“Cinderella” looked tired as she lay on the ground, allowing a man with a large file to shave down her hoof at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds.

She got her name when the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office first seized horses from Elsie Lee Smith’s farm in Myers Flat on April 1.

She got the name because her hooves were so abscessed that veterinarians thought she would lose them.

“She’s losing her glass slippers,” thought Co-founder of the Heart of the Redwoods Horse Rescue Sara Isaacson at the time.

Many of the 40 horses seized from Smith’s farm are slowly recovering.

When deputies found the horses they were malnourished, covered in lice and their manes caked with mud and manure.

Smith is being charged with alleged animal neglect and obstruction of a peace officer, to which she entered a plea of not guilty.

Smith signed over 30 of the horses to the HCSO last Tuesday.

Although Smith only wants to have a say in where the remaining 10 horses go, she can be held liable for costs related to the seizure and care of the horses.

For the Rescue’s part, the Cinderella Project aims to bring the horses back to health and help link horses with people interested in adopting them.

Isaacson said that the name for the project came because Cinderella – or Horse No. 6 – was bad off when they found her.

“She was worse off,” Isaacson said. “She’s still on the vet’s radar.”

Tom Mason, a farrier (specialist in hoof care) came down from Oregon to volunteer time to trimming the hooves of 28 horses.

Some of the horse’s hooves were so bad they were curling inward or to the side, making it hard for the horse to walk or balance, Isaacson said.

Twelve horses staying at the Rodeo Fairgrounds are the worst off of the bunch, and can’t have their hooves trimmed yet.

“(The hooves) are so deformed, they need to get their nutrition up,” Isaacson said.

HCSO Deputy Todd Fulton said he wants to remind people not to feed or interact with the horses since they are being quarantined.

“We’re trying to make sure they’re healthy enough to have work done on them,” he said.

On Tuesday, he said someone fed a full bag of grain to one of the horses, which, with a strict diet, could do more harm than good.

The health of the horses is improving. The 13 horses at the fairgrounds were deloused and look plumper than when they were first found.

Isaacson said she is thankful for the outpouring of help from the community.

“We hope Cinderella can change into a wonderful princess,” she said.

Anyone interested in giving cash or in-kind donations can contact the Rescue at 707-496-4663.