Sometimes all you need is a good pair of new shoes.

That was especially the case for Noir — a trick horse rescued from a slaughter pen in Pennsylvania and nurtured back to health by the New England Equine Rescue. To be a demonstration horse again, he needed shoes, desperately, but neither NEER nor his foster mom Liz Russell of West Newbury could afford to pay for them.

Enter 9-year-old Logen Witz of Georgetown. Witz, who recently completed third grade at Penn Brook Elementary School, saw Noir’s need for help on the NEER’s Web site. She chose to “become an angel” for the horse and began raising funds in her school.

The idea to raise money for a horse first came when she read a newspaper story this past February. The story detailed how Rowan Hanson, 12, raised money for, and eventually adopted, a Tennessee walking horse named Echo. Inspired by Hanson’s example, Witz asked her mother, Linda, if she could do a similar project. Her mother suggested she talk to the Penn Brook Principal Dr. Donna Tanner and see if a fundraiser could be set up through the school.

A meeting was arranged and within a short period of time, a collection jar was put in the front office of the building. Witz was allowed to use the school’s intercom daily to make announcements. She also asked around for money during lunch and recess. In total, Witz raised $60 from donations made at Penn Brook. Her father, Dennis, then matched that — making the total donation $120.

Witz said she was glad to help Noir and plans to help out future horses in similar ways.

“[The horses] don’t really have anyone else to help them. There needs to be someone to take care of them and get money for them,” she said.

As a rescue horse, there’s “not a lot of money for extras,” said Russell. “He gets plenty of food, shavings and dessert every night, but we had a hard time getting money together for shoes. He needs the support of shoes when he’s in heavy work and he’s proven to be really talented in the dressage ring,” she added.

Russell thanks Witz for coming through.

“It was unexpected and right when we needed it. It’s a huge relief and has made a huge difference to this horse,” she said.

Witz has been riding horses for two years, ever since she received horseback riding lessons for her seventh birthday, two years ago. Now she rides four times a week, twice at Twisdenwood Farms in Georgetown and twice at Churchfield Farm in Boxford.

This summer, she had the chance to ride even more due to a phone call she received from NEER after her donation to Noir. In the middle of June, NEER contacted her asking if she would be interested in riding Boo — a Hackney rescue pony — in a Boxford Trails Association horse show earlier this summer. Witz took two second-place awards for riding Boo.

“Mary [Martin of NEER] has already asked her to ride Boo again in another show just to get the word out … that there are a lot of young horses out there that are being slaughtered,” said Linda. “[NEER] can rescue these horses and they can have a regular life.”

Linda and Dennis have three children — Keaton, 11; Logen, 9; and Tristan, 6. The entire Witz family is proud of Logen’s continuous efforts with the NEER.

“I’m really proud of her that she took it upon herself to talk to Dr. Tanner and I think it’s great that she’s not just thinking about herself but also thinking about others, especially those who can’t speak for themselves,” said Linda.

In addition to horseback riding, Witz keeps a busy schedule playing piano, soccer in the fall and is a member of the 4H club.

But despite her other interests, horse riding is still her favorite passion, especially because of the relationship she has built with the animals she rides and works with.

“They really like humans so they’re fun to be around. Even though they’re a couple hundred pounds, you feel very safe around them,” she said.