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After 133 malnourished horses were found on a farm in Queen Anne's County, animal welfare nonprofits and Maryland residents sprang into action.

"This is the largest impound in the state of Maryland's history," said Marci D'Alessio, a board member of Days End Farm Horse Rescue in Woodbine.

Director of the Queen Anne's County Department of Animal Services David MacGlashan said the malnourished and neglected horses were taken from a Queen Anne's County breeding operation Friday and Saturday after his office was notified in mid-April that they were not being properly cared for.

Days End members helped officials with The Humane Society of the United States with the impound beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday, and many of the horses will be kept at the farm's satellite facility. Some of the animals were taken to the rescue's location in Rohrersville in Washington County, while others will be kept at private farms that have volunteered space, said Dan Zalewski, development director for Days End.

The Woodbine farm is at capacity because of a series of recent impounds, including one in May 2010, in which 26 horses were seized from a Garrett County property.

"The horse community really comes together in situations like this," D'Alessio said.

Paradise Stables Too in New Market will be the largest recipient of the animals, housing nearly 70.

A few of the mares in that group were found to be pregnant last week, Zalewski said.

Thirteen of the animals determined to be in critical condition will go to the Rohrersville satellite stable. On a health scale of one to nine, those animals were rated a two, meaning they have no muscle mass or fat tissue left on their bodies, D'Alessio said.

According to a press release from Days End, the average horse will cost close to $5,000 to care for in the first six months after the rescue. With the amount of horses found, the bills will easily surpass $1 million. The animals were taken from Canterbury Farms in Centreville, which breeds Polish Arabian horses. According to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Marsha Parkinson owns of the 202-acre farm. A call to the farm was not immediately returned.

As of Monday afternoon, no charges were listed against Parkinson or against the farm on Maryland's judiciary court records website. If charges are filed, they will come through the Queen Anne's County State's Attorney's Office, MacGlashan said.

A horse of Polish Arabian lineage usually weighs between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds, and some of the impounded horses are more than 300 pounds underweight, D'Alessio said. Aside from being severely malnourished, the horses also were suffering from parasites and lice, and many of them needed dental work and to have their hooves trimmed, MacGlashan said.

He noted that the office visited the farm earlier in mid-April and surveyed about 146 animals. At that time, the owner voluntarily surrendered seven of the horses. Another six were so unhealthy that they had to be euthanized, he said. The rest of the group was impounded Friday and Saturday.

To help

To aid in the care of the impounded horses, send a contribution to Days End Farm Horse Rescue, Attn.: "Arabian Emergency", P.O. Box 309, Lisbon, MD 21765. Horse care packages can also be purchased through the rescue's website, www.defhr.org. Days End Farm Horse Rescue is a nonprofit organization.