Ranger
2004 Appaloosa Gelding
Suitability: Companion
Color: grey appaloosa
Markings:
Height: 14.1 hh
Weight: 850 lbs
Adoption Fee: $300
Ranger and his two companions came to SAFE by way of Pierce County Animal Control after they were found escaped from their home and wandering the roads multiple times.
Ranger is a kind gelding, and although a more dominant presence in his small herd, he has so far shown himself to be easy to handle on the ground. He has been turned out with mares, with whom he got along very well.
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Ranger
Carrie S brought Ranger into the groundwork portion of the March Joel Conner clinic, and had this to say about the experience:
“What a fun way to start the clinic season! Ranger participated in his very first Joel Conner clinic in March 2025. It was a big week for this smart and handsome appaloosa. Not only was he in the groundwork session with me, he was also getting his first rides with Joel and Lexee. This double duty didn’t slow him down in the slightest. He was energetic and lively even on the last day. What I really appreciated working with Ranger is that he doesn’t fill in the gaps in my knowledge. If I’m imprecise or give conflicting instructions, he shows his confusion at my request. That makes me have to figure out how to become more clear. Often I was asking for something he didn’t know how to do until I broke it down into smaller discrete steps. Once the smaller steps were clear, he was then able to put them all together in a sequence.
Ranger made leaps and bounds in his education throughout the clinic. He now bends his neck on a float on both sides, something that he worked out sometime during Saturday night and proudly showed off on Sunday morning. He now consistently reaches around as soon as I move to touch the lead rope. He needs improvement on keeping his ears level when he bends and that will come as he gets more balanced. He is reaching through nicely when asked for hind quarters and moves with a light touch to his side. Ranger has also freed up significantly in moving his feet when asked for a backup. There is a brace in his neck that we are working on next. The goal is for him to be able to back up with a soft arch in his neck with his head level.
We are also helping Ranger discover that he can move his front feet when asked for front quarters. He does this easily when asked for front quarters from the back up. But he hasn’t quite figured it out when asked during the transition from hindquarters. Again, as he becomes more weighted and balanced on his hind end, his front end will free up allowing him to reach over consistently while pivoting on his hind legs.
Since Ranger is being educated as a riding horse, accepting the bridle is important. He is understandably head shy around his weepy right ear. He is making significant progress in letting us touch his ear for cleaning and bridling as we spend time helping him find peace and quiet.
This guy is going to be a wonderful horse for someone wanting a smart and friendly riding partner. He always comes up to you to be haltered, even when he has just gotten his hay. He’s engaging and curious and lots of fun to work with.”
Adopting a Companion Horse from SAFE
If you look at the current population of horses at SAFE right now, eleven of them are what we call “companions” — older horses that can’t really be ridden anymore…but still need a safe, permanent home. Any of these horses would tell you that caring for a companion will enrich your life in ways you’ve never even thought of! Adopting a senior pet is the ultimate act of love; a clear example of something you do mostly for their sake. In the case of the older SAFE horses, these mares and geldings have survived neglect or abuse, and now they deserve permanent homes where they will be well fed, well cared for, and well loved.
One factor that sometimes holds people back from adopting a senior horse is the cost associated with their care, especially when it comes to the end of their lives. Euthanasia and removal can cost upwards of $1,000 in western Washington, which is a lot to take on. So SAFE would like to offer potential senior horse adopters some assistance with these costs.
If you adopt a companion horse from SAFE, we will sign a contract ensuring you that when the time comes to say goodbye, we will cover the costs of what needs to be done. Your lucky horse will come to you fully rehabilitated and up to date on all routine vet care, with an established feeding plan and an honest behavioral assessment. All we ask in return is that you carry on their good care, and let them know every day that they are home.
Offering this assistance is completely worth it to us, because it means that more of our beloved seniors will be able to enjoy a real home with a person or family that welcomes and values them. And crucially, by adopting one of our senior horses, you will have opened up space at SAFE for another horse to be rescued, a horse who desperately needs our help. We operate under a cap, which means we have to turn horses away when we don’t have space. So adopting a senior horse from us could literally save another horse’s life.
This program is not designed to make horse ownership affordable to anyone who can’t honestly afford it. The adoption will be approved or denied using the same requirements and standards as any horse we adopt out. As an adopter, you will legally own the horse, so you’ll be responsible for the cost of feed, shelter, farrier care, and vet care, for as long as their quality of life remains high.
When the end approaches, you will have our full support: logistical, financial, and even emotional. In the last 20 years, we’ve helped so many horses pass on, so we are well qualified to help you know what signs to watch for, how to make that difficult decision, and how to carry it through with dignity and love.
Adoptable senior horses on the SAFE website that are included in this program will be designated as such. Adopters are not obligated to make use of the monetary help, but we hope that knowing it’s there will make it easier to say yes to a sweet and wonderful senior horse that needs you.
Ranger’s Saddling at SAFE
If we were the betting types, we likely would have put money on the idea that Ranger had been saddled before. A gentle, older horse who doesn’t balk much at the flag touching him or get squirmy in the cinch area tells a story, wordless as it is. Yet even still, we dot our “i“s and cross our “t“s here, and Ranger has been running through our groundwork checklist from the beginning as though he was green as summer grass.
That being said, when it did come time to cinch him up, Ranger was more prepared than ever to do something that he’s likely done before. You can see just exactly how much the process phased him in the video below. If anything, he was likely unaccustomed to a back cinch, but took the whole thing in stride.
Ranger’s Friend
Ranger comes with a built in friend, and no, we don’t mean Mabel. Between his eyes, the points of two ears begin, tapering down to a mule-esque face that ends at the mid-point of his nostrils. It even boasts a cross-shaped star. Luckily, these two share a mouth, meaning Ranger’s friend is just as fed as he is.
How does one call an equine-shaped marking, if not by name? We are taking suggestions, just as long as it sounds good alongside ‘Ranger.’
Ranger has many other things that make him special. We have been chipping away at getting to know him since his arrival, puzzling out what he does and doesn’t know, teaching this old(er) dog some new tricks. He is a sweet guy, for one, always game to greet you at the gate. We’re in the process of exploring his comfort wearing a saddle, for while we can make an assumption based on his age and relatively gentle nature that he has been around the block as a riding horse before, you know what they say about assumptions. So far, so good. If he does turn out to be riding-safe, it will likely be for easy-going jaunts.
Despite his newness to our horsemanship, his good nature has already seen him acting as the teacher to some who are also just getting their feet wet. He is amenable to this position of teacher-learner in the groundwork realm, and even more amenable to the brushing that proceeds it. While sweet, he also can be a bit on the pushy side, so we’ve been helping to show him that he can feel just as comfortable, if not more so, when he gives his handler a bit of space.
Ranger arrived with a weepy ear that we are still puzzling out with the help of our vets. Flushes and antibiotics and x‑rays have thus far led to no improvement and no clear answers, so we may need to consider more extreme measures. But in the meantime, he is learning to tolerate, if not quite enjoy, warm water compresses.
Something that certainly hasn’t helped the state of his ear was an incredibly high ACTH level we unearthed upon running intake blood work. He has since been started on Pergolide, which has reduced his levels back to normal range, and will help his body fight infections better.
It has been great, getting to know this soot and snow colored guy. Ranger has been a lovely addition to our herd — him and his facial friend.
Welcoming Oreo, Ranger, and Mabel!
Ranger’s Friends:
1. Karen S.
2. Emerson W.
3.Linda P.
4. Alaina & Analee S.
5. Sean C.
6. Alexandra B
7. Kaye E.
8. Christine W.
9. Jeanne S.
10. Keith D.
11. Nicole S.
12. Blake H.
13. Scott B.
14. Couren S..
Every horse deserves at least ten friends! Even a small monthly donation can make a difference. Plus, SAFE horse sponsors receive discounts at local businesses through the SAFEkeepers program!
Click here to sponsor Ranger!
