EDMONTON - More than 100 horses seized from a ranch where at least 27 horses were found starved to death earlier this week will be moved to a facility where they will be nursed back to health, the Alberta SPCA said Tuesday.

The animal welfare agency said it has partnered with volunteers from the equine community to provide ongoing care for the horses seized from the Andrew area on Feb. 26.

"We are very pleased to have made this arrangement to allow the horses to recover,'' said Morris Airey, the SPCA's director of animal protection services.

The surviving horses, mostly Arabians, were to have been auctioned off Thursday but a group calling itself Rescue 100 stepped forward and offered to help out.

"They do have extensive network within the Arab horse groups and they have undertaken responsibility to ensure that they are all homed appropriately,'' said Airey.

"With their experience in raising horses and genuine concern for animals, we're confident they'll be well cared for.''

Conditions on the ranch when the horses were seized Monday were described by some witnesses as appalling -- the ribs of many horses were showing and some younger horses were shut in a shed with chickens and geese.

Airey said as they recover, the horses will be under the direct supervision of a veterinarian and Alberta SPCA peace officers will be monitoring their progress.

He said long-term plans call for the eventual placement of the horses in good homes following a recovery period.

"We've been fortunate to have had numerous offers from the public to provide homes for the horses,'' said Airey, adding that charges are pending against the owner of the ranch.

Several people in the vicinity have identified the property as belonging to Hinz-Schleuter Arabians, owned by Axel Hinz-Schleuter.

The ranch had been fined $1,000 by the Alberta SPCA in 2005 for underfeeding animals.

A conviction on the new charges could bring a maximum fine of $20,000 and an unlimited ban on owning horses.

Had the horses been auctioned off, the owner would have received any proceeds of the sale once expenses of the seizure were covered.