A group of 4-H club members are devoting their holiday break to helping two veterinarians and others feed and care for seven seriously malnourished horses rescued from a Dayton-area farm.

Members of the Making Strides 4-H Club started preparing stalls Saturday morning to make a recovery ward at the Butler County Fairgrounds for the horses found Thursday at a farm in Moraine.

Officials from the Humane Society of Greater Dayton say a tip led them to the farm, where they found several horses dead and another 11 suffering from neglect.

The owner has not been charged as officials investigate. The four most seriously ill horses are receiving veterinary care in Montgomery County, according to the Web site for Galerie Farm, the Liberty Township quarter horse farm where the 4-H club is based.

The children will help care for the animals during the next two weeks as officials work to find them more permanent homes, said co-adviser Laura Kursman