SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
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…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Sienna
Horsemanship volunteer Kaya took Sienna into last week’s Joel Conner clinic. Here is what she had to say about their work together: This clinic was my first time ever working with Sienna! She did so great and I learned so much. There were a couple of moments when Sienna kind of lost track of me and got overwhelmed with the commotion, but I got right to her hindquarters…
Luna and Nova Get Outside
Jessica Farren took these lovely photos of Luna and her filly Nova. The two spend most of each day outside on the grass where Nova loves to run and run and run!
Rae and Mina Outdoors
Jessica Farren took these lovely photos of Mina and Rae enjoying the great outdoors. The mares and their fillies spend each day outdoors on the grass.
Two Healthy Fillies Born at SAFE
Exactly two months after the birth of Pippi, we welcomed two new lives into the world! Mina delivered a lovely black filly on November 1, 2018 at 11pm. The diminutive little girl with no white markings was christened “Rae” in memory of our dear friend Raven. Rae is healthy and full of life, and momma Mina is taking wonderful care of her. The very next night, Luna decided she was going to follow…
Working with Angel
SAFE horsemanship volunteer Kaya works with Angel from time to time, and had this to say about our favorite old gal: Angel is a super special horse. As our friendship has grown, she continues to surprise and impress me. Her ability to immediately find the best way to escape pressure is uncanny and makes my job really easy! Today we went directly into the covered arena instead of working at…
Lisa and Ben: Besties Forever!
November Volunteer of the Month: Blair Fleming
SAFE is pleased to announce our November 2018 Volunteer of the Month, Blair Fleming. Blair is a busy gal who recruits new volunteers for SAFE, plans and executes work parties, and works the Friday PM shift, all while working two jobs and putting herself through radiology school. You would never know she leads such a hectic life, as Blair brings immense energy and a sunny disposition to her…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Lacey
SAFE horsemanship volunteer Kaya M rode Lacey in the October Joel Conner clinic: Honestly, I was a bit nervous about riding Lacey in the clinic, since I had only recently started working with her, and we were still feeling each other out. I am now so glad that I had this opportunity to improve my horsemanship and have fun with her! This weekend really helped improve not only our communication,…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Bowie
Volunteer Kaya M had been riding Bowie on a regular basis and worked with him in the groundwork sessions of the October Joel Conner Clinic: Bowie and I participated in the groundwork portion of the clinic and it was a very good experience for both of us! I’m still new to this style of horsemanship, so Bowie was a great partner to help me work on the finer details of groundwork. He is quite…
Changes
Check out miss Pippi! Apparently she is NOT going to be a light colored chestnut pinto…her winter coat is coming in dark! It leaves her looking a little comical. Pippi and Asha will be spending the next several months at a lovely nearby foster home, where they can enjoy a sizeable pasture and great care. We’ll miss having them here at Safe Harbor Stables, but we’ll be visiting them a lot and…
Raven Flies Free
We are so sad to announce that we lost a dear friend last week. Raven, our three year old Thoroughbred filly, was humanely euthanized on Wednesday after a bad colic. We love all of the horses that pass through SAFE, but every so often, a horse comes along that works their way into the hearts of most everyone they meet. Raven was that horse. Her loss has been unbearably sad for the volunteers and…
Save a Forgotten Equine of Redmond, WA is Verified by Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries
October 12, 2018 (Redmond, WA) – The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), the only globally recognized organization providing standards for identifying legitimate animal sanctuaries, awarded Verified status to Save a Forgotten Equine as of October 9, 2018. Verification means that Save a Forgotten Equine meets the criteria of a true equine sanctuary/rescue and is providing humane and…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Anderson
Terry worked with Anderson during Joel Conner’s last visit, here’s what she had to say: Wow!! What a great ride!! Anderson has never felt this forward before. At this clinic, Joel gave Anderson the best compliment, saying he is ready to be adopted and will make it as a riding horse for someone. Joel asked what I’ve been doing differently. I think these changes have to do…
A Visit with Remy
We visited with Remy recently in Oregon where he’s been in training with Nick Donohue. The big dark beauty was about 2 weeks into his work with Nick. We got to see him go through the colt starting groundwork process as Nick checked off things needed before riding. Nick talked about the good changes he’s been already seeing in the big guy. We really enjoyed listening to Nick speak…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Tabitha
Terry took Tabitha in the riding sessions of the Joel Conner clinic. Here’s her report: I really like this mare!! Every ride is better than the last and she is changing so quickly. Her ground manners are impeccable and she is safe enough for anyone to handle. She no issues standing tied, picking hooves, grooming, saddling, standing for the farrier, or getting vaccines.…
