WATERTOWN, S.D. (AP) - A love of horses and a passion for helping has led Penny Adler and her daughter Dakota, of Hazel, to open their home and hearts to abandoned and foster horses.

"Instead of adopting a bred horse that was only bred for profit, I looked for one that was in need of a home," Penny Adler said.

She said her biggest worry is horses that are bred only for profit and, if the horses are not sold, there is nowhere for them to go. Once a breeder tries to sell a few horses that were bred, it gets to Adler when they try to breed again, creating too many unwanted horses.

"It just hurts when I know they are going to be just bred for no reason. I won't support that," Adler said.

Adler and her daughter found a place to adopt horses from northeastern South Dakota. The Owner of Helping Hands Equine, Tanya Wieser of Rosholt, and her husband take in horses that either need a place to live because they are too old, injured, not fed or simply because the family has grown up and moved away and the horse needed someone to care for it.

"We've really been getting to know Tanya for a while and now she knows what we want in a horse," Adler said.

In 1989 it is estimated more than 342,000 unwanted horses were slaughtered or used for human consumption. In 2005, more than 91,000 were slaughtered.

Three slaughterhouses remain in America, one in Illinois and two in Texas. The Texas plants have been forced to stop slaughtering horses for human consumption. The Illinois plant closed down late in March.

To try to help, the Adlers first adopted one horse that became too food aggressive. Any time anyone would come near its food, the horse would get aggressive and protective.

"That usually happens because it wasn't fed by whoever previously owned the horse. We didn't know if the aggressiveness would turn up in other areas, either," Adler said.

The Adlers returned that horse because of the 30-day free trial period Helping Hands provides.

Then last April, Dakota received a horse for her birthday. The horse came to them and was already named Dakota.

"We aren't into giving presents that cost this much, but she'd been asking for a horse for a long time," Adler said.