POLSON - With big brown eyes, gangly legs and all the innocence of youth, it's hard to imagine that anyone could kill these babies.

A by-product of the manufacturing process for producing menopausal treatment drugs for women, 17 foals were destined to be sold at auction and put to death in a slaughterhouse like hundreds of their own kind.

That's were Kathryn Warrington stepped into their lives. Warrington, co-founder of the Montana Large Animal Sanctuary & Rescue, along with husband Brian and Susan Rawlings, attended two auctions in Virden and Oak Lake, Man., Canada last week. Her mission was to bid against meat packing plants to buy the foals and give them homes in the western United States. Kathryn and friend Pat Hartman of Seeley Lake drove two trailers 2,200 miles. They got back to the Sanctuary near Polson last Saturday afternoon.

Five colts and fillies will be placed locally; two at the Sanctuary, two with Ginny Cutright and one with Cindy Williams. The other 12 will be delivered by Warrington to other sanctuaries and individuals in Arizona, California and Washington.

All these groups and individuals paid placement fees used to buy the horses. Funds from a private donor were used to buy the two foals that will remain at the Sanctuary.

Comparatively a drop in the bucket, 17 horses were all Warrington had funds to buy.

"If I'd had the budget , I would have bought hundreds of them," an exhausted Warrington said. "There were such beautiful animals there."About 500 foals were sold at Virden and 400 went through the Oak Lake auction "a buck a pound (Canadian)," according to Warrington, who said her colts averaged about 400 lbs. each. That's up from 50 cents a pound last year. And those were only two of the many auctions being held "all over Manitoba".

Her first year at the sales, Warrington joined other horse-rescue groups from the U.S. and Canada who buy them for adoption or placement. Still, most horses end up bought by canneries.

These draft-type, unregistered foals are referred to as PMU or Premarin horses, an abbreviation for pregnant-mare-urine. Premarin is a trademark drug consisting of conjugated estrogens obtained from the urine of pregnant mares. The drug, first introduced in 1942, is prescribed to treat symptoms of menopause in women, including those who have had a hysterectomy, and to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease in older women.

According to HorseAid of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., mares are bred annually at more than 400 PMU farms in Canada and about 23 in North Dakota. The farms are geared to collect the horses' urine during the period of their fourth through ninth months of pregnancy.

Urine collection devices, commonly referred to as "bags," are fitted to the mares. The mares are tied into stalls throughout the period. Mares produce up to three quarts of a gallon of urine daily. Draft horses are preferred for their higher rate of urine production.

Equine advocates are concerned with the small quarters, lack of exercise and harsh conditions some mares face, as well as the ultimate destruction of the majority of foals produce when the mares give birth.

Meat plants killed between 37,000 and 43,000 horses last year, according to HorseAid figures. Warrington added that she read an estimated 6,000 tons of horsemeat was exported to Japan last year for human consumption.

As tragic as the PMU situation is for horse lovers, there is hope on the horizon. The ethical dilemma facing women who need hormonal therapy, but are concerned about contributing to the PMU process, has become less severe with the introduction of substitute drugs reported to be just as effective. Not many women - nor doctors, apparently - are familiar with them, including the newest drug, Cenestin, which is produced from soy and was approved by the FDA last spring.

Competition in the conjugated estrogen market could reduce the need for PMU farms and so reduce the amount of foals destroyed through the auction process.

And it wasn't all sad news for Warrington during her trip to Canada.

She met Several PMU farmers sympathetic to her cause and who strongly encourage more adoption of foals. One farmer has arranged to sell up to 100 foals - mostly Clydesdales - next summer directly through he Sanctuary, if Warrington can find homes for them. Buying direct saves auction-house costs and simplifies the process of obtaining customs papers.

"That's really encouraging," Warrington said, explaining that many farmers and even one meat buyer appeared sympathetic to saving the foals. "One buyer even agreed not to bid against me."

Another PMU farmer told her he plans to breed more pleasure horse stock into the farms, making them more appealing for adoption.

New Canadian regulations, in effect next year, will require mares to be turned out a minimum of three hours each day and to be provided unlimited water; some farms now limit water intake to meet specific estrogen concentration levels in the urine.

Warrington is glad to have saved the 17 foals, but hopes to find many more placements for next year's batch of babies.

Placement individuals pay $500 to take physical possession for the foals, but the Sanctuary retains legal ownership of the horses, thereby reserving the right to control the welfare of the horse. The individuals sign contracts that limit future sale and require appropriate care.

"They use and care for the animal as their own," Warrington said, "but we retain legal ownership."

The Sanctuary also follows up with checks on care and financial support. "It gives the animal a safety net. They can't send them to slaughter or sell them or give them away without the Sanctuary's approval."

Anyone wishing to sign up for foal placements, or donate food immediately, is encouraged to contact he Sanctuary at 883-1823. They especially need good hay, Foalac powder or pellets and Equine Junior. Donations of Equine Senior are also needed to feed other Sanctuary horses.

All the foals will be at the Sanctuary until Sept. 25, when Warrington leaves with 12 of them for Washington, California and Arizona.

Although emotionally draining, the whole process was positive for Warrington, and she has 17 babies in her corral to reward her efforts. After all, that's what it's about for her.

"We didn't go up there as animal activists...what we are is an animal welfare organization," Warrington explained, "We're a peaceful place."