Meet the new kids on the block!

Stevie (left) and Lacey (right)

Please join us in welcoming the two newest faces at SAFE! Stevie and Lacey are two young mustangs who were born in the wild, then rounded up and sold at auction. They are now three and a half years old and while they haven’t had the easiest life so far, they have landed in a place where their future is bright.

Stevie and Lacey were born at the Wild Horse Sanctuary, which is located on 5,000 acres of meadow and forest land in Shingletown CA. The Wild Horse Sanctuary is home to nearly 300 wild horses and burros, most of whom were removed from public range lands in many parts of the western United States during government round ups. Foals born at the Sanctuary are offered for adoption each year. Stevie was adopted by a family who fell in love with his photo, and ultimately decided to take on Lacey as well.

Unfortunately their adopter was forced to rehome the two youngsters due to personal circumstances. Two years later, the original owners were contacted by the person who had taken them, who also was unable to keep them. Concerned for their safety, both owners turned to SAFE for help. We evaluated the horses with the assistance of our veterinarian at Mt Rainier Equine, who found them to be in decent health and soundness, but pretty thin. (Stevie needs to gain about 150 pounds, Lacey about 50–75.) The two horses were surrendered into our care, and arrived at Safe Harbor last Sunday.

Of the two, Stevie is the worst off. He’s visibly underweight, with prominent hips and ribs and a ewe neck. Lacey is shorter and stockier, so she does not look as bad as he does. She is also the dominant horse of the pair, so it’s likely that she got the larger share of what they were being fed. Both horses have dull coats from lack of nutrition and seem a little dull attitude-wise as well. They are both extremely sweet and friendly, and quite interested in people, so they have clearly been treated well in their short lives. A few months of good nutrition and plentiful food and they should be just fine.

SAFE has “the kids” in quarantine for two weeks where they are being treated for any possible lice and are being closely monitored for any signs of illness by our staff and volunteers. They are also being re-fed an appropriate diet for their current weight and condition.

Once they get a clear bill of health, both Stevie and Lacey will start into training. Stevie in particular has displayed some herd-bound behavior and needs to learn boundaries so he can be safely handled. Lacey has impressed us a lot with her willingness to approach new situations, like trailer loading. She definitely has her moments of mare-ish-ness, but she’s pretty easy to handle and was surprisingly well behaved for the veterinarian. A big plus for a 3 year old and quite promising in terms of her future demeanor!

We look forward to working with these bright young horses and will enjoy watching them as they transform into beautiful representatives of their hardy breed.