Stella

thank you to Kino McFarland for this video and to rider Casey A for guiding Stella on this journey!

SAFE owes a very big thank you to volunteer rider Casey for all her efforts and steadfast devotion to Stella through her rehabilitation and training. This little mare is full of life and has a BIG heart. She is more than ready to find her special someone and a family to love her forever! Here is an update from Casey about Stella and their work together: 

Stella has been doing very well on the ground and under saddle. After her rehab I noticed some regression in some areas, including being bothered by the flag, particularly when switching eyes, and by things touching her hind legs. These areas of regression make sense because she was stall bound for months, and due to the nature of her injury, we couldn’t really work around her hind legs in a way that would cause much movement. We’ve been working through these issues now that she is sound, and she has shown significant improvement, but I suspect that these areas will need to be continually revisited.

Though there were a few areas of regression, she has really maintained her softness and responsiveness. She is always ready to work and readily cues in to my feel, which is something I’ve always loved about her. All of the exercises that we had worked on prior to her injury have served us well while she was rehabbing and while rebuilding strength in her hind end. There are days where she is more spirited but overall, she is very pleasant and well mannered.

Once again, Stella was a rock star for her rehab process after the injection of her sacroiliac joint. Once we were able to ride her again she was looking a feeling great. We started to add canter work and for a few weeks it was looking better than before. But after some time, she began again to feel unbalanced to the right and swapping the canter lead in the hind. Overall this procedure sadly did not solve her problem. Dr. Fleck said that without a bone scan and the unknown, there is not much we can do to fix the canter. Now she is comfortable to remain a walk/trot horse, so that is the direction we are taking her in. We are working on strengthening her with trot work and exercises over poles.

Stella has been a very good patient during her rehab work! She is calm and relaxed and has taken this all-in stride. Her volunteer rider, Casey, has been doing canter work as part of Stella’s strength building program. Unfortunately, she is showing some discomfort at the canter. Casey reports that she is swapping her leads and feels unbalanced.

Dr. Fleck came out to examine her in April and thinks that she may have injured her sacroiliac (SI) joint. The only way to confirm this would be to have a bone scan performed, which is an expensive procedure. He said that treatment would be an ultrasound-guided injection of cortisone into her SI joint, followed by stall rest and a hand-walking regimen. We chose the option given to us by Dr. Fleck of skipping the bone scan and having her joint injected to see if that solves the problem. She was hauled to the clinic on May 1st for the injection and home the same day.

Stella is a sweet mare. We’re confident that she will once again be a good patient for this go-round of rehab, and hopeful that we can get her back on the path to soundness.

Stella is now 9 months in recovery from her left hind peroneus tertius tendon rupture. She has, to say the least, been a ROCKSTAR for the entire rehab! She is now back up to full saddle work and Casey, Stella’s volunteer rider, has started to add the canter into their workouts. Once she is cantering regularly we can add turnout into her daily routine and we will be removing the medical hold and offering her again for adoption. Here are some sweet pictures of Stella from our last open house.

Our wonderful volunteer rider Casey has been dedicated to Stella’s rehab work and a tremendous help to getting this mare onto the road to a full recovery! Here is what Casey has to say about the progress she is making with Stella:

After four months of strict stall rest and three months of walk and trot in hand, Stella is officially back to work under saddle! I was a little concerned that there would be some regression after seven months off, but she was great for her first saddling and ride. This week we will be up to 20 minutes of trot under saddle. Stella has handled this set back impressively, especially when considering where she started when she arrived at SAFE Harbor. Throughout this process she has been safe in her stall for the volunteers to clean daily and for her handlers on the ground at the walk and trot. This is a testament to the solid foundation and start she got with Joel Conner and the horsemanship that the training team has been implementing with his help.

Stella in her stall with minis.

On March 24th, Stella came up completely lame on the left hind leg. Dr. McCracken came out and diagnosed her with a peroneus tertius tendon rupture. This tendon is part of the apparatus in the hind limb that coordinates flexion and extension of the stifle and hock. Rupture of this tendon is usually secondary to hyperextension of the hock joint, so we suspect she slipped and injured it while in turnout.

Treatment for this injury is strict stall rest, and Stella has been prescribed 3–4 months minimum. She will have recheck ultrasounds to monitor her progress. So far she is handling stall rest like a champ, and she is enjoying her new neighbors, Sunny D and Shasta, who have moved in next door to keep her company.

Although recovery for this injury is a long process, we are hopeful that she will make a complete recovery and return to being a riding horse when it is safe to do so. She was going so well under saddle, this is a sad setback. She is being a very good patient even though stall rest can be frustrating for most horses, she is taking it in stride.

In normal horse, if the stifle is flexed, you cannot extend the hock. Here you can see Stella’s reciprocal apparatus is ruptured.

Just for a little fun, I decided to work Stella in a Dressage saddle this week.  She did very well and was comfortable to sit the trot and canter in the English tack.  She is learning to keep a nice rhythm and cadence in her gaits.  When she gets troubled, it takes just a little re-balancing work to bring her into a soft gait.  Throughout her time under saddle, Stella has kept a positive and willing attitude.

I don’t like to school her every day because it is important that training stays fun for her, especially since she is just over three years old.  We keep things light hearted and add in some fun with trot polls, work on smooth transitions and some leg yields.  Stella is a quick study and a pleasure to work with and handle.  Here are a few photos Jessica took for us working in the English saddle.  Stella is ready for adoption and looking for her forever person!

Teaching Stella to put her own halter on

Stella has been a doll to work with in training at Safe Harbor this past moth. I have been her primary rider but recently I asked volunteer rider Casey to ride her a few times a week. Stella was absolutely great for her new rider. This was a really important test to see that her disposition and work ethic doesn’t change with a different rider. Even though our aids maybe slightly different, Stella thought about what was being asked and looked for the correct answers. She was kind and had no attitude about someone else asking her to work for them. This consistency is lovely to have in a young mare and we are all very impressed with her amount of “try” she gives during our training sessions.

Stella is currently being ridden 3 to 4 days a week. She gets a few play days with groundwork or other fun things like bath day! She is a wonderful little mare and going to make someone a great partner. Since she’s still green, she does a little difficulty keeping a steady rhythm and balance but these are things that will improve with time and consistent work. She needs time to grow up so keeping the work light and playful is a good thing. Stella is quickly becoming a favorite at the barn!

Baby girl is back at Safe Harbor! I would say that we missed her but I’m not sure the neighbors were too happy she was home. She spent the first two days (and nights) calling for her bestie Jewel, who was stalled in the other barn. It was a bit of an adjustment being separated from Jewel but she got through it and is now settling into the routine of the barn. Our volunteer rider Sydney is working Stella as part of her senior class project. She’s started with the basics of groundwork and Stella seems to be remembering the work, so things are going nicely. Stella is pretty sensitive and quite inquisitive in nature, and that can help when teaching her new things. As long as she is prepared for the next steps, she is a smart mare and should be relatively easy to get started under saddle with a rider. 

Stella is growing up nicely and has become much more consistent for other people to handle. She is easy to catch in turnout and happy to get groomed. She is still a little shy about letting people handle her feet but that’s continually improving too. She is a very brave filly! When she is unsure, she thoughtfully looks at new things with interest and quickly relaxes when she realizes that the scary thing isn’t dangerous. We are working on bridling a little bit, including having straps pass over her ears, and accepting a bit in her mouth. She’s also been introduced to a surcingle, and is getting more relaxed about having it put on and taken off. All in all, we’re pretty excited about this brave little filly! We may be looking for a foster home for her over the winter where she can spend some more time growing up before we start to think about starting her next year. We’d also consider adopting her as a prospect to someone looking for a young horse who has a clearly defined plan for starting her under saddle when she is physically mature enough to do so.

I have been working on catch and release games with Stella. She is a very timid girl but is coming along nicely. We have been practicing with the halter and her putting her own nose down into it. Finally got someone to hold the camera for me so I can show you all. She is really funny about it now. She see the halter and literally shoves her head into it. She was so afraid of people approaching and trying to put the halter on. Now she is throwing her head in as if to say: “See I did it!” I love her personality!

Stella is learning to pick up her hooves softly without kicking. The rope allows us to desensitize her and get her used to picking up her feet at a distance where the handler can stay safe. She’s come a long way in the two weeks we’ve been working with her. By the end of this session today, I was able to pick up all four and put them down softly.

​Here’s SAFE volunteer Lisa doing some expert scratching on the (formerly) shy Stella. Apparently the way to this sweet mare’s heart is through her withers!

I had a chance to visit with Stella and Terry today. Stella is the prettiest little thing! 

Terry has started working with Stella at liberty in the arena, giving her the chance to stretch her legs and learn a thing or two about approaching people. Fortunately she loves scritches, and that makes this introduction period a lot easier!

Stella was signed over to SAFE today by Snohomish County Animal Control. She’s a tiny thing, still thin, but otherwise looking much improved from the photos taken of her a few weeks back by SCAC.

Stella was one of two horses seized by SCAC in early May 2014 due to starvation and neglect. She was thin (BCS 1.5/9) with lice and a fungal skin infection. She spent six weeks in the care of SCAC before being signed over to SAFE. Here are photos that were taken about four weeks after she was seized:

She was signed over to SAFE about two weeks later, once her fungal infection was completely cleared up and the vet gave her the okay to travel. Here are some photos taken on the day she arrived:

She’s a little unsure about people, and is reluctant to allow her head to be touched, which makes haltering a little bit of a challenge. But with consistent handling, she should come around quickly. She appears to be a very sweet little filly.