SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
Star has been adopted!
We are excited to share that Star has been adopted by Tammy and family. Their pets include a miniature rescue horse named Elliot and two unlikely herd mates: a goose and a duck! Before leaving SAFE, Star had adapted well to a new environment with consistency and fairness from his human handlers. We suspect Star may be a late cut stallion, and though healthy, his age and an old injury in his left…
Bowie has been adopted!
Our handsome fellow has found a home! Bowie has been adopted by Pat, and it’s clear he’s already enjoying the hair care regimen his luxuriant mane requires. Because he was gelded late in life, Bowie is not a beginner’s mount, but with the right energy from his handler he’s a gentleman on the ground and easily managed under saddle. That’s why we’re so excited he found Pat. Her vast horse…
Introducing Gunnar
We have a new horse joining our herd this week. Gunnar is an 11 year old stallion who was surrendered to SAFE through our Community Outreach Program after his owner was no longer able to care for him. He’s a very nice horse, gentle and gentlemanly, and his life is about to change in a big way after he’s transformed into a happy gelding. However, he is not currently in good enough…
Presents for Lacey!
We have some amazing volunteers at SAFE and the connections they have with the horse are inspiring. Kaya has been dedicated to helping Lacey through some trouble and giving her the attention and miles she needs to find a home. This Christmas, Kaya had something extra special for Lacey: “Merry Christmas to Lacey! This sweet pony really deserved some toys this year. She loves nuzzling soft things…
January Volunteers of the Month: Leigh Mackey and Phoebe Trocano
Our amazing corps of volunteers has grown and there aren’t nearly enough months in the year to recognize all of their hard work. So in 2019, we will be spotlighting two tremendous volunteers per month in an attempt to show our gratitude for all they do to make SAFE successful. This month we are pleased to honor shift-lead all-star, Leigh Mackey and Leigh Mackey, Shift-Lead All-Star Leigh has…
2018 Q4 Impact Statement
New Horses Birth Date: November 1, 2018 Rae (born to rescued mare Mina) Birth Date: November 3, 2018 Nova (born to rescued mare Luna) Intake Date: November 13, 2018 Amira (owner surrender) Placed Horses Orion Roscoe Ben Bowie Timmie Star Mason
Rescue Outside the Box
Most of the rescue work that SAFE does is fairly straightforward. A horse, facing neglect or abuse, is taken in, rehabilitated and retrained, then we find it a new home. The circumstances of neglect may vary, but the basic storyline is the same. In 2018, we found ourselves changing the script in two unusual situations. The Mayday Horses rescue effort was one such case. It involved a group of 21…
The more things change…
Another visit with Pippi and Asha at their foster home: look at our ever-changing baby!
Nashville Dec 2018
Training Video and Update: Justin
Justin did very well while in training for 60 days with our friend Ben Hannan. He has a good personality and is easy to work with, both on the ground and in the saddle. His only issue is around cinching. Nothing too difficult but he will look back and try to nip at the person cinching up. He will also move around a bit while the cinch is being tightened. It is something pretty ingrained in him…
Video Update: Stella
https://youtu.be/oD9HrID0gzc
Piper and Dottie go to Foster
Dottie Belle and Piper have settled in to their lovely winter foster in Woodinville. They join a darling little farm with dogs, chicken and pigs! Here is a video of Piper meeting the pigs “Ruby” & “Dottie”.
Training and Health Update: Remy
Just before Thanksgiving, Remy had a bit of a setback in his work. Everything had been going smoothly and progressing well. His trainer, Nick Donohue, had reported that he was coming along nicely, was a good citizen in turnout with the herd, and very sweet and gentle on the ground. He might do a bit of ear pinning when asking for the lope but was fine once he was in the gait. That too was…
Adoption Announcement: Ben!
SAFE is so excited to announce that Ben’s adoption to long-time volunteer Lisa G is final! Ben and Lisa have developed an unbelievably strong bond and together have overcome many training obstacles. Ben only had a chance to be a riding horse if someone was willing to take the time and fix the trouble that was deeply rooted in him. Going through this process with Lisa cemented their connection…
Adoption Announcement : Orion!
We knew he was a special boy right from the beginning but we never imagined that this “diamond in the rough” would become such a fantastic riding mount. Orion met Roxanne in his final weeks of training with Nick Donohue at Silver Spade Ranch. He had just completed a little over 60 days of training. Orion was just as Nick had described: athletic, gentle, and uncomplicated to ride. Roxanne had…
Adoption Announcment: Roscoe!
When Roscoe and Teddi arrived at SAFE, they had been mistreated and uncared for quite some time. As they gained weight, the life returned to their eyes showing us that trust can be earned no matter how horrible the past has been. Roscoe had some sort of riding history but from what we could see there was not a lot of formal education. He accepted the saddle but was not a “push button” horse. We…
A Minor Setback for Valor
A few weeks ago, Valor had a stumble coming out of a horse trailer, scraping up both hind legs and lacerating his left front fetlock. The wounds on his hind legs were not the type that could be sutured but would require bandaging, but the fetlock laceration needed veterinary attention. It was a relatively small wound, but it was a flap that would heal best with sutures. Dr. Renner from Rainland…
Amelia Health Update
Amelia has been dealing with loose stool since before her arrival at Safe Harbor Stables. It has been a frustrating trial and error endeavor to try to find the best management option for her. Our vets recommended multiple treatment options, but just when we would start to think we’d found the answer, her loose stool would return. Bloodwork and fecal tests first to rule out anything we could that…
December Volunteer of the Month: Skye Guidotti
SAFE is thrilled to announce our December 2018 Volunteer of the Month, Skye Guidotti. Skye has lived in Seattle for most of her adult life. She remembers falling in love with horses as a child after a memorable pony ride. Her grandfather had horses when she was growing up and she was fortunate to be able to visit his ranch in Oregon and ride his horses. Skye tells a funny story about how…
Pippi Update
Pippi and Asha have settled in well to their foster home for the winter. Their foster family reports that they are both the incredibly social, happy, and well-behaved horses that we expected they would be. Pippi has matured quite a bit over the last month and has gone from being a nosy baby testing mom’s boundaries to a calm and loving 3 month old filly. Mom and baby both got a visit last week…
Getting to Know Amira
Amira has been with us for 10 days now and so far, we really like this sweet, friendly mare! She’ll be quarantined for about another week, and then we can really start getting to know her. For right now, we mostly interact with her when her paddock is being cleaned, and she likes to follow the volunteers around when they’re there. We are still very hopeful that Amira is a kids horse as we were…
Joel Conner Clinic Update: Fancy
Casey had this to say about Fancy and how she did at our recent Joel Conner clinic here at Safe Harbor: Fancy and Glory returned from foster recently, and Terry and I worked them in the clinic this weekend. They retained the foundation that we had put on them over the summer, and Joel was able to identify some holes that we need to work on before we start them under saddle. With Fancy, I will be…
Stella Rides with Buck Brannaman
About five years ago Terry invited me to audit a Buck Brannaman clinic in Enumclaw. I had not heard of Buck, but I was eager to see his style of horsemanship and continue my education. I am so grateful that I took that opportunity because it resulted in a fundamental shift in my approach to horsemanship, and has informed SAFE’s approach to rehabilitating horses. At the end of October, after…
Joel Conner Clinic Update: Lacey
Lacey is making great strides in her riding work and improving immensely with Kaya’s consistent care. We recently took Lacey out on a trail ride. She had a good amount of energy and life out on the trails. She was brave and attentive to Kaya. She did feed a bit off the other horse’s high energy and became “hot” when a runner came from out of nowhere. Kaya did great…
Joel Conner Clinic Update: Teddi
Teddi continues to gentle and get softer with work. The great work Phoebe is doing with her is helping her relax around people and handle more situations. Here is an update from Phoebe on Teddi and her work at the last Joel Conner clinic. I’m fortunate to be able to work with a horse so sensitive & responsive…it’s real easy to know when I’m doing something right, or…
Why are there foals at SAFE?
Why are there foals at SAFE right now? Because this year, we rescued three mares who were pregnant. We have not changed our stance against breeding, nor did we have anything whatsoever to do with the breeding of these mares. One of the three mares, Asha, came from an Animal Control seizure in which she and another mare were removed from a situation of neglect and starvation. Her foal was born…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Star
Scott has been working hard to help Star become a better citizen and better for people to handle. This old gelding has a lot of pushy behavior that is steadily becoming manageable. Due to his age, we have retired Star and have made him available as a companion. The horsemanship training is helping Star have better ground manners and be a better horse for his future home. Here is what Scott has…
Introducing Amira
Amira is a 14 year old mare who was surrendered to SAFE after her owner abandoned her and another horse on a property that could no longer house horses. Amira’s 27 year old companion was starved and had to be humanely euthanized. Amira fared better but she still shows signs of neglect. Her shaggy winter coat hides her weight loss. Her hooves are overgrown and full of nasty thrush. She hasn’t had…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Sage
Melinda C worked with Sage during the recent Joel Conner clinic: I had the opportunity to work with Sage for a groundwork session during this Joel Conner clinic. Prior to this weekend, I had only done groundwork with her a few times when she first arrived at SAFE. She has always been a sweet pony, but when she came to us it was clear that people had not given her many boundaries in her former…
Joel Conner clinic update: Nashville
I worked with Nashville for all 3 days of this recent Joel Conner clinic. Every time I ride this horse I like her more and more! During the groundwork portion I focused on getting her to have a better expression. She often pins her ears when asked to do something and Joel helped me work on my energy level and timing to get a change in her. By the end of the session she had a much…
