Seven foals whose mothers were sent to slaughter have been rescued and have new homes in El Dorado County this afternoon.

The baby horses arrived at The Grace Foundation in El Dorado Hills today. They were left to fend for themselves when a group of mares that included their mothers were sold to slaughter and shipped to Canada.

There were originally nine young foals abandoned but two died before a private citizen contacted The Grace Foundation. The foundation is a 600-acre rescue and rehabilitation center that currently is home to 120 horses.

"The horse industry is in a crisis and rescue facilities like ours are being bombarded with calls from desperate owners looking for a place that will take in their horse," said Beth DeCaprio, Executive Director of The Grace Foundation. "Unfortunately, we're nearly at maximum capacity already, and as a non-profit, our funds are already limited. But when we heard about these foals, there was no way we could just turn our backs."

DeCaprio says it will cost thousands of dollars to care for the foals. But she says the community has been extremely supportive.

"It's easy to be cynical about the world when you hear how these foals were basically left for dead, but the thing that gives us hope is the amazing capacity for generosity we witness every day out here," said DeCaprio.

The Grace Foundation hopes to adopt out the foals once they are nursed back to health.