January Volunteer of the Month: Bill Conquergood!
Congratulations to our January Volunteer of the Month, Bill Conquergood! Bill has been sharing his time, hard work and super friendly spirit for just over a year and a half! He is an AM Chore Volunteer Extraordinaire, showing up not only weekly on the Thursday morning team, but also filling in for other shifts that are shorthanded, as he is part of our Emergency Fill-In Volunteers. We should…
2023 Q4 Impact Statement
New Horses Intake Date: October 18, 2023 Cookie (Owner Surrender) Intake Date: November 6, 2023 Dorothy (Animal Control Seizure) Blanche (Animal Control Seizure) Placed Horses Cookie Harper Gabby Pippin Euthanized Horses Tanis
Itches From Above
Nova Nova Nova, no longer a baby and, indeed, making that known. I’ve spoken before about Nova’s hormonal struggles, the willingness and sweetness that can flip on a dime to something unpredictable and sometimes dangerous. She is a horse who wants attention and affection, but whose biology fights back against it (with the occasional smattering of conscious effort, a bit of nature versus nurture…
The Saga of Harissa’s Swollen Face
Imagine, for a moment, a slightly better than worst-case scenario that might occur at a horse rescue. Your mind probably jumps to something medical, right? Nothing life-ending (that would be more on the worst-worst-case scenario side) but something dramatic enough that there are some elevated cortisol levels associated with the event. What about something like a mostly untouchable horse who…
Alumni Update: Rae
December 2023 Check your surroundings… the holiday shenanigans may sneak up on you when you least expect it — just ask Rae!
The Night Before Christmas: A SAFE Story
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the barn, not a creature was stirring, because horses do not keep the same Gregorian calendar that us humans do, and therefore are primarily governed by their biological rhythms. And actually, I take that back, they were stirring, but in the quiet way that a content horse will do. Those in stalls hang their sleepy heads out their windows, or sink…
Pippin Is Adopted!
When Pippin arrived at Sarah’s to foster back at the beginning of the year, she was a small, sickly thing. Her overall affect was flat, and despite her youth, she did not behave in the way that a young horse should. The curious, playful personality that typically accompanies youth was dampened by a rough start to her life, some underlying medical issues, and general lack of care. But to land at…
Brunch with the Gals
Ciara joined one of the mare herds recently, making new friends with Fancy, Frosting, Bijou, and Inula (who was already a known quantity to her, being her daughter and all). Ciara is a good herdmate in that she is the opposite of meddlesome. In fact, at the first sign of a potential altercation, she is removing herself immediately and with haste. She respects a leader and does not care to…
Training Update: Violet
After a relatively uneventful first ride here at SAFE, Violet has been going well under saddle for the past few months. She had been started in her youth, but because a good deal of time had passed and we knew little about what that start looked like, we took things nice and slow. Aside from some initial general misunderstandings (“what do you mean I have a hindquarters?”), and an overall lack…
Training Update: Jupiter
Getting to know Jupiter has been a pleasurable experience. Beginning his training journey here was not starting from scratch — he had some experience being saddled and ridden in the past — and while that doesn’t always mean that things will be easy (often it means the opposite) it did give us some sort of foundation to build upon. One of the first things we noticed about Jupiter was that on…
Cozy Montana
Who’s that chill guy with his head out his stall window? Could it be Montana? Indeed it could, and it is! This fuzzy, fluffy head spends the majority of its time (when not eating, of course) lazily draped outside into the barn aisle, watching the evening’s proceedings with a mostly disinterested gaze. Who could have imagined that this once completely nervous nelly would be one of the most mellow…
Autumn Beginning to Settle
If this image had a sound, it would be a ferocious snort. Even from a respectful distance, Autumn remains incredibly wary. It is clear that this girl has some serious trust issues, and while we knew she would need time, we always wish we could fast forward to the part where she has an understanding that we’re not out to get her. There have been areas of progress, to be sure. She was a picky…
Jacob on Equioxx
Handsome Jacob is, as the kids are saying these days, ‘built different.’ StayHipp.com defines this term as a description of a person or thing that is on another level. While this isn’t exactly untrue of Jacob, I meant it more in the literal, physical sense. Jacob is rather oddly put together, a little frankenstienian in his looks from certain angles. His narrow front end makes him appear to have…
Working with Barb: A Reflection
Barb is a little bay lightning bolt, electricity on four fuzzy legs. I see Barb every day, but it was not until spending a few concentrated hours with her over the course of a few days that I was reminded how much personality lives in that petite body. Some might call a horse like Barb silly (on a good day) or frustrating (on a bad one), but the truth of it is that singular adjectives do not do…
Poppy for Adoption
If Poppy arrived at SAFE as a flower, it was as the first little green tendrils that come poking up through the dirt. Poppy was the shy little shadow to her near-twin Moshi, evasive about being caught and touchy about being handled. She had a bit more trouble to work through than the majority of her Graham counterparts, and unlike a fair number of them, had no experience under saddle. But like…
Arrow Thrives at Foster
Over the hill and through the woods, Arrow is living his very best life at his foster home. He has a vista of rolling hills to look out at from where his shelter sits, friends to share his hay with, and plenty of cozy places to nap in. Nap time is a sacred time for Arrow, who is often spotted having a lie down when not participating in his other daily horsey activities. Recently, in an effort to…
Dorothy’s Family Tree
Dorothy has no white markings. Her coat is comprised of a spectrum of browns, ones that Pantone labels as ‘shaved chocolate’ and ‘molé’ and ‘ganache’ — rich, chocolatey adjectives. However, if you were to curl up her top lip, you would find the mark that humans have left on Dorothy, a faded, blown-out tattoo that identifies her as a race horse. The legibility of thoroughbred tattoos varies. In…
December Volunteer of the Month: Kirsten Lints
Congratulations to our December Volunteer of the Month, Kirsten Lints! Kirsten has been sharing her time, hard work and love with our horses for almost 3 years now! She started on a morning chore shift and moved into the role of Friday Barn Assist. As well, Kirsten is part of the horsemanship team, where she dedicates many hours to not only helping horses like Bandit, but showing up with an…
Cookie and Harper are Adopted!
A big happy ending for two little horses — minis Cookie and Harper have been adopted! Since early April, these two mares were in holding with us for Island County Animal Control at our dear friend and foster Sarah’s place, where they got back on their feet, so to speak. When they finally became ‘ours’ officially, following the closure of their case, they were more than ready to meet their…
Harissa’s Progress
For us, it begins in a muddy field. Harissa stands with her herd, four mares total, perhaps aunts or cousins or sisters, bound if not by blood then by the unfortunate nature of their circumstances. They squelch through the muck as they approach us, curious, wary. While some can be haltered, none allow themselves to be led, and we must usher them to the trailer loose, a 16-legged unit…
Alumni Update: Henry (James)
James over the past month. He’s been making some friends at the barn.
Alumni Update: Rae
From Christina: Rae says pre-dinner/post-ride snacks hit different on these chilly fall days (especially when your friends aren’t invited to the buffet and are jealously thundering around their paddock!)
Guard Pony Lacey
Trudy, our wonderful Saturday barn staff, recounts an interaction that she and our sweet (and brave!) little Lacey had recently: “It’s arena turnout season… Where some of our sweetest pairs of horses get time playing together in the squishy sand footing. They get a chance to roll, frolic, and stretch out in bursts of free cantering. This is needed, because a fair handful of our grass paddocks…
Inula Learns to Pony
Just because you can’t (or shouldn’t) ride a horse doesn’t mean there isn’t a host of fun activities you can get up to with them! The basics are obvious — extended grooming sessions, hand walking and grazing, and the tried and true classic for any and all horse lovers: simply hanging out. But what about more advanced maneuvers? Riding a horse while also leading a horse, called ‘ponying,’…
Giving Thanks at SAFE
There is always so much to be thankful for here at SAFE, but for this season of thanks giving, we went around and asked some of our herd to name one thing they were thankful for this year: Brandy, during a recent arena turnout session with BFF Bandit, took a moment to answer with “Sunshine!” Bandit was too busy basking in said sun to be reached for comment. “Mashes so good, they make you kick up…
November Clinic Report: Bandit
Kirsten AL worked alongside Bandit in the November Joel Conner clinic, and said the following about this smart lady: “This sweet 26 year old has never heard the saying, ‘ you can’t teach an old dog…’ because she continues to not only learn but enjoys the groundwork lessons together. Bending at a stop and starting again has become a favorite that we started in September. Bandit not only bends…
Meet Blanche
Blanche, despite being named for a Golden Girl, is neither old nor golden. She is a 7‑year-old BLM mustang mare whose white freezebrand is the only part of her that isn’t black. This lovely lady came in alongside Dorothy, and despite not having known one another before the trailer ride over, the two will forever be bonded as Golden Girls as well as SAFE horses. Not much of Blanche’s pre-SAFE…
November Clinic Report: Tiva
The transformative nature of the horse never fails to astound me. I suppose that in working with Tiva over the last year, it has been a bit like not being able to see the forest for the trees. Not that her progress does not feel like progress, but looking back to where she began, I can hardly believe she is the same mare as that petrified, snorting creature who arrived last February. I’ve…
Alumni Update: Dale
November 2023 Laura reports that Dale gets very, VERY furry for winter. With the new haircut, he resembles a mini baby bison!
November Clinic Report: Brandy
Carrie S worked alongside Brandy in the November Joel Conner clinic, and had the following to say about their time together: “I participated in the November Joel Conner clinic in the groundwork class with Miss Brandy Snap. This beautiful and kind mare has made stunning progress over the three clinics we participated in this year. When we started out in March, she leaned on the lead rope, was…
