WEST UNION -- No longer will 9-year-old Samantha Miller go to sleep dreaming of the day she'll own a horse. Friday, her father, Tony, helped her adopt a miniature paint pony she hopes will be her dream come true.

After a bitterly cold morning standing around a formerly vacant feed lot waiting for her number to be drawn, Samantha got her pick of the 16 horses available -- a little pony with a streak of white on its mane, who wasn't yet sure it could trust anyone trying to get close.

Miller and her family traveled from Riceville to West Union hoping to rescue one of the animals believed to have gone without food for several days or possibly even weeks. The owner of the property where the horses were being kept by Kelly Joe Olson, found the animals without food or water on March 9 and called authorities. Olson continues to be held in the Fayette County Jail after being charged with animal neglect.

Eighteen horses were removed from the farm and have since been cared for at the rural residence where the adoption took place. One horse died Wednesday and another on Thursday. Since the rescue, the animals have been fed oats and hay, and a couple of the horses were treated for lice, said Fayette County Sheriff Marty Fisher. It was believed one of the animals was pregnant, but none were given veterinary treatment, although a vet did provide a visual check of each animal, Fisher said.

As a result of a hearing March 17 in Fayette County District Court, the sheriff's office was given the authority to adopt out the animals to caretakers willing to pay $100 toward the cost of their feed in the interim, and costs incurred in moving them from the rural Hawkeye farm where the animals had been gnawing on live trees, feed bunks and wooden stanchions in the barn.

Each of the horses was tagged with a number during the viewing period that preceded the adoption. As each number was announced, anyone wishing a chance at that animal put their ticket into a bucket. As each winning ticket was drawn, the winners stepped forward to adopt their horse or pony.

At the end of the hour, there was someone willing to pay $100 for each of the 16 horses.

"It's the right thing to do," said Susan Kauten about adopting a paint mare with a frostbitten ear. Kauten has prior experience rescuing horses, she said. The neglected paint she'd just adopted would be good company for her 22-year-old quarterhorse, she said.

Becky Hefel of Guttenburg also returned home with an adopted horse. She said the challenge of rescuing an animal that had been grossly mistreated got her interested, and once she'd looked over the lot, there was one in particular that seemed to make a connection with her. "My friends who have worked at therapeutic horse ranches, said they'll pick you," she said. After standing at a concrete feed bunk in bitter wind and cold, she agreed. There was a bay paint she really wanted to own.

Lizzy Jacobson, 14, of Independence, begged her dad to adopt not one, but two, of the horses Friday.

"I feel so sorry for them," she said, eyes dancing as she anticipated how she would hope to return the animals to their original condition.

Before her number was drawn, Miller said if she was fortunate enough to adopt a horse, "I might not ever leave the stable." Her father, standing behind her, agreed, Samantha has long adored horses. "The paint pony looked healthy enough and seems like a good fit for her. We hope to give it a good home."

"There's only a path through my room, because I have a fence for all my toy horses, in a corral," she explained. "There isn't room for another horse poster on the wall."

"Our goal was to find a home for every animal," said Fisher.

"A lot of people called in with questions about the horses. Judging by the turn out today, I think we succeeded."

Contact Janell Bradley at newsroom@wcfcourier.com.