September Volunteers of the Month: Ginni Guest and Sarah Vecchi
This summer we have been so fortunate to have the inspiring support of two special volunteers. These women bring a smile to the farm every day they are here (and let me tell you, it is more than once a week). They spread sunshine and love to all of the humans and horses of SAFE. I’m talking about Ginni Guest and Sarah Vecchi. Ginni not only works a chore shift, but she keeps our garden and…
Mina’s Next Step
Mina has now fully recovered from her umbilical hernia surgery. She has graduated to regular turnout, and we’re working on building her strength back up so that she can get started under saddle. She’ll be going to training in September. Mina’s a smart mare so we don’t expect it to take her very long to take to ridden work. We’re excited to finally be able to get her to this next chapter and see…
Getting To Know Cassidy
Cassidy is opening up more each day and her personality is coming through now that her herd bound issues have been addressed. In the beginning, she was so worried about being away from Moon and Slim, we were concerned she might even colic if separated too quickly. With the help of groundwork, we taught Cassidy to feel the support and comfort of a person so she didn’t always have to rely on…
Honeycutt and Sinatra Update
Honeycutt and Sinatra have settled in to life at Safe Harbor Stables. They reside in the paddock closest to the gate where they can watch people come and go. From the far side of the paddock they can see lots of other horses, and watch our volunteers at work.When the boys first arrived back at SAFE, they seemed astonished to see other horses again! They are living next door to an old…
Valor’s Lameness Puzzle
This sweet guy can’t seem to catch a break. A recent lameness has Valor sidelined once again, and we are waiting on more diagnostics to tell us what’s wrong this time. He became very sore in his back during ridden work at the end of June. Dr. Meyer of Pilchuck Vet Hospital did a chiropractic adjustment on him and found that much of his spine and both sacroiliac joints were out of alignment. All…
Teddi Makes Progress
Teddi recently had a recheck exam with Dr. Fleck and it looks as though everything is healing the way it should. Her bones are still healing so she still has a limp if she trots, but that’s to be expected at this point. She has graduated to a slightly larger turnout paddock and is keeping up the daily handwalking routine. Teddi continues to handle this rehab like a pro. We will have another…
Fall City Forty: the Full Story
We’ve had to stay pretty quiet about the situation with the Fall City Forty for two reasons. One, because we were being threatened with legal action for our involvement in this rescue mission; and two, because we were holding out hope that we would be allowed to return to the Fall City property and continue caring for these horses. We feel it’s time to let our community know what happened, and…
The Babies are Growing Up!
It’s hard to believe how fast our little foals are growing up. It seems like just yesterday that they were trying to figure out how their legs work. Today they are three confident, adventurous, happy-go-lucky fillies who are ready to take on the world. And they’ve finally grown into those long legs. All three babies have now finished their series of initial vaccines, had a few visits from the…
Returning Friends
When SAFE adopts out a horse, we make it very clear to the new adopter that their relationship with SAFE is just getting started. Most of the people who’ve adopted from us over the last 14 years remain in regular contact with us, whether through site visits, emails/phone calls, or our Alumni Facebook group. And most are more than happy to share updates with us, because…
Meet Cyrus
As part of our work to support Animal Control agencies in Washington state, SAFE is often asked to take in horses that are part of active cruelty investigations. Sometimes we can make this information public right away, but in other cases, we are asked to keep these horses confidential until law enforcement gives us the go-ahead. Cyrus is one such horse. If you’d seen him when he arrived at…
Stevie 2019 Site Visit Photo
Shasta and Sunny at the 2019 SAFE Show
Sunnny and Shasta were out once again to meet & greet their fans the 2019 SAFE Benefit Horse Show at Donida Farm in Auburn. They were also celebrating their Syndicate Sponsorship win for the second year in a row — raising $975 and winning the coveted title of Champion Rescue Horse sponsor.
August Volunteers of the Month: Allison Goldie and Maile Greenwell
Volunteers are the heart of our organization. Our mission would be nothing but lofty goals without people that make this mission a reality. We have two special volunteers to recognize this month. They are enthusiastic SAFE supporters, hard working barn chore volunteers, and the kind of people who make other people want to come back to SAFE. Allison and Maile give their free time to SAFE while…
Big Horse, Big Hoof: Slim’s Foot Problems
A 17.2 hh draft horse puts a lot of weight on his front feet. So it’s important that those feet stay healthy to help support the horse’s sheer mass. Unfortunately for our sweet Slim, hoof care has been a struggle. It’s unclear whether Slim’s hoof problems arise from a history of poor hoof care or if he’s just one of the unlucky ones prone to chronic hoof abscesses. We will never know for sure.…
Quality Time with Angel
Angel is living the good life these days. She gets to be in a lovely, large turnout paddock 24 hours a day with her best friend Renee as they do the very important work of being aunties to our three resident babies. Angel takes this role very seriously. She loves the weanlings as if they were her own daughters, she helps teach them horse manners, and she watches over them while they take naps.…
Progress for Remy
Remy has been working his way back to health slowly but surely. Dr. Meyer of Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital has been seeing him for chiropractic adjustments on a regular schedule, and each time he gets adjusted we see improvement. We are hopeful that this setback is now a thing of the past. When Dr. Meyer first saw Remy, he was incredibly reactive to palpation in his back and sacroiliac (SI)…
SAFE Runs Smoother with the Help of Interns
SAFE has been fortunate to have the help of some kind, capable young people this past school year who chose to spend their time working as interns at the barn. Thanks to a partnership with The Big Picture School in Bellevue, SAFE benefitted from the enthusiastic support of two students this school year, Julien D. and Jenna W. These two outstanding young people brought the best of themselves to…
Glory Helps Start Luna
We sent Luna out to Nick Donohue for her start under saddle, and it was so nice to see a SAFE horse helping another SAFE horse. Thanks for the flagging assist, Glory!
Marvelous Mina: First Saddling!
Mina and I have gotten to know each other well, and I think she’s pretty great. I think she truly does feel affection for “her” people. She has the softest, kindest eye of any horse I’ve ever met, and there’s a lot of soulfulness in her personality. But don’t let her borderline-sluggish demeanor fool you, there’s plenty of spunk in this mare I first started doing groundwork with her before our…
Redmond Derby Days Parade
A big thank you to Shasta & Sunny and all the wonderful SAFE volunteers who marched in the parade at Redmond Derby Days this year!
Photogenic Lacey!
Ruby 2019 Site Visit Photos
Foster Update: Dottie Belle
Sweet Dottie is doing very well at her lovely foster home in Woodinville. She has made a few new friends this spring including 2 minis, 3 alpacas, 4 goats, and a flock of chickens! Her SAFE buddy Piper has recently moved home to Safe Harbor for a bit of training and it took a while for Dottie to adjust to this move. Mini horses Dazzle and Bugsy are her main buddies. When Piper left, it took a…
Millie’s Beautiful Transformation
What a beautiful mare this girl has become. She is gentle, interested, and affectionate with both her new human and horse buddies. While we have many weeks of training ahead before she is ready to adopt, this girl’s future is shining bright. Here are some lovely photos that our volunteer photographer Alessia Rauseo took recently of Millie:
Teddi: On the Road to Recovery
It has now been a month since Teddi had surgery at WSU to fuse her pastern joint. We’re pleased to report that she’s doing great! Everything is going to plan with no complications so far. Her sutures are out and we are no longer needing to bandage her leg. If you asked Teddi, she’d probably tell you she’s rocking this stall rest thing! She’s as calm as can be and doesn’t seem to mind just…
Surgery for Mina
The very first time we saw Mina from a distance, we thought she was a gelding. But when we got a little closer, it became clear that she was actually a mare with an umbilical hernia. Umbilical hernias occur when the abdominal wall around a foal’s navel fails to close at birth. What you see externally is a bulge on the underside of the abdomen. This bulge is tissue and/or intestines being held in…
New Fancy Video
Recently Joel Conner was at Safe Harbor and Casey asked him to jump on Fancy to see how the work she had been doing felt to him. He was very happy to see how far Fancy had come in the last weeks and complemented Casey on a very nice job setting the foundation for this young mare. Fancy is a very willing mare with a lot of try. She is going to have a great future! Joel let us take a quick video…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Moon
Kaya has been helping us with Moon and recently took this lovely big mare into the Joel Conner groundwork class at Safe Harbor. The two really connected over the weekend and Moon had some great changes. Kaya’s groundwork is improving and she has become a very BIG help to us in our Horsemanship Program. Here is what Kaya had to say about her experience with Moon in the clinic: “I had the…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Anderson
Recently Kaya has taken over riding Anderson at SAFE. She is doing a great job with him and it is really great to see him take to a new rider. He is keeping up the training and seems as the saying goes “the student has become the teacher.” He has been a good boy for Kaya and no issues have come up with the transfer to a new person. This is helpful for his transition to an adopter and we are…
Training Update: Kat
Kaya has been doing a fantastic job helping prepare Kat for adoption. Kat has gained a ton of weight and has some topline muscle now! She has settled in so well to life at Safe Harbor and her special connection with Kaya is very sweet. We’re glad she has such a great friend to help her feel loved while she is with us. Kat is looking great and ready to be adopted! Here is what Kaya had to tell us…
