An animal abuse case involving a Chileno Valley couple seeking to recover horses confiscated by the Marin Humane Society seemed all but decided late last week, when a judge once again ruled the society was justified in detaining a pair of horses it said were “affected to the point of near starvation.”

The ruling last Thursday brought an end to an administrative process requested by breeders Jill and Alex Burnell, who run Gray Fox Farms,…