The lawsuit between a Cabot-based horse rescue organization owner and five county horse owners who sued her for improperly taking their horses was settled for $105,000.

While documents from the state attorney general’s office list the settlement amount, they do not disclose how the funds will be divided among plaintiffs Brian Arendosh, Geraldine Geibel, Debra Gaus, Jessica Gossett and Elan Welter-Lewis.

The group sued Pamela Vivirito, Equine Angels Rescue, state trooper Shawn E. King and veterinarian Brian Burks and his employer, Fox Equine Center, for taking horses between March 21 and May 26, 2013, that they claimed were abused or neglected.

The settlement includes provisions for the plaintiffs to retrieve all of their horses and allows state officials to inspect the farms of all five plaintiffs for six months from the December settlement to ensure the horses are being properly cared for. The document also states the settlement is not an “admission of liability” by the defendants.

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger this past summer dropped all charges of abuse against some of the plaintiffs brought by Vivirito and a state trooper. Because of the sharp increase in horse abuse and neglect cases at that time, Goldinger decided to form a committee to create a protocol regarding how to handle such matters.

Goldinger said last week he did just that, and the committee will have its fourth and final meeting today. He hopes to distribute a formal protocol regarding the investigation of allegedly neglected or abused horses to police departments in the county in a week.

“I’d like to get it out soon,” Goldinger said.

He said attorneys, law enforcement officials and a state trooper from Harrisburg with knowledge on animal cruelty joined the committee formed by Goldinger, who is a horse owner.

Goldinger said the Harrisburg trooper told him other counties are anxious to get a copy of the protocol for potential use throughout the state.

“I guess Butler County is setting a state precedent,” Goldinger said.

In the protocol, Goldinger said seizing an animal only would be used as a last resort after the horse owner has failed to rectify the problem by following guidelines offered and followed up on by police.

“We realize you don’t want to take somebody’s animal if we don’t have to,” Goldinger said.

Vivirito said her facility now is concentrating on rehabilitating thoroughbred horses that were former racehorses.

“I don’t ever want to go back to last year,” Vivirito said. “It was a nightmare for us. But now we’ve moved on.”

She said Equine Angels Rescue is no longer accepting horses seized by state troopers, mainly because the state does not provide funds to support her rehabilitation of the horses. Her facility took in five former racehorses over the winter, she said.

“At least the thoroughbred industry helps us out taking care of them,” Vivirito said.

Regarding the committee and protocol created by Goldinger, Vivirito said the district attorney has made claims to her in the past that were never acted on.

“That’s great if they did it, but I think it’s another brush off,” Vivirito said. “We need to see it in writing.”

She said she was “thrown under the bus” by Goldinger when he dropped the criminal charges against the horse owners who were accused of abuse.

A number of horse owners, including the plaintiffs, also formed a group as a result of the horse seizures last year.

The goal of their group, Western Pennsylvania Farm Alliance, said Arendosh, is to ensure investigations and other actions regarding abuse and neglect allegations are handled properly and in concert with the protocol created by Goldinger’s committee.

Arendosh said the alliance has about 10 members and meets every other month. He said members have visited a few farms where large-animal owners were having problems with humane officers.

The alliance also has had public educational forums to share information regarding the criteria used to determine neglect or abuse, Arendosh said.

Neither Arendosh nor any of the plaintiffs could comment on the lawsuit or Vivirito because of a confidentiality clause in the settlement.