Md. inmates help rescued horses

Even as she toiled at a Woodbine farm Thursday in the relentless heat and humidity, Paula Jordan said she and three other female inmates were grateful to the owners for allowing them "a little taste of freedom."

Jordan, a 41-year-old Baltimore resident convicted of second-degree assault, is a member of a newly formed crew dispatched from the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women to pitch in twice a week with maintenance on the 58 acres of rolling pasture at Days End Farm Horse Rescue, the Baltimore Sun reports.

The nonprofit organization long known for giving horses second chances at life is turning a spotlight on prisoners in need of the same opportunity.

The equine population at Days End Farm has drifted back down to about 70 after hitting an all-time high of 93 boarders in mid-May when 26 horses were confiscated by Garrett County animal control officers from a five-acre Oakland farm, said Sue Mitchell, development director.