CLEVELAND -- Like Katie Howards and so many other little girls, there's something special about horses.

NewsChannel5's Ted Hart reports that Katie first love was a 4-year-old horse named Bugs. For Katie, who has cerebral palsy, the gentle and loving horse was therapy.

Katie's mother, Nancy, said that riding and caring for the horse gave Katie self confidence.

"I think it helps you smile too," Nancy said.

Last year, Bugs got sick and Nancy had to make a decision about keeping the horse. She saw an ad for a rescue program, so she called.

"We thought that would be a way to retire him," she said. "You know, not have to put him down or anything."

With a promise of lifelong foster care, they gave Bugs away, but she now believes she made a terrible mistake.

Ginger

Bugs isn't believed to be the only horse put down by the rescue mission. Ginger, a Belgian, had a voracious appetite. Its owner, Jill Dietrich, said Ginger got expensive to keep.

Hart said she too, found the ad in the newspaper, and thought she could give Ginger a second chance.

"I feel terribly guilty," she said. "I looked that horse in the eye and put her on the trailer."

In both cases, the horses were given to Lou Simboli, WEWS reported.

"We've been doing this for 14 years ... since July 16, 1987," he said.

He gave a pitch that promised a good life with a loving family.

Within days, Nancy Howard and Jill Dietrich began growing suspicious.

"Eventually when he said he fixed her leg, I knew her leg wasn't fixable," Dietrich said. "That's when I called you."

She added that Simboli said they could come see Ginger at any time.

"The address he gave us was a car lot, so that really upset me," she said. "And I knew something wasn't quite right."

Hart reported that there's no way to know what happened to Ginger or Bugs, but we do know what happened to another horse that Simboli acquired the exact same way.

A NewsChannel5 undercover investigation found the horses weren't heading down the road to a foster home. Instead, the horse was heading to the auction barn to be sold for slaughter.

WEWS called Simboli and told him about a horse. He warned WEWS about unscrupulous horse traders.

"A lot of people go to these sale barns and sell their horses and a lot of 'em end up in bad hands," he said, adding you wouldn't believe what's going on.

Finding Lady Jane

NewsChannel5's horse is Lady Jane. She is a 6-year-old healthy horse. She does however have calcified ankles. A tattoo on her gums will help us identify her.

Simboli promises a good home and arrives with his trailer to pick up the horse.

When Simboli picked up Lady Jane, it was as if she knew something was going on because she initially resisted going into the trailer.

A few days later, Simboli told WEWS that Lady Jane had been placed with a family in upstate New York with a family with three young girls.

Hart reported that the horse was in fact taken to the heart of Ohio's Amish Country to the Sugarcreek horse auction, where 35 percent or more of the horses sold go to slaughter houses for human consumption in Europe and the far east.

Lady Jane was found crammed into a pen with other horses, all awaiting their trip through the auction ring.

WEWS made another call to Simboli to check on Lady Jane.

"The horse is in heaven," he said. "It's got property to run on. There's cows out there. She's in heaven."

Lady Jane is run through the ring and in a matter of seconds she is sold to one of the meat buyers.

She was sold for $460.

Video

Hart Goes Undercover

A few days later, the normally talkative Simboli didn't have much to say.

Simboli: "I have nothing to say."

WEWS : Why?

Simboli: "I have nothing to say."

WEWS: "Well, if you're running a legitimate programs, why won't you talk?"

Simboli: "It's legit. Legit as can be."

WEWS: "Well, tell me where these horses are going."

Simboli: "They're going to foster homes."

WEWS: "Well let's talk about a couple of them. It'll just take a minute."

Simboli: "No. No. I don't like this at all."

NewsChannel5 bought Lady Jane back and pulled her from the kill pen. The Pennsylvania SPCA, a legitimate rescue organization, helped WEWS find The Lost and Found, an organization that could place Lady Jane.

But for Katie and others who cherished the horses they gave away, their trust and faith may never be restored.