SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
Tilt and Valentine Looking for a New Home
Tilt and Valentine are looking for a new home in a hurry! They are SAFE alumni and their adopter regretfully must rehome them, hopefully together. Please share if you know someone looking for two very sweet pasture pals! Tilt is a bay 5‑year-old 14hh Yakima Reservation mare from the Fall City 40 herd that SAFE took in January of 2020. Tilt’s special for lots of reasons, but the reason for her…
Update: Daisy at Foster
From Daisy’s loving foster mom Shellie: “Daisy is doing wonderfully! She had a hoof trim on April 1, which went very well, not sore afterward, no boots needed! She’s shedding like a mad-woman with a beautiful caramel coat now starting to peak out on her shoulders. Working on leading her and Laurence together inside the paddocks to prepare for getting them out to the pastures (what a couple of…
Welcome, Bliss!
Introducing SAFE’s newest addition: Bliss! Bliss came to us from Port Orchard after a member of her owner’s family dispersed a group of 20 horses from his property in Sequim. There was a question as to whether or not Bliss was pregnant (she is not), and though he’d had horses in the past, her owner was not feeling capable of being able to take adequate care of her. She is a truly lovely mare,…
Milestones for Jacob
People may not realize all the little things our horses need to learn before they can be considered ready for adoption. Some come in with little to no domestic life skills while others have troubles due to frustration and misunderstanding that humans created. These are things that the general horse owner may take for granted. These are simple things horses need to be willing to do for just day…
Darla, ex-Unicorn
Oh Darla! Our little accident prone darling. When making a round after their morning chore shift, two of our eagle-eyed volunteers spotted Darla’s pretty white head with an alarming stroke of red on it. Upon further inspection, it was revealed that miss Darla had opened up a little gash on her forehead – not tremendously large, around 3 inches, but deep enough that a call to our vet was…
Cramer’s Progress
Cramer’s trouble is that he was improperly halter started in the past or never was taught to come with the handler. He was likely pulled on in an attempt to lead. Evidence of this is in his confusion and “stuck feet” especially when outside energy is raised. You can manage fairly well around him when it is all his idea, but when we add any element that he is unsure about, his initial reaction is…
Mouthy Man Cam
Careful observation is always a good thing! A few folks grooming and walking Cameron have noticed him doing some funny things with his face. He would push his lips at the gate with his blanket on it and even at their hand when they were near his face. He would also lay all his head weight in their hands. Being the careful observers that they are, this was reported to the staff for further…
Meet Gabby!
Seventeen years ago, we named this rescue Save a Forgotten Equine, and in all that time, we have only rescued equines of the Equus Caballus variety. Recently however, we took in our very first longear — a lovely bay molly mule named Gabby. Gabby is very shy, having had no real handling up to the age of four, but she is slowly slowly learning to trust…thanks to our good friend Trisha who has…
Wonderful Pepper
Here are some things we love about Pepper: Her playfulness — she and current herdmate Veronica spend the afternoon chasing each other around the paddock, bucking and biting and having a grand ole time in the way horses do. The way she gives herself a water bucket facial each night in her stall. There must be a method to her messy eating madness, but we certainly haven’t unraveled it yet. After…
George, all healed up
Though the rehab process can be a slow one, having a horse come out the other side of it good as new is time very well spent. George was very ready to get back into the swing of things – one thing that stall rest does for a horse, a young horse especially, is imbue them with some extra energy. For a boy of only four, George coped with limited movement tremendously well, but once he got the…
2022 Q1 Impact Statement
New Horses Intake Date: Feb 25, 2022 Tiva (Owner Surrender) Intake Date: Mar 8, 2022 Nico (Owner Surrender) Tanis (Owner Surrender) Intake Date: Mar 15, 2022 Gabby (Owner Surrender) Placed Horses Sundae Teddi Minnie Coco Euthanized Horses Nico
Training Update: Tanis
Tanis has turned out to be a sweetheart of a horse! We were a little worried when we got her that she may be pushy or even possibly aggressive since she seemed very treat focused, but so far she hasn’t tried to bite at all and seems content to receive pets and scratches on her terms. I spent quite a while working on the serious dreadlocks in her mane and Tanis was practically asleep by the time…
April Volunteer of the Month: Bob May
We are terribly lucky to have Bob as part of the SAFE volunteer family. He started out volunteering on the Friday PM shift and quickly became involved attending clinics, helping with our events and eventually adding a day on the Facilities Team and recently, Barn Assist. Bob is always up for helping with whatever needs to be done and he makes SAFE a better place because of him. Learn a little…
A Walk in the Park
Spring is just around the corner, and although some days, when the ground is frosty and the rain won’t stop, it certainly doesn’t feel that way, there are days (becoming less rare) when it feels almost something like June. Here at SAFE, we take full advantage of days like this, as well as easy access to the park trails next door – a match made in heaven. On a few of these days, we saddled up…
More Work with Tiva
In the video below, Tiva continues to learn to free her movement through changing eyes, and get used to people being on all sides of her, including in her blind spots. We work on helping her relax as she moves around the round pen, letting her know that she doesn’t need to trot off all the time, and that walking is an option for her. Putting a hand up by her face and mimicking petting is getting…
Rest in Peace, Sweet Nico
On the day we picked up Tanis, we really only intended to rescue one horse. But she had a friend by her side that needed even more help than she did. Often when you make the decision to intake a horse, you can’t predict what type of assistance you’ll be providing, or even how long you’ll be together. In Nico’s case, he wasn’t with us for very long, but we are so grateful for the time we had with…
Bob at the Horsemanship Gathering with Freya
One of our volunteers, Bob M. came to watch and participate in a horsemanship weekend at SAFE. Here’s what he had to say: “A few weekends ago, I attended the first ‘in house’ horsemanship gathering that Terry organized and hosted. At the end, I got my first experience doing a bit of groundwork with Freya and found it very valuable. As I heard from others more experienced, Freya is ‘very soft’…
Esme Makes New Friends
Esme came to SAFE alongside Edward and Jacob, and while they all got along quite well, being the only girl in a herd of boys does have its downsides. She could certainly hold her own, but the boys picked on her a bit, as horses figuring out herd dynamics are want to do. Eventually we split the trio up, and for a while, Esme was in a paddock by herself – across the street neighbors with Edward,…
Kicking it With Cramer
One of our volunteers, Lise A. has spent some time recently with Cramer, and had the following to say about her experience: I have had the good fortune of getting to start grooming Cramer in early February (with Terry’s guidance of course). He and I have gotten to hang out two to three times a week. He is a big, furry and funny guy. I sure wish we knew what is going on inside that large head…
Training Update: Groundwork with Minnie
Check out this video of Minnie doing some groundwork. She works on leading on a float through three gaits (walk, trot, lope), transitioning through those gaits smoothly, and staying straight on her united circle. She also works on being touched by the rope and the flag, on yielding her hindquarters, on bringing her front quarters across, and on backing up.
Jacob’s Smile
For some, going to the dentist is no big deal. Jacob, whose human persona would, for the most part, be something akin to a laid back surfer dude, is one such fellow. He recently had his first dental visit since arriving at SAFE, and took it all in stride. He was a very good boy for his sedation shot, and once under the influence, was a perfect patient. [gallery columns=“2” size=“large”…
Teddi Sees the Dentist
Teddi’s recent dental was just how we like them – an easy, routine visit with very little that needed addressing. She had just a few sharp edges that needed filing down, and the entire procedure only took a few minutes. Even though Teddi’s dental was entirely routine, it is the best case scenario, and why annual checkups are so important. These visits allow our vets to put a very skilled pair…
Tiva: Training and Video Update
Someone once told me that in their experience the Yakima Reservation horses were like trying to tame a “wild cat”. They are flighty, jumpy and in that person’s eyes almost impossible to domesticate. For us, the jury is still out. We have seen now our fair share of them come through SAFE, and each with their own personality. We have come across those that tend more on the anxious flighty side but…
Edward All Cinched Up
Edward, the skinny, asthmatic horse who arrived at SAFE last fall has been started under saddle. It has been a while since he looked like the gelding we first met – he has seen such dramatic improvement in both his health and his ground manners – and to see him with a saddle on, it is difficult to imagine his origins. Out of his two companions, he fell right in the middle of the pack in terms of…
SuperNova
Nova is a tall drink of water. Or, perhaps a bit more appropriately, a tall drink of soda – something with bubbles, the kind that dance and pop above the glass, sparkly and effervescent. The word ‘coltish’ also springs to mind, certainly due to those long legs of hers, and the way it sometimes feels like she is still getting used to them. Not that she is ungainly, just that she possesses a…
Two Men and A Baby
I’ll admit, the title is a bit misleading. But to see new herd-mates Nyx, Montana, and Otto out together, I think it would quickly become apparent to anyone who are the men and who is the baby. A brief description of the herd has – Nyx starring as the benevolent leader of the pack, a gentle giant not only in appearance but also in mannerisms. His signature display of dominance involves floating…
Edward, Defanged
Edward, along with the herd mates he arrived at SAFE with, Esme and Jacob, were all named after characters from a certain mid-2000s book series you may be familiar with, featuring vampires and werewolves and rain, oh my! Edward, the horse, was named after Edward, the vampire, and it turns out that the two share more similarities than just sparkling in the sun; now at a healthy weight, on those…
Cramer Gets a Pedicure
We are happy to report that Cramer has successfully had all four hooves trimmed. He was a gem for the farrier and stayed connected to the handler without trouble. He has a kind and thoughtful nature. When he had issues with the hind it was less from being “naughty” than him figuring out how to balance his weight to keep that big body up. I won’t say that he is 100% without a little bit of…
Training Update: Montana Over Trot Poles
Check out this video of Montana working over trot poles — watch how he goes from rushing over them in the beginning to lengthening his stride and elongating his body towards the end.
Pepper’s Progress
Pepper has recovered from a wound on her hind leg that had her on stall rest for a couple months. She was a star patient for all her treatments and even coped really well with being separated from her herd and stuck in a rehab lot. Pepper has just been back to work this week and really picked things up right where she left off! The back cinch is still an issue for Pepper, but we’re seeing…
