County animal control officer, has been overseeing the care of the herd, which now have round-the-clock access to hay, Cameron said.
On Tuesday, the public offers of assistance will be organized, and some decisions will be made as to how they can be used, he said.
The horses, which include three pregnant mares and a stallion,have not been removed from their pastures off Olson Road southwest of Sequim, and no decision has been made yet on what will be done with them, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
It said the horses had faced varying degrees of starvation and malnutrition and were estimated to be underweight by between 50 and 200 pounds each.
A veterinarian gave two of the horses only a 50 percent chance of survival, the Sheriff’s Office said, adding that one of them had been placed on antibiotics for infected wounds.
The owners of the horses, Buffy Campbell, 41, and Heather Gouldart, 19, have not been arrested.
Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said they claimed that they had rescued the animals.
But Peregrin said the horses’ health had deteriorated in their care and that the animals were not being properly fed.
“The evidence is they were not being taken care of properly,” he said.
The owner of the property, Dean Ridgeway, had apparently agreed to allow Campbell and Gouldart to keep their horses in his pastures in exchange for help with horse training, Kellas said.
The case has been forwarded to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which will consider filing charges.
Kellas said the Sheriff’s Office is covering the cost of the horses’ care for now.
She said the owners have 15 days to reclaim the horses through court.
If that request is denied or not made, the horses will be placed with new owners, possibly a licensed rescue center, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Kellas said the care and feeding of the horses is still the responsibility of Campbell and her daughter, who live on the property in a travel trailer.
Some 30 to 50 ponies owned by Ridgeway were also on the property, but were described as being in “very good condition” and well-fed.
Kellas said Campbell has declined to be interviewed by authorities.
The Sheriff’s Office is asking for help in caring for the horses.
Anyone who can provide food or other services can phone Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron at 360-417-2570.
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Reporter Tom Callis contributed to this report.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.