By Jon Gambrell
Enquirer contributor

Alice Crow, operator of Second Chance Horse Rescue, nuzzles with Heidi, a Percheron/Belgian mix. Heidi is one of 30 horses bought from a farm in Canada that collects the urine of pregnant mares, an ingredient in Premarin, an estrogen drug used to treat the symptoms of menopause. Photos by GLENN HARTONG/The Cincinnati Enquirer

A curious pair of horses approach the photographer.

CLEARCREEK TWP. - The horse shook slightly as he walked into the ring, leaving uneven hoof prints behind in the soft dirt.

One of 30 Canadian horses here, he was destined for the slaughterhouse until bought, priced by the pound, by Second Chance Horse Rescue in this northern Warren County community. Now, the horse has a chance of finding a permanent home.

The horse's mother was used to make the drug Premarin. The urine of pregnant mares is a crucial ingredient to produce the prescription drug. Offspring and older horses are sold, often for slaughter.

Animal advocates raised an outcry against the practice, which has been scaled back in Canada. Second Chance recently bought 30 horses from one Canadian farmer.

Second Chance held a program this week to teach volunteers and horse owners about hoof care. Leading the program is Ralph Casey, president of the Brotherhood of Working Farriers.

Between chews of Beechnut tobacco, Casey offered his insights as volunteers learned to trim the hooves of the Manitoba horses, his comments ranging from "A spooky horse will always hurt you" to "A real kicker is like Ted Bundy; you ain't going to change him."

"Today, people should be more educated about horses," said Casey, a farrier for 42 years and host of a cable television show, Horseshoe'n Time. "These horses have never been handled and to me, that's abuse."

IF YOU GO

Adoption fair Saturday • Second Chance Horse Rescue at New Millennium Farm • 4080 Weisenberger Road in Clearwater Township, just outside of Lebanon • Web site • Phone number: (513) 200-0808 • From 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday Second Chance will have an on-site adoption fair, open to the public.

Using a padded cuff, Casey enclosed the gelding's leg. A volunteer used a pair of nippers to clip away excess hoof.

The 2-year-old horse, named Rudi, twitched nervously. Shelter founder Alice Crow gave Rudi a few compassionate pats. "The volunteers and kids name the horses," she said. "Before, they were just numbers."

After only a brief trimming, Rudi's right leg stopped trembling and he walked evenly out of the ring. According to Casey, 80 percent of the problems horses have come from their hooves.

In its three years, Second Chance has adopted out about 180 horses. Fifty horses are available now, though volunteer Jenny Ellishas already chosen a 3-year-old paint named Freedom Lilly.

"It hurts me so bad to see babies like this," the semi-truck driver said, gazing at the horse she bought only four weeks ago with her fiance. "I went home crying my first few times here."

E-mail jgambrell@fuse.net