LIHUE >> The owner of 16 thin horses confiscated by the Kauai Humane Society is to stand trial this month on charges of animal cruelty. 

The case against Lara Butler-Brady moves forward more than a year after the horses were taken from land she rented, the Garden Island newspaper reported Thursday. Most of the horses confiscated on May 30, 2010, were thin or emaciated, Becky Rhoades, former executive director of the humane society, testified at a hearing. 

“I think she should go to jail,” she said. “I think it’s criminal what happened. It’s one of the saddest sights I’ve ever seen.”

Earlier this week,  Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano denied a motion to suppress evidence gathered when the horses were taken from the Wailua Falls area.

The horses couldn’t have been starving because they had three miles of property to graze on and reservoirs to drink from, said Butler-Brady, who owns Keapana Horsemanship. 

“I won’t back down because this is wrong and I’m a victim,” she said. “I want my horses back and I’ve been ruined.”