Addie

Adopter Nicole reports they have been having a great time with Addie. Addie really enjoys trails, little girls and obstacles.

With the sound of a trailer door shutting, another Graham horse is out the door. Addie has found her family!

Madison and Nicole came to SAFE looking for a horse who could also participate with Madison in her Washington High School Equestrian Team (WASHET) events. Addie was a great match, and she and Madison got along famously. Since her adoption, Addie has been up to all sorts of amazing things, going on trail rides with Madison, and even participating in a cow sorting event with the team. The pair continues to grow their bond by the day, and we all look forward to many happy memories and adventures in the days to come!

When the Graham horses arrived at SAFE last November, their feet were a stinky mess. Overgrown toes, cracks and chips, and thrush for days. They were all, lucky for us, willing participants for the farrier, who was able to see them quickly after their arrival. But one horse in particular stood out on that day, not because of how cute or pleasant she was (though she also happened to be both of those things), but because of how good her feet were despite all of the circumstances working against her.

That mare was Addie. Sure, she had some thrush, but it paled (darkened?) in comparison to her peers. And underneath a bit over overgrowth were some truly beautiful feet. Our farrier remarked on this the first time she trimmed her, and has every six weeks since. It doesn’t hurt that her feet have since come fully around, and are thrush-free and kept up with these days, but she had an amazing foundation to begin with.

So what makes her hooves so good? According to our farrier, she has feet that are very symmetrical, with healthy and robust soft tissue. Her heel bulbs are full, and she has tons of sole depth. To drive the point home further, our farrier even told us that if she were to draw a perfect foot, Addie’s would be it.

We told Addie this, and she didn’t seem to care — really, she was just looking for her post-trim snack — but for the future humans in her life, we can definitely add ‘great feet’ to the list of her assets.

Here’s a limerick for you:

There once was a young mare from Graham,
Whose coat was a dark shade of tan,
And if ever you knew
What was good for you
You’d adopt sweet miss Addie from Graham!

Me calling Addie, a bay horse, ‘a dark shade of tan’ aside, I am very serious when I say we are all waiting with bated breath for Addie to find the person who is going to take her home. Over the last few months, this mare has transformed into a sweet riding horse that would make the perfect companion for a rider seeking young mare with a lot to give. She’s only just five, and has a strong foundation under saddle which would make her an ideal life-long companion for someone looking for a horse to take in a good number of directions.

Recently, she accompanied Kaya M for an off-site clinic in Port Orchard with Joel Conner, making her quite the well traveled lady, at least as far as in-state is concerned.

She trailered very well, alongside two other horses who she did not know before roadtripping alongside them. During the trip, she did bond with them (maybe they did whatever the horse equivalent of the license plate game is on the way over), which made the initial separation on the first day of clinic a little challenging for her (“why are these guys leaving so soon? we just got acquainted!”). But after some brief calling on the first day, she settled in well to being alone, and the second and third day was a lot more relaxed when they left for their learning and she stayed behind to wait for her turn.

During her class, Kaya and she worked a lot on “staying in the rectangle.” This means several things, but for the most part it is a concept that encompasses punctuality, accuracy, and life. Kaya worked on keeping Addie on the line that she set for them, imagining a specific track in the dirt and directing Addie on the course with her legs (and reins, when necessary, but in the long run this line should operate off of legs alone). She also worked on helping Addie be more punctual, living in the now, so to speak, which means we’re going NOW. Addie was also flagged by Joel on his horse to assist with clearing up a stickiness in her front end. Sometimes, we really do get by with a little help from our friends.

Kaya is having a very good time riding Addie, who she refers to as being ‘very soft,’ and also ‘very cute,’ though she’s not biased or anything. Regardless, this is a very sweet and capable little mare, and she surely won’t stay on the shelves for very long.

Addie arrived at SAFE back in November of 2022, as part of the Graham 27 seizure. She was the youngest of the Graham group, with a dental putting her at around 5 years old. And while her exact breed makeup is unknown, Addie proves you can be every bit as cute even without a known pedigree.

Before coming to SAFE, Addie had a somewhat tumultuous start: she was born at another rescue, where she was put into training, and then sold. Addie changed ownership several times after this initial sale before her seizure by Animal Control in November. During her time at SAFE, she has received a re-start under saddle, and has been at off-site training for the last 30 days for even further education and refinement. She is coming along great, and is ready to start meeting adopters.

Her time at training has included plenty of arena work and rides outside to help prepare her for a variety of environments. She is a handy mare, and now has experience being roped and flagged off of – the first steps towards being a working ranch girl!

Because of her youth and her inconsistent past, she will need a consistent home going forward, and one that is willing to commit to her for the long haul. A home that is able to work with Addie multiple times a week and not allow her to vacation for extended periods will be a necessity for her continued success. She will need continued groundwork, arena work, and work out on the trails to maintain the great restart that SAFE has given her. But for the right home, one that is able to commit to Addie, they will find a horse with a ton of try and heart.

Addie is good to handle on the ground, and stands well for the vet and farrier. However, she can be protective around food, so will do best with a confident human who can be a clear leader for her. In a herd, she tends towards being on the bossier side of things, but has done well with others during her time at SAFE.

Addie is a sweet little mare, and will be a wonderful project for the right person looking for a long-term equine companion.

Our little Addison has been away at off-site training for the past 30 days, and has been doing quite well with the new experiences she has been exposed to. Dylan has been putting her through the paces, riding her outside, flagging off of her, and practicing building a loop and throwing a rope from her back, amongst other things. And with the farmland of Ellensburg as her backdrop, Addie could certainly pass as a little cowpony, even if she hasn’t worked any cows.. yet. Our good friend Candi K went to visit Addie and snapped some photos. This cute bay mare really needs no help in the looks department, but through Candi’s lens, she especially shines (those Eastern Washington blue skies don’t hurt either!) Take a look at our lovely lady:

As was standard with the Graham horses we started (or re-started) under saddle, Addie had some issue when asked to go forwards. As is the case, the things that reveal themselves on the ground also appear under saddle and vice versa. It was clear that Addie was tremendously stuck – even when asked to go forward on the ground she felt that she could not move her feet, which manifested in her moving in another way: up. But we were confident once we showed Addie she had options, that she could go forward and find freedom in the space around her, the rearing would stop.

It did not manifest the same way on her back, but there her attitude emerged, a general unwillingness to move out. Like the other Graham horses, it was clear that Addie had been able to play the role of the leader quite often when it came to her riders, and say “no thanks!” quite a bit. When we hung in there and said, ‘no really, you do have to do this’ she was far from happy.

Working on freeing her up going forward has done wonders for her range of motion. It’s clear that once she feels like she can move, she is a lot happier. Her expression is better when her feet feel free, and she just looks overall more let down and relaxed.

We continue to help Addie find freedom in her movements, and in a few weeks she will join our good friend Dylan for some off-site training. Then, she will be ready to start meeting adopters!

Little mare Addie seemed wise beyond her years when she first stepped off the trailer — for such a young horse (we thought she might be 3 at the time), she was already accustomed to picking up her feet and had no problem being blanketed. Despite her age, it is clear that she has already had quite a number of experiences.

If anything, Addie is almost too brave, which can translate to disrespect towards people. She has kicked out at us when we asked her to move off her hay, and will do the same on occasion in the round pen when asked to move forward. Not particularly atypical, but something we are aware of. Instilling horses, especially young ones, with proper boundaries keeps them happier and the humans who interact with them safer.

Addie has made nice progress in our training program. She quickly ticked all the boxes we check before saddling, and her first saddling here was pretty uneventful. She moves out a bit ‘tight’ at first, but has not reacted in an explosive manner the way some horses do when saddled. She does quite a nice job giving to the pressure of the rope, and changing eyes on a person. She is a nice little mover!

Addie is up to date on vet and farrier care. She has had a dental float, been microchipped, and had her teats cleaned. She is up to date on her vaccines. She was also dewormed upon arrival, as she arrived with a positive worm load. She is gentle about being groomed and is mostly good for picking up her feet– she has been trimmed once since arriving at SAFE, with her next trim planned for next week, and a 6 week trim schedule set going forward. She gets daily thrush treatments to help combat the thrush all the Graham horses arrived with.

Addie is in turnout with Bramble, where the two make occasional plays for dominance with one another, especially when food is concerned. She and him, along with neighbors Betty and Eleven, get turnout in the big arena together.