Valentine
2005 chestnut Grade Type mare
Type of Rescue: Animal Control Surrender
Intake Date: 1/1/20
Adoption Date: 10/23/22
Length of Time with SAFE: 1 yr 10 months
ADOPTED!! by Sandy and family
Valentine and three ponies were seized by Animal Control after a 5th horse on the property died due to neglect. The survivors all suffered from overgrown hooves, lice, malnutrition, enormous worm loads, and lack of dental care, causing painful ulcerations in their mouths. Valentine suffered a laceration over her right eye during transport. Our vet was able to stitch the wound cleanly, and Valentine won our hearts right there and then with her kind and calm demeanor during the process. She is a good-sized mare who is quite gentle, but we can’t tell for sure if she was a riding horses in the past or not. Valentine was adopted in March 2021 along with Tilt, but due to unfortunate circumstances, both had to return to SAFE and are seeking homes as companions.
Valentine now lives the good life with another SAFE alumni, Zelda (formerly Pyrrha). After Farley (another SAFE alumni) passed away in the summer of 2022, Pyrrha was lonely and needed a friend. Thanks to Sandy and her family, Valentine gets to just be a horse, grazing on pasture, cantering inside for dinner and providing companionship to Zelda and her human friends.
Alumni Update: Pyrrha and Valentine
A recent photo of Valentine, on the left, and Pyrrha (Zelda), on the right, on a sunny day after being bathed.
Valentine is Adopted!
We are pleased to announce Valentine has found the perfect home! Sandy and her family are very familiar with SAFE horses having adopted two before Valentine. Sadly, Farley, passed away early this summer and while the neighbor’s horses provided some comfort to Zelda (formerly Pyrrah), they were looking for a friend to bring more joy to her life.
The friendship started last month with barely any squeals after being turned out together. Sandy says both girls are usually side by side in the pasture, munching throughout the day and again in the morning, waiting for breakfast. Valentine canters to the big field each morning and then trots in for dinner, with Zelda right behind her. Sounds like a perfect life.
Valentine came to us in January 2020, along with 7 ponies who were seized by Animal Control for severe neglect. She was eventually adopted out with another one of our companion horses, Tilt, but due to unfortunate family changes, both horses returned to SAFE this past summer. Lucky for us, we have a wonderful community and the two mares both found separate homes with former alumni! We are lucky to have an incredible community who adopts one horse and comes back for more!
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- Zelda slowly walks in to meet her new friend
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- Buddies stick together
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- First roll at her new home
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- Grass time!
September Joel Conner Clinic Report: Valentine
“I had a great time doing ground work for three mornings with Valentine at the most recent clinic with Joel.
Valentine has a lot of try and makes an effort to understand what is being asked of her. Once she “gets it” she moves with relative ease.
Valentine on Fox 13!
Our sweet Valentine was featured by the Limelight Pet Project this last Sunday on Fox 13! If you missed it, no worries, check out her full story by watching the video below. Thank you to our wonderful friends at The Limelight Pet Project who help shine the light on hard to adopt pets. They help spread the word about our adoptable horses and provide us with beautiful photos and a wonderful story!
Tilt and Valentine Looking for a New Home
Valentine and Tilt are adopted!
Valentine, Sophia and Tilt!
Tilt and Valentine are adopted together! We are happy when we find a home for one horse, but when we get to send off two together, destined to be BFF, that makes us ecstatic! Tilt (now Korra) and Valentine (now Callie) headed to their home with Sophia last month and the two both rolled 10 times when they were first arrived. We think that is a great horse stamp of approval! The property is amazing and they have plans to expand the horse area this spring.
Sophia originally came to SAFE looking for a horse last year. She had plans to adopt our sweet Amelia and a pony friend, Boone. Sadly, Amelia passed away days before she was scheduled to leave for Sophia’s. Like all of is, Sophia was devastated, and needed some time to heal. We are grateful she came back to SAFE to find another horse from us and fell in love with Tilt and Valentine. Now they get to enjoy the good life with Sophia and we could not be happier for them.
Tilt
Valentine
Tilt after a grooming session
Valentine enjoying a snooze in the sun
Who’s your Valentine?
This week was the first time Terry worked with Valentine in the round pen. She doesn’t appear to have had much formal training and she is very sticky getting her to get on her hind and change directions off the halter lead. She is especially stuck in her right hind. It could possibly be an old injury or lameness. We will continue her rehabilitation and watch for soundness issues.
Valentine was recently moved from 24 hour turnout to inside the barn at night. We have been working more on leading from her stall to her turnout. She is making progress and becoming more responsive! Valentine had a lot of difficulties with the farrier visit this week so we will start getting her comfortable giving to pressure on her hooves.
Four new faces (or 16 new hooves) at SAFE
On January 5, 2021, we welcomed four new horses to SAFE. These three ponies and one full sized mare had been seized by Animal Control after a 5th horse on the property died due to neglect. The survivors all suffered from overgrown hooves, lice, malnutrition, and lack of dental care, causing painful ulcerations in their mouths. They also have enormous worm loads, which we are treating careful to rid them of while avoiding an overload of toxins to their systems. The four horses seized are:
Valentine, a 16 year old grade mare, who suffered a laceration over her right eye during transport. Our vet was able to stitch the wound cleanly, and Valentine won our hearts right there and then with her kind and calm demeanor during the process. She is a good-sized mare who seems quite gentle, but we can’t tell for sure if she was a riding horses in the past or not. She’s very cute, with a huge blaze and a bright chestnut coat. Getting to know her will be an enjoyable process!
Sundae is a brown and white pinto pony with two blue eyes. She is estimated to be 25 years old. She’s reluctant to be touched, but she’s curious, so it probably won’t be too long before she comes around. Sundae will be offered as a companion. She’s a small pony, standing 11.0hh.
Breve is also a small pony (11.0hh). She’s a lovely chocolate palomino with a pretty blaze and one white foot. She’s estimated to be 4.5 years old, so she may have a future ahead as a riding pony. She’s also pretty shy, a little more so than Breve, but she’s getting accustomed to being caught and handled.
Razin is the smallest of the group at 10hh and he looks very much like a baby, but his teeth show that he’s at least 4 years old. He looks like he might be a cross between a pony and a mini horses. He’s very dark bay with a bleached mane and tail, a star and snip, and two socks on his hinds. Razin is not down with being caught or touched, but he’s already learning to be haltered and led. He’s got a lot of energy. He may be suitable for carrying a small child at some point, but he might do better as a cart pony.
Our new charges are settling in well. We were informed by Animal Control that their old owner had 4 more ponies hidden on his property, including two pony stallions, a pony mare, and a 6 month old. He has surrendered these to Animal Control, so they are likely to be arriving at SAFE by the end of this month.
