Therapy Horses Die In Ohio Fire, Did 'God's work'

OREGON, Ohio (AP) - Therapy horses killed in an Ohio barn fire were much more than companion animals for the disabled adults and children who rode them. One taught an abused girl to trust others again; another inspired a little boy with autism to say his first words.

Mike McGee of the Vail Meadows Equestrian Center near Toledo said the horses "were doing God's work." Six of the center's eight therapy horses died when a fire tore through a century-old barn Thursday. The cause is not yet known, but investigators don't suspect arson. The center has offered horse-riding therapy programs for people with cerebral palsy, autism, and emotional and learning disabilities for two decades. It plans to open Saturday for its weekly therapy lessons with the two horses that survived.