Training Update: Poppy moving on the Wall
Little Poppy is hard at work in our horsemanship program, learning all sorts of new tricks. Because she has likely never been saddled before, we are putting her through all the paces with that as our first major goal, but we are working on other aspects of a…
Declan — Ready for Adoption!
Declan is ready for his new riding partner! This big, sweet, handsome gelding has overcome a lot of tension and anxiety when it comes to riding and is starting to relax, lower his head, and lengthen his strides more and more every week. Declan recently started riding…
March 2023 Joel Conner Clinic
Join us for the first Joel Conner horsemanship clinic of the 2023 season!! Come learn from Joel, see what our horsemanship program is all about and witness our horses in action. Join us at SAFE located here. March 24–26th from 9AM — 5PM Auditing is $30 each day | cash…
Regarding Henry
The first challenge that Henry and I faced together was helping him understand that “walk” is a gait that he’s allowed and in fact encouraged to use. Like many of the Graham horses, Henry would set off like a bat out of hell when turned loose in the round pen. He’s…
Training Update: Moshi
Little Moshi is settling in well here at SAFE, and has begun work in our horsemanship program alongside volunteer Lexee N. Lexee has been putting Moshi through all the beginning pages of the ‘Red Book’ in preparation for saddling her for the first time. It is our…
Sparrow’s Racing Past
Sparrow has a lip tattoo that denotes his past as a racehorse. However it’s odd: the letter that denotes the year of birth is missing, which made identifying who he was born as a bit more challenging. But by playing a game of trial and error with letters, we were able…
King 5 News: Over 20 horses seized from Pierce County property recovering
A majority of the horses seized during an animal cruelty investigation are recovering at Save a Forgotten Equine (SAFE) and will be available for adoption. Link to video on KING‑5 News Website Author: Julie Calhoun Published: 8:43 AM PST February 12, 2023 REDMOND,…
Alumni Update: Flynn
Flynn is doing great in his new home and obviously has adoring fans. Every time we see a photo of him and one of his fans, we screech with delight because of the cuteness.
Alumni Update: Tilt
Julie recently sent us an update on Tilt with exciting news! “Another update from down here in Santa Fe at what we’re calling Desert Jewel Ranch. A huge day for little Korra (formally Tilt). Thanks to Terry Ann Phelps-Peddy, Kaya Mead, Joel Conner and the SAFE…
Otto’s Tummy-ache
I played a lot of horse games on the computer growing up, most of them focused on eventing (the act of jumping or a piaffe reduced to pressing a single button on the keyboard). While this was fine, my main interest was drawn to the care parts of the simulators -…
KUOW Soundside Podcast: Giving Neglected Horses a SAFE Home
Last week, Bonnie was interviewed by KUOW about the Graham horses! Listen as she introduces the Soundside team to Henry on their recent visit to SAFE. Listen to Soundside on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Or visit the KUOW website at…
Jax’s Racing Past
Jax has a lip tattoo that denotes his past as a racehorse. It’s always fun when we get a horse who comes in with some kind of marker about who they were in their past — so often we don’t have any clue a horse’s history. Looking into Jax’s lip tattoo, we discovered he…
Alumni Update: Millie
Mille lives a happy life as the “queen” of her pasture! Although she is not being ridden, she is able to go on trail rides being ponied behind her pasture mate. She does very well on trails, even when they encounter bicycles, hikers, and other horses. We are so happy…
Volunteer(s) of the Year: Meghan, Monique and Trela!
We know you all have been holding your breath, waiting for us to announce our 2022 Volunteer of the Year! We wanted to surprise them in person (and film it to share with everyone! No pressure ladies) and it just so happened we couldn’t get them in on the property at…
Alumni update: Flynn
Cute photo of Flynn and a lesson student enjoying the warmer weather!
A Horse’s Best Friend
Veronica loves dogs! Not only if they just happen to be walking by her as she snoozes next to the fence line, but when she spots them, she comes right over and wants kisses. Our Saturday Barn Staff, Trudy, brings Titan her adorable husky to work each weekend. Trudy…
Alumni Update: Lucca
Jane loves trail riding and spending time with Lucca. When they are not riding the beautiful trails near Lucca’s boarding barn, Jane spends time hand walking, just to spend more time with her. Jane even brought Lucca to a Joel Conner clinic so our volunteers could…
SAFE Tax Donation Receipts were emailed yesterday!
2022 Tax Donation Receipts were sent out on January 31 via email to everyone who made at least one gift last year and who has an email on file with us. If you did not get one, it might be because we don’t have a working email address for you. If that’s the case, send…
Henry Health Update
All of the Graham horses are up to date on medical care, and have already had their feet done twice. Henry is no exception to this. The nervous, wild-eyed horse who arrived at SAFE after what was likely his first trailer ride is a far cry from the sweet horse who we…
Kelly’s Legs
Kelly arrived at SAFE with some significant dermatitis on her legs, with her hind limbs being the most severely affected. She had rubbed patches completely raw from itching, and had developed some sore spots on her fetlocks underneath all those lovely draft horse…
Alumni Update: Cassidy
Cassidy shares a five-acre pasture with her buddy, Salish. Currently, Cassidy is learning how to jump, and she loves it! Brianna, her adopter, rides her nearly every week on trails which is another activity that Cassidy loves. Brianna has tried several other…
Alumni Update: Whiskey and Shortbread
How cute are the recent photo updates from Whiskey and Shortbread?! We are happy to see the two are happy pasture pals on their 1.5 acres receiving all the love and care they deserve.
Pepper is Adopted!
Another one of our Fall City 40 is adopted! Our adorable, goat braying, fluffy maned little girl is all grown up and living her best life as a best friend to her big brother, Cal, a 17 year old 16HH Andalusian. Her adopter, Sue, was looking for another friend for Cal…
Foster Update : Gabby
We love seeing what Trisha is up to with our long eared Gabby girl. Recently, they have been working on the scary spray bottle, which Gabby would not even consider being around, until Tess (Trisha’s other horse) was interested. Gabby quickly got jealous of Tess…
Getting to Know Sparrow
Sparrow is the older of our two thoroughbred geldings. His lip tattoo, while a little bit difficult to read, seems to tell us he was originally called ‘Proud Texan,’ and was born in 2001, making him 22 this year. He has a significant swayback, and though he has most…
Getting to Know Hopper
Sweet man Hopper was a fast favorite amongst our volunteers given his gentle personality and love of scratches. Hopper tested positive for Cushing’s, which was little surprise to us given his especially furry coat, so each morning he gets his daily medication in a…
Getting to Know Addie
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…
Training Update: Artie
Since his debut as a riding horse at the end of 2022, Artie has really shown he is the little horse who could. From his early days as a literal wild stallion to now, it’s hard to even picture him as the same horse. His nickname around the barn now is ‘puppy’ because…
Getting to Know Betty
Betty is the slightly smaller of the two big black mares, and she lacks a facial marking like her friend and counterpart, Eleven. But smaller is a relative term — this is a big lady, made even bigger by being overweight. Betty has been on a diet since she was checked…
Eleven
Eleven is the larger of the two big black mares, virtually identical to her paddock-mate, Betty, though Eleven boasts a cute facial marking. Eleven arrived at SAFE quite overweight, and during our initial vet check we ran bloodwork on her. Her results came back…
Limelight Features the Graham Horses
This week the wonderful ladies from the Limelight Pet Project came to meet the Graham herd! It is the largest feature they have ever done and we are so grateful they took on such a huge task. They spent the day with Graham horses capturing beautiful portraits of all…
Getting to Know Jax
Jax is the younger of our two thoroughbred geldings, his lip tattoo revealing him as being originally christened ‘Sir Gallagher,’ born in 2008, which makes him 15 this year. He arrived at SAFE with loose stool, which we helped clear up with a course of biosponge. Jax…
Getting to Know Evie
Snowflake appaloosa Evie is certainly striking to behold. Evie has a little bit of an attitude when asked to move forward, especially going up to the canter. She is also quite difficult to get going, so we are…
Getting to Know Picasso
Picasso has a name befitting his paint-erly coat. He lives alongside his neighbors, little mares Poppy and Moshi, who he is quite attached to. We went through all our checks, and saddled Picasso here at SAFE. He is very heavy on the forehand, and has a propensity to…
Getting to Know Poppy
Sweet little Poppy is the more timid of the two black pony cross mares, but it’s impossible to decide who is cuter. Poppy can be difficult to catch, so she still has to wear a breakaway halter to make it easier for her to catch in the paddock, but we have been working…
Getting to Know Henry
Henry, who arrived wide-eyed and nervous (it was his first time on a trailer, coupled with the uncertainty of a new place), has really begun to settle in at SAFE. He spends his days in a turnout with appaloosa mares Zelly and Evie on either side, and the three go to…
Getting to Know Moshi
The more outgoing of the little black mares, Moshi is curious and approachable. She has her moments of playing hard to get, but has been the more reliable of the two to catch in the paddock, and recently has had very little issue with people coming right up to her. We…
Getting to Know Zelly
Zelly arrived at SAFE with a snotty nose (no other symptoms, like fever or lethargy) that did not resolve with time. When our vet first checked her out, she said she would want to take X‑rays if the snot remained, as the snot was not bilateral, and was likely a sinus…
Getting to Know Kelly
Kelly is a gentle mare and been fairly easy to work with so far. Her biggest trouble has come around picking up and treating her hooves. She was fairly naughty for the first farrier visit last month and we are hopeful with the care and work we have started she is…
Decoding Declan
Oh Declan, caramel-colored stranger-turned-friend, unspooling who you are has been, as it often is, an adventure of the best sort. Declan, you first arrived having worn the hat of “family horse” in your past, and you brought it with you, tucked away with the rest of…
Training Update: Darla
Darla is doing well with her training and continues to show that she is a quick learner and has a lot of try! Darla’s gotten freer with her movements, but still has some work to do getting off her front end and really carrying herself forward. We’ve also been working…
Alumni Update: Sophie
We caught up with Sophie and Julie in January 2023. Sophie has two pasture mates, Julie’s daughter’s pony and Piper, another SAFE alumni. Sophie gets a lot of groundwork but there isn’t a lot of time for as much riding anymore, as Julie has a 2‑year-old human to…
Choose Cramer
Our ex-Bucking horse is seeking forever home to live out the rest of his days as a companion to those on two legs and four. This former athlete, clocking in at 16.2H, is only 8, which means he has a lot of time left to do retired horse things like play around with his…
Camille and Sebastian Adopted Together!
It’s not often we get the privilege of adopting two of our horses together to the same home, so when we do, it sends “Ooohs” and “Ahhhs” throughout our community. Though Camille and Sebastian were only at SAFE a short while and their friendship was still so new, the…
Alumni Update: Remy
Remy is doing GREAT! He is living his best life with his pasture companion, Soldier, and they are very bonded. Remy and Soldier enjoy 24/7 turnout and they LOVE to play together. Their favorite past time is to play tug of war with their new Kong. Recently, Remy has…
George is Adopted!
We are thrilled to announce George is adopted and to an amazing family! Back in 2019, we were called upon to help find homes for a group of wild, neglected horses, we called the Fall City 40. George was a young stallion when we met him, wild and untouchable, but VERY…
Alumni Update: Jessel
The hoar frost was so beautiful this winter, Alexandra had to get some photos of her and gorgeous Jessel. We’re so happy she shared them with us!
Alumni Update: Duchess
Esperanza formally Duchess is doing well, in great health, and thriving. She and her adopter, Marianna, are in weekly classical dressage lessons and have just started half-pass work. Marianna said she just can’t say enough good things about this lovely mare! [gallery…
Alumni Update: Pogo
Pogo lives happily on five acres with four other horses including a white mare named Elle. Pogo loves Elle and she is equally smitten with him. When Lilly adopted him in 2021 he was overweight and would not let anyone groom him, along with a few other bad habits.…
Herd your Horses
The nature of SAFE is that it is a transient place, meant to be a pause in the life of the horses who come here, a comma in their lives, not a full stop. What this means is that things change on a regular basis – we play musical paddocks quite often (though all of the…
