TEMECULA -- Meadowview resident Gina Perrin believes in redemption -- of the equine kind.

She rescues foals that were headed for the slaughterhouse. Then, she nurtures and trains them so they can be adopted and, in some cases, be show horses.

This is quite a contrast as to how these horses are bred -- as a means to an end.

Perrin rescues foals that are bred for the sole purpose of harvesting their mother's urine while pregnant for a drug that relieves the symptoms of menopause.

The drug is called Premarin and is sold under that name as an estrogen-only therapy, as well as Prempro, a combination of estrogens and progestin.

Perrin heard about the horses through an organization called FoalQuest, which provided a way for these foals born at Canadian ranches to be adopted instead of being sent to feed lots for eventual slaughter.

She started rescuing the foals about five years ago. Now, she rescues horses of all ages because the adult horses are at risk of being slaughtered as well due to less demand for Premarin. All told, she has rescued about 50 foals and 30 adult horses, she said. Four of them are in her pasture in Meadowview.

It's definitely a labor of love for Perrin, who showers tender care and attention to the mangiest of horses, even sleeping outside with them, if need be, to nurse them back to health.

"The word was that they were like pound dogs," she said. "They didn't have names. They were advertised as 'stinky, smelly horses.' When they came from Canada, they were exactly that -- covered in mud with fungus."

How she got involved

While Perrin, 44, always dreamed of having a horse of her own as a child, her family couldn't afford it, so she would clean stalls to earn money to ride, she said.

When her husband had to relocate to Riverside County, she finally had the resources and space to realize her dream. Her pasture includes a slope of about 65 degrees, which helps the horses become sure-footed, she said.

She and her family, which includes three children, have lived in Meadowview for seven years. A petite woman with straw-colored hair, Perrin is a friend to all wild animals that have been orphaned. Besides horses, her ranch contains an eclectic array of animals she has rescued or that others have left on her doorstep, such as raccoons, wild bunnies and wild birds. She also has three dogs that she has rescued -- two collies and a Chihuahua.

"She's phenomenal," her husband, Jeff, said. "Animals are the love of her life."

The first time she rescued foals from Canada, she got two. One almost didn't survive the trip, she said.

"As I'm driving to pick up my foal, the vet was there," she said. "There was my foal, lying on the ground, almost dead."

The foal, which she named Sundance, had gotten pneumonia while traveling and also had a fungus and ringworm, she said. Nursing Sundance back to health meant spending many nights outside with the foal. It took months for the ringworm and fungus to go away, she said.

"Underneath it all was a beautiful buckskin," she said. "He was so gentle. If he could have, he would have come (inside) to have breakfast."

Sundance was adopted by a family when he was 2 1/2 after Perrin trained him to take a rider, she said.

Perrin is now the Los Angeles representative for FoalQuest. The organization, made up of strictly volunteers, has rescued more than 2,500 foals since it started in 1999, said Penny Scott, the southwest regional representative for the organization who took charge of the nonprofit this year.

One horse lover who has adopted one of Perrin's rescued mares is Nikki Harrison of Wildomar. She bought a Fresian crossbreed several months ago and, she said, is duly impressed with Perrin's care of the horses.

"I think what she does is absolutely fabulous," Harrison said. "I wish I had the time and the energy."

Getting the word out

Once Perrin learned about the plight of the foals and started rescuing them, she found a way to let more people know about them. Her brother owns a restaurant, where she works five days a week as well as caters for certain clients.

She put pictures of the foals that need to be rescued on the walls of the restaurant, and many customers have inquired about them. Those who were most interested, but didn't have room on their properties to rescue the foals themselves, could sponsor the process by paying about $1,000, she said. The foals would then come to Perrin's ranch and she would take care of them, train them and then try to adopt them out. If she is successful, she then reimburses the sponsors, she said.

One of the sponsored foals Perrin housed is Noah, whom she said resembled a woolly mammoth when he first arrived. One of his hooves is out of line with the others and hovers above the ground; Perrin thinks this is because he was stepped on as a baby. No one has expressed any interest in adopting this horse, who is now 4 years old, she said, so he will stay in the comforting care of Perrin.

She doesn't just adopt the foals out to just anyone. She goes to great lengths to make sure she places them with top-notch people, she said.

"I am very picky where they go," she said. "Every one I place has gone into a phenomenal home. A lot are now top-quality showhorses."

Because she works with FoalQuest, she knows the background of the foals she rescues and many of them were registered with some kind of association, she said.

Harrison said Perrin went to great lengths to make sure she and the horse she adopted were right for each other.

"She cared very much about finding Dance a good home and not selling her for money," she said.

Changes with Premarin

In October 2004, FoalQuest began finding homes for adult horses as well as foals when demand for Premarin dropped. It plummeted because of news reports that Premarin could cause breast cancer and heart attacks, and many doctors recommended their patients stop taking it, Perrin said. Her mother, who had been using the drug for 30 years and had no idea how it was produced, was one of those who stopped taking it, she said.

The effect on the ranches was devastating, Perrin said; many were dropped by Wyeth Pharmaceutical, the drug company that manufactures Premarin. As a result, a lot of ranchers had to worry about feeding their families, let alone their horses. There were so many horses these ranchers had to unload that it even became too much for the feed lots, she said.

So, Perrin starting adopting mares and stallions by working directly with some Canadian ranches through a former head rancher. He e-mails pictures of the horses to Perrin and she tries to find homes for them.

One of the horses she rescued was a 7-year-old gelding that she named Apollo. He had already been trained in jumping and dressage and was later adopted by a family in Palos Verdes, where he does high-level dressage, she said.

"They're top-quality, being thrown away for meat," Perrin said. "They're Seabiscuits (to me)."

Last May, she rescued two foals that were not Premarin babies. Instead, they were bred to be sold off and were not sold.

Sophie, a rare French Camargue, is now ready to be adopted, Perrin said. The other one, Baby, is not quite ready yet. These foals get to stay with their moms longer, and therefore their immune systems have more time to develop so they're not as sick as the Premarin foals she used to get, she said.

"Now they'll be wilder, but healthier," she said.

Sophie's sponsor, Charlotte Fromme, saw the pictures of the foals a year ago and is hooked on rescuing them, she said. Fromme, who lives in La Verne, was at Perrin's ranch recently and said she has been inspired by Perrin's transformation of these animals.

"She's taught me so much," Fromme said. "I want to quit my job and do this."

Contact staff writer Deirdre Newman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2623, or dnewman@californian.com.

HOW TO HELP

Gina Perrin is still trying to get 20 to 30 foals born last year adopted and will be doing the same for foals born this May. She also rescues adult horses. For information, contact her at palominogina@aol.com