A Request for Two Special Foster Homes

We currently have two SAFE horses in need of special foster homes: Strider and Jewel. 

Strider

We have been incredibly blessed that Strider was able to spend the summer and fall at the home of our wonderful supporter Sheridan. Not to put too fine a point on it, Sheridan loves Strider. Unfortunately, while her facility was fantastic during drier weather, it is not yet set up to keep him through our soggy winter. She would love to have him back in the early summer when her fields can handle 18 hands of Strider! So we are looking for a temporary foster home for Strider over the winter. 

The great news is that Strider’s demeanor and overall happiness greatly improved when he was moved to a place where he is turned out 24/7. Sheridan reports that while she was a bit concerned when she first met him, Strider’s ground manners have been impeccable at her place. He is still a very large, strong horse, who needs a confident handler, but he is much easier to manage when he has plenty of turnout. Sheridan currently has him turned out with her 18 hand gelding Austin, who is the dominant of the two. She thinks that he probably does best with a dominant buddy. 

Strider does still have a few special needs. The burns on his back still require regular conditioning. If he gets a cut or scrap on his limbs, they are slow to heal and can require extra care. Given his difficulties healing, he truly does need to be kept in as mud-free of a situation as possible. He needs to eat from a hay net or a slow feeder or he is prone to wasting hay.

If you have good mud-free turnout space and are comfortable with big horses, this would be a great short-term opportunity to be part of this very special horse’s life. Read more about Strider here.

Jewel

Jewel is about as different from Strider as you can get! She’s a coming-three year old filly. At intake, we originally believed she was a yearling, but her teeth and the fact she has started cycling indicates she was probably closer to two years old then. She is still a very small filly, and we would like to give her as much opportunity to grow as possible before starting her training. 

Jewel has been in the foster program but has spent the last couple of months at SHS working on her ground manners and being evaluated. Jewel originally had very poor ground manners and distrust of people. While she is still a young horse that requires a competent handler, her ground manners have greatly improved and we would love to get her out of SHS and back in a field where she can mature.

Full disclaimer, in her prior foster home, she was known to kick fences when in close quarters to other horses, but her behavior at SHS has been very good. We would like to get her out in an open space, ideally with some herd mates, to allow her to learn good herd dynamics and simply keep growing up! If you have pasture space available and would be interested in providing a home for our very dainty girl, we’d love to hear from you! 

Read more about Jewel here.

If you have interest in fostering either Strider or Jewel, please contact Kyle at foster@safehorses.org or at 206–854-2168.