Lorie Miller already has 10 horses on her bucolic Pipersville farm, but she had to have two more.

Two 4-month-old foals arrived Monday, still people-shy and hungry. They don’t have a name, but they have a history worth sharing, she said.

They are the foals of mares impregnated so their urine could be used in a drug to treat menopausal women. After learning the bulk of the foals produced by the mares go to slaughter, Miller felt compelled to adopt two of them.

"It’s a shame more people don’t realize what’s going on," said Miller, owner of Rainbow Ridge Farm in Pipersville. "I wish I had 100 acres so I can take more in."

Collecting pregnant horses’ urine for the manufacture of Premarin, a hormone-replacement therapy drug, isn’t new. But increasingly, the foals — the living byproducts of this process — are gaining the attention of national and local animal rescuers. The bulk of the thousands of foals produced each summer are shipped to feed lots where they are fattened for slaughter.

Some are adopted by people like Miller.

The use of horse urine in hormone-replacement therapy was first introduced in 1930 when a study reported that equine urine was a rich source of estrogen. A decade later, Premarin was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to alleviate the symptoms of menopause.

Another Chance 4 Horses is one of dozens of groups nationwide that have taken up the cause of the foals with the aim of saving them from slaughter. The bulk of the expense of rescuing the foals stems from the high cost of transporting them and screening them for diseases before they cross the border — about $800 per horse, according to one group. Most of the ranches that produce the horse urine are based in Manitoba, Canada.

Kathy George, spokeswoman for the organization, said this year is especially challenging because of the large number of mares they also have to place.

Early in October, manufacturers of Premarin announced plans to cut back production because of waning demand for hormone-therapy drugs. A growing number of doctors began issuing warnings about the drug after a 2002 National Cancer Institute found that women taking Premarin faced increased risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer.

"Cutbacks are a blessing, but for now, there is no place for the foals or the mares that produced them," said Helen Johnson, a Greensburg, Westmoreland County, resident who works with rescue groups to get the animals adopted. "There are a lot of horses about to go off-line."

Responding to an anonymous call for help, a Berks County organization stopped a Canadian farmer earlier this month from sending 50 horses to an auction to be sold for meat.

"They were literally snatched from death’s hand," said Christy Sheidy, one of the founders of Another Chance 4 Horses.

Miller’s stepfather, Stan Elias, who had watched a news broadcast on the group’s effort, made a donation and alerted Miller. Miller’s farm was a natural fit for the horses, he said.

"I’ve always rescued animals — cats, pigs, dogs and horses," Miller said. "This way I know, they’ll never be abused, neglected or hungry."