SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
Flynn’s First Ride at SAFE!
This was the first time we saddled Flynn, bumped him up to the fence, and mounted him for a ride. He did extremely well and felt like a “been there done that” pony! We have only had him at SAFE for 2 months and most of the time has been spent recovering from his eye surgery, so there hasn’t been much time to introduce him to groundwork. But Flynn has clearly been ridden in the past. About six…
Hazel’s New Home
Terry recently dropped off Hazel at her new home. Here is what Terry had to say: “Jackie and I were so blessed to be there the day Hazel was picked up and today we got to help settle her in to her new home at Hooved Animal Rescue of Thurston County. She truly has come full circle from a scared trembling mare to a healthy, balanced, trusting friend. It was beautiful to watch her meet her new…
Piper is Adopted!
We are excited to tell you all that our baby Piper is returning to her wonderful foster mom, Talia, but this time it is for KEEPS! Yep, you heard it right, Piper is ADOPTED! Talia fell in love with Piper two years ago when she opened her herd and heart for Piper to foster and have space to “grow up” and be a kid. At the time adoption was not in the cards, but Talia always kept and eye on her…
Who’s your Valentine?
This week was the first time Terry worked with Valentine in the round pen. She doesn’t appear to have had much formal training and she is very sticky getting her to get on her hind and change directions off the halter lead. She is especially stuck in her right hind. It could possibly be an old injury or lameness. We will continue her rehabilitation and watch for soundness issues. Valentine was…
Quincy Gets His Hair Did
This was Terry’s third time working with Quincy. He is very reactive and afraid of human contact. At a few points during his groundwork session, he leaned into the touch and his eye become very soft. Hopefully with patience and time we will help him over his trouble and find a better relationship with people. We will continue to work on building trust. He’s worth all the effort! Look at…
Greetings from Gig Harbor!
Pepper and Tilt have been spending time in Gig Harbor with a wonderful foster family. Lisa Garr, one of our volunteer riders, lives in Gig Harbor and stops by the foster family’s home to work with the two mares. Here’s what she recently had to say about their progress: “While I have had very limited opportunities to get out to work with Pepper and Tilt since October, the time that their foster…
Alumni Update: Glory
Here are some photos that Glory’s adopter, Melissa, recently shared with us.
Alumni Update: Baxter
Baxter is living a well loved life on 5 acres with a 20 year old gelding as a best buddy. Here are some photo’s that Baxter’s adopter, Mandy, recently shared with us.
No Expectations
One thing I love about SAFE is that we have no expectations or deadlines that our horses have to fulfill for us. We accept them as individuals and recognize that one size doesn’t fit all. As we got to know the Fall City 40 horses better, we found there were many different personalities among them. But there were two mares in particular who seemed far more troubled than the rest of the group.…
Fancy Update
Fancy has been at SAFE for nearly three years. Through the great work by her horsemanship trainers, Fancy has become a trusting and athletic riding horse. As a veteran of both Joel Conner and Buck Brannaman clinics, Fancy has learned to relax around other riding horses. A little birdie said that Fancy has a potential adopter lined up. Stay tuned for further news at Fancy’s next update!
Four (more) new ponies at SAFE
A few days back, we introduced three ponies and a full sized horse who were seized by Animal Control due to neglect and signed over to SAFE. Animal Control found four more ponies hidden on the same property, and their owner surrendered them. One of SAFE’s top priorities is supporting Animal Control agencies so they can be most effective when dealing with animal cruelty. So when asked if we had…
February Volunteer of the Month: Sean Cramer
Congratulations and a huge thank you to our February Volunteer of the Month, Sean Cramer!! Sean is the Barn Assist on Thursdays, but also helps in so many other ways. Whether it’s unclogging drains, letting us borrow tractor parts, ripping up pastures or fixing hotwire in a torrential downpour. He is up for anything and always does it with a smile. You may have seen Sean a couple of weeks ago…
Beauty’s First Ride!
Jane and Kaya have been putting a lot of time into getting Beauty ready to be ridden. She’s accepted a saddle with ease, but she’s very reluctant to take a bit into her mouth. So today Kaya got on and rode her in a halter. As you can see, Beauty was just fine about being ridden, which opens up a lot of opportunity for this mare to find a home where she can be lightly ridden. Hopefully, before…
SAFE Alumni Update: Cameo and Mara
From Cameo and Mara’s adopter: I have been just terrible about updating on Cameo and Mara and I realized they’ve almost been here a whole year! Such a strange year and time no longer has any meaning but whatever! Anyway they’re doing great! Mara’s eye has been so good, she wears a UV blocking mask when it’s bright out and it hasn’t bothered her in months, except when she got her fall shots. The…
Meet Kayla!
Hooved Animal Rescue of Thurston County reached out to SAFE about a mare they had who needed our help. All of their horses live in foster homes and this particular mare, Kayla, was living and training with a foster who could work with her on ground manners and train her to become a riding horse. Unfortunately, this volunteer passed away, leaving Kayla without a trainer. She is an athletic mare…
Meet Mac!
Mac and another gelding were seized by Animal Control due to severe neglect. We are told that Mac was almost as thin as Anakin was when he was picked up. He spent several months in Animal Control custody before being signed over to SAFE. We’re told that Mac is an experienced trails horse, and if that is indeed true, we should have no trouble finding a good home for this sweet old fella. Mac…
Boone is Adopted!
Boone’s new family was looking to adopt a friend for their Yakima Reservation pony mare, Pyramid. Just before Thanksgiving, the family was able to bring him home. On his first day, the family said Pyramid kept looking at them as if to say “Do we get to keep him?! Is he staying?” The whole family was instantly in love. Boone, now named Mr. Fezziwig, gets walks up and down the road and takes…
Veronica’s Brighter Future
SAFE volunteer Candi K. has taken Veronica under her wing and has been consistently working with her for the past few months. Candi’s patient gentling work was exactly what Veronica needed. It’s moving to see Veronica opening up to human contact. Together they are creating a foundation that will be an enormous part of Veronica’s future success as a domesticated horse. Candi wrote this very…
Four new faces (or 16 new hooves) at SAFE
On January 5, 2021, we welcomed four new horses to SAFE. These three ponies and one full sized mare had been seized by Animal Control after a 5th horse on the property died due to neglect. The survivors all suffered from overgrown hooves, lice, malnutrition, and lack of dental care, causing painful ulcerations in their mouths. They also have enormous worm loads, which we are treating careful to…
Training Update: Billy
Foster “mom” Julie has been putting time in gentling Billy and her work and consistency is paying off! We’ve seen some significant changes in him. With patient groundwork, his fear is decreasing and he is learning to trust. While Billy’s education will likely be an ongoing project, the improvements we’re seen over the past few weeks are encouraging. That said, his ideal adopter would be able to…
Alumni Update: Willow
Here are some photos we received from Willow’s adopter. She is very loved by her family and has been with them since 2008! Willow also has a best horse buddy, Saren, who is boarded on the family’s property.
Alumni Update: Mesquite
Mesquite and his family love trail riding on their new 10 acre property and on the many nearby trails in their neighborhood, including a rarely used soft, groomed airstrip!
Limelight Pet Project: Anderson
SAFE is grateful for support of our friends at the Limelight Pet Project who work to help shine the light on harder to place pets. Anderson was recently featured on Q13’s weekend morning show as a result of their work. Here is the longer interview that covers everything you could possibly want to know about this special boy. We have had quite a few application come in after this spotlight and…
January 2021 Volunteer of the Month: George Meredith
Our first Volunteer of the Month for the new year is George Meredith, who is a member of the Facilities Team! George can be found at least once a week (often more) at SAFE, repairing and building and making the farm work just as it should. He lends his skills to SAFE and in return, he gets wet and muddy. If you haven’t had the opportunity to get to know him already, here’s a little bit about…
Alumni Update: Gunnar
Look at this tall beautiful boy! Gunnar’s adopter recently shared a few photos with us, including some with his best friend, Bryce.
2020 Q4 Impact Statement
New Horses Intake Date: October 20, 2020 Billy (Owner Surrender) Intake Date: October 28, 2020 Hazel (Owner Surrender) Intake Date: November 6, 2020 Flynn (Animal Control Surrender) Intake Date: November 8, 2020 Earl (Owner Surrender) Intake Date: December 8, 2020 Shortbread & Whisky (Owner Surrender) Placed Horses Zoe Banner Alder Jollie Boone Euthanized Horses Callista Amelia…
Jollie is Adopted!
Miss Jollie joined her new family in November. Her new name is Liberty, “Libby” for short! She did great on her first ferry boat ride to Vashon Island with her adopter, Mike. She is settling in well and getting to know her new family members. We were able to see the two in action during the Joel Conner Clinic, right before she headed to her new home. What a great pair! This is exactly the…
Job openings at SAFE
Come work for our horses! SAFE is currently looking for an amazing person to fill some big boots as our Saturday Barn Staff member. Saturday Barn Staff Saturday Barn Staff member, 8am-5pm, $15/hour. Requirements include a minimum 3 years of horse care experience, confidence when safely handling untrained or challenging horses, and excellent communication skills. In addition to day-to-day horse…
Meet Shortbread and Whisky!
Introducing the newest little members of our herd! Shortbread and Whisky were living in stalls for the last year due to their elderly owners’ failing health. They have been signed over to SAFE and we will be seeking to place them together into a new home. Shortbread is friendly and outgoing; Whisky is a little more shy, but he’s coming around. Thank you to SAFE supporter Olive E for the…
Alumni Update: Nashville
Here are some photos we received from Nashville’s adopter. Look at their beautiful barn! Nashville shares the barn with 2 goats and her horse buddy, Colville, another recently rescued horse.
