Piper

Piper’s adopter, Talia, recently provided an update.

It’s been a long time since I gave a Piper update! We’re all trying to get in shape for spring with hikes up the big hill. The Arabian (Nova) led the way, and Piper and I did just a little huffing and puffing behind her.

We’re moving to new pastures this week, and we’re all looking forward to being roommates again! (The girls have been for three years, but I get to live with them now!)

 

 

We are excited to tell you all that our baby Piper is returning to her wonderful foster mom, Talia, but this time it is for KEEPS! Yep, you heard it right, Piper is ADOPTED!

Talia fell in love with Piper two years ago when she opened her herd and heart for Piper to foster and have space to “grow up” and be a kid. At the time adoption was not in the cards, but Talia always kept and eye on her girl and hoped that someday it may work out.

Well the stars are aligned and their moment has come! Piper is now living in Leavenworth with Talia and her mare Nova. Nova was Piper’s buddy when she was fostered, so it will be somewhat of a family reunion! Although Piper has grown a ton so Nova may be surprised to be looking up at her this time.

We are so grateful for the time and patience SAFE allows our young horses to mature. Piper has shown our community how raising a baby right, everyone comes out a winner. Talia takes this responsibility very seriously. She is prepared to give Piper an amazing life full of adventures and memories, while understanding a pace that matches Piper’s needs as she continues to mature physically and mentally. We only ask that they bring us along whenever possible and share photos of their life together. Piper you are the sweetest mare in the whole world — thank you for trusting SAFE and touching the hearts of so many of us

One of the ways to make sure Piper is following the rider’s feel and not just the reins is to take the reins away! This young mare is growing up nicely. She is 15h now and still growing and filling out. She still has lots still to learn and change as she develops but the foundation is being set to make her a great riding partner.

Piper is a riding horse! While she’s still technically in training and on hold, Piper is proving herself to be quite a capable riding partner. In the beginning of her training, Piper was a little dull and didn’t move forward very easily. She has since overcome a lot of these tendencies and has become more sensitive and forward.

One of the reasons we have not wanted to work and ride her too much these last months is that she always seems to be growing!! Not only is it awkward to be moving out on legs you didn’t know you had, but it’s critical she not be forced to overwork her joints since they’re still developing. Piper is in it for the long haul and will have a lifetime ahead of her for long rides. So for now she is worked lightly 2–3 times a week until we get some good changes and then we GET OFF! No reason for this young horse to ride around on circles for hours. Next year, she will be more physically mature and then she can “go on the payroll.”

Piper is turning out to be quite a tall Morgan cross! Her buckskin color and beautiful amber eyes definitely help her stand out in a crowd. Piper tends to be a little lower in the pecking order of her herd, but since she’s made friends with Sienna (the unquestioned lead mare) she’s given special preference. This young lady will make a great partner for her future adopter!

Piper is in a growth spurt right now. She looks a bit awkward with her long legs and high haunches but that is a phase that will be over soon. We have turned her out with several different buddies and she seems to get along nicely with a variety of personalities. This fall and winter, we are still working with her in preparation for riding. Not with rigorous work sessions: we throw the ropes on and around her, put on the saddle and even work on mounting and dismounting from the fence and ground.

Even when she has a lot of time off from being worked, we can pull Piper out of the pasture and all the work is right where we left it. She is great!

We have been dealing with some “teenage” behavior around volunteers, some testing of her boundaries as far as giving space to people in the paddock and being respectful during feeding times. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, these are just some of the “growing pains” that are part of the education of a young mare.

At this time Piper won’t be available for adoption until she is a riding horse, which should be in June 2020. We don’t see any issues with her becoming a great riding partner in the future. She’s a beautiful horse and someone is going to end up with a very flashy and fun friend!

Our baby Piper is growing up! She is just a bit older than two now so we’re introducing her to some groundwork. She attended her first Horsemanship Clinic at Safe Harbor last week. She did very well with all the other horses around us. We worked in the last hour of the class and then Joel helped me get the saddle on her. She was a star for all of these new experiences! A few issues came up with her sticky feet and braces moving forward off of pressure. We will work through these now so that when we do go to ride her it will be less stressful and she will be more accepting of the rider.

At this point it’s not about hours of work or sweaty hard workouts, it is about acceptance. For Piper, being saddled was a non-event. There was hardly any jumping around when she felt the cinch or stirrups touching her sides. I have saddled her a few times now and her willingness to move forward off of feel is getting better. I’d like to see this improve a bit more and then I will take her over to Joel’s to put the first ride on her in a few weeks.

After that she will be living the life as a young horse should: turned out with good friends and enjoying growing up. When she is around three, we will bring her back into training and start riding her more regularly. Even then, the groundwork and experiences will be the goals. As Buck Brannaman recently said in his Colt Starting clinic in Dayton, WA, these youngsters have their whole lives to be riding horses, it’s the groundwork foundation and experiences that is key at this time in their lives.

Little miss Piper has grown this summer into such a nice little lady. She spends nearly all of her time living like a wild horse with our herd in the large pasture, but she shows off her manners every time we handle her. Some of her milestones include: standing politely for trims with only the mildest baby shenanigans (it’s pretty boring after all), yielding out of the human’s space during feeding, giving to basic pressure on a halter and leading very respectfully between pastures. She continues to be brave and inquisitive, and she has fully learned her place in the herd. The boss mares rarely see a need to pin their ears at her, although she is showing signs of starting to move the gelding around some, so I think we’ll have another alpha mare on our hands as she continues to mature.

She’s still the “little one” (and I’m sure we’ll always refer to her that way), but I’m not sure she’ll be littler than the Arabian girls much longer!

Talia

Last week, we tearfully loaded Piper into a trailer and wished her well as she headed off to her new foster home. Because Piper is so young, she has a lot of growing up to do before she’ll officially start training. So we started thinking about sending her out to foster, and immediately, the perfect foster home became available to us! Piper is living on a property in the mountains just east of Leavenworth WA. She shares 15 acres of turnout with a small group of horses who can teach Piper how to be a horse. Piper’s foster mom is a long term SAFE supporter named Talia who came very close to adopting Anderson at one point. (Anderson’s breathing issues that came to light during last year’s fires put a stop to this adoption — he’s just not suitable to life in arid eastern Washington.) Talia has been keeping us all posted on Piper’s progress and sharing photos of her new friends and surroundings.

5/16/2018:
Little girl unloaded just as bravely and quietly as she loaded, and she traveled very well. The boss mare pecking order shenanigans were relatively subdued, and she held her own. My sweet teddy bear mare, Cameo (pictured below), took to her right away. We’ve let her know that if she stands politely and keeps her little teeth in her little mouth, we’ll just love on her all day. They’ll stay in the dry lot tonight so we can keep an eye on her as she settles in, and she’ll get her first taste of the big pasture tomorrow.

5/18/2018:
Piper is settling in very nicely, and is getting a very good education. I thought you all might like to see a short clip of one of the camp counselors in action. Boss mares expect that baby will move out of their way, but they have been very patient and gentle with her. She’s getting offered the good deal first, then the not so good deal. Little one is catching on fast though, so she’s mostly taking the good deal. They have been letting her eat, drink, and snooze with the herd. We had some stormy weather the last couple of days, so they’ve been staying in the paddock where they have access to the barn to get out of the weather. The boss mares have even been letting her in the shelter with them, though she seems to prefer the trees. Hoping the weather will cooperate for a big pasture adventure tomorrow afternoon or Sunday.

5/19/2018:
If I had to guess which herd member would be most upsetting for Piper to watch leave, it would Willow, the “beta” mare. She kept the little girl company on her first night when she was still keeping her distance from the group, and Piper seems to gravitate most to her. This morning I took Willow for a ride for the first time since Piper arrived. Piper was clearly interested in the departure (as you can see in the photo below), but just whinnied once as we left and then went back to munching hay with the rest of the group. Such a good girl!

Photos of Piper’s world (click to enlarge):