SEATTLE - Last month, dozens of emaciated horses were removed from the ranch of a prominent horse breeder, Judy Caton, who is now being investigated by Snohomish County Animal Control.
Caton once described her 120-acre ranch north of Monroe, with its rolling hills and grassy meadows, as "home to some of the Northwest's finest working quarter horses."
Visitors to the ranch early last month reported a very different sight: Horses with protruding ribs and haunches stood in mud and manure; some were fenced in small paddocks without food or water; a former champion show horse, Meerly Inwhizable, had pus leaking from his eye and dripping off his nose.
"The horses looked horrific," said Doug Stroud, a Snohomish horse trainer who had sold Caton several of the horses and was one of three members of the horse community who reported Caton to Animal Control.
The case is unusual not only for the large number of horses involved in the past month, Caton has voluntarily turned over to new owners or sold 31 horses, according to Animal Control but also for Caton's prominence in the world of high-end quarter horses.
She served almost four years as president of the Washington Reining Horse Association, the state affiliate of the national reining association, which sponsors competitions around the country and awards millions in prize money.
On Nov. 14, Caton submitted her resignation, citing "personal challenges."
Caton has declined to comment, but her attorney said that the breeder, formerly the owner of a real-estate conveyance business, is a victim of the downturn in the housing market and has struggled financially.
"She had a great idea, built a successful business that employed a lot of people, and got caught by circumstances," said attorney Chris Benson, of Federal Way. "She has a good heart."
Animal Control says Caton has cooperated with its investigators. It has allowed her to keep 14 horses and said she is adequately caring for them.
Only three required immediate medical attention, said Vicki Lubrin, license manager for Animal Control.
"Judy Caton has been fully compliant with everything asked of her," Lubrin said.
But in the horse community, where cellphone images of Caton's horses circulated, the case has generated condemnation and angry calls and e-mails to Animal Control demanding that all of Caton's horses be removed.
"She should never be allowed to have horses again," said Lori Goulet, who with Stroud and another member of the local horse community confronted Caton about the condition of her animals last month.
Pasado's Safe Haven, an animal-rescue group based in Monroe, said it has reviewed evidence in the case and is urging the county to prosecute Caton. Angel Light, Pasado's animal-cruelty investigator, said she's concerned that Caton was allowed to reclaim horses that were placed elsewhere, including Meerly Inwhizable, known in horse circles as "Whiz."
"Why are these animals allowed to go back?" Light asked.
Lubrin said some horses were temporarily boarded elsewhere while Caton sold or found homes for others.
She said Caton never relinquished ownership of Whiz and the horse's condition has improved "significantly."
According to an archived version of the Web site for Caton Ranches (her Web site is no longer active), owning a horse farm was Caton's childhood dream.
She grew up on a 2,700-acre wheat farm in Eastern Washington where there were horses and cattle, the Web site said.
As Caton found success in her business, Reconveyance Services, she also began pursuing her dream.
The business, which tracked legal documents needed on home sales and refinances, grew with the housing market.
At its peak in 2005, the business employed about 60 people and had offices in Monroe, Portland and Boise, Idaho, according to former business associates.
In 2001, she and her then-husband purchased 116 acres of pastureland outside of Monroe for $1.5 million.
She also owns another 10 acres nearby with a newer home, now valued at $510,000, according to Snohomish County property records.
With her business prospering, Caton started buying high-end quarter horses, the work horses known for cattle-roping and barrel-riding performances at rodeos.
Stroud said she bought some of the horses from him, paying upward of $40,000 per horse. Her goal was to breed and raise her own horses, he said.
But as the housing market faltered, so too did Caton's business.
In August 2008, Caton filed for bankruptcy to prevent foreclosure of the Monroe headquarters of Reconveyance Services, a three-story office building assessed by the county in 2009 at $8.5 million. That same month, the state Department of Revenue revoked her business license for failure to pay $16,500 in back taxes.
"She got caught up in the collapse of the housing market," Benson said. "The need for reconveyance services went down, and the rest is history."
In June, Tana Hanson, an Enumclaw horse owner, came to Caton's ranch to pick up two quarter horses she had agreed to buy for $7,500. One of the horses, Wally, a former world competitor, was in "alarming" condition, Hanson said.
Wally was "shockingly thin" and his once bright, chestnut coat gray, Hanson said.
Hanson said she went ahead and bought the horses, and persuaded Caton to give away to other horse owners seven yearlings that Hanson described as "severely malnourished." Caton promised that she would buy hay for her remaining horses, Hanson said.
Last month Hanson, Stroud and Goulet returned to get additional documentation on Wally.
The three said there was no hay on the property, most of the horses were enclosed without food or a drinking trough, and some were drinking muddy water and eating bark off trees.
The three said when they asked Caton about the condition of her horses, she told them one of her teenage daughters forgot to feed them.
Caton's attorney said the three trespassed on Caton's property and that she may pursue legal action against them.
Snohomish County Animal Control said it is still investigating the case and still monitoring the health of Caton's 14 remaining horses.
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