SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
Checking in with Renee
Kaya, one of our dedicated Horsemanship volunteers, has been giving Renee some much needed TLC. Here is what she had to say about her relationship with Renee: “Renee is super intelligent and very aware of her surroundings. She will constantly watch me while I walk around getting her ready to work and when we are doing groundwork she is very attentive and sensitive to my energy. We recently…
Checking in with Valor
Horsemanship Volunteer Kaya has been helping work with Valor. Here is what she had to say recently about this young gelding: “Valor has been doing so great lately! He tries so hard and continues to help me learn this style of horsemanship by calling me out on my mistakes and “asking questions” that I don’t know the answers to. Aside from actually working, Valor is such a goofball! While we were…
Training Update: Orion
Orion has been at Silver Spade Ranch with Nick Donohue for just over a month. He has already made some great changes and is proving to be not just another pretty face. After arriving and completing his two-week quarantine, he has been introduced to the gelding herd of around 18–20 horses! (Side note: much RESPECT to this facility and their quarantine protocols. We LOVE this type of proactive…
Getting to know Bowie
We have been pleasantly surprised to find out how much our friend Bowie knows already about being a riding horse! He has wonderful ground manners, stands nicely while being groomed and when working with the farrier or vet, trailers easily, bathes, and has settled into the daily routine at Safe Harbor without any issues. He clearly has been in boarding barn settings before, as he is quite…
Baby Time Approaches for Asha
Preparations have begun here at Safe Harbor Stables to welcome our three new foals into the world. Our three mothers-to-be became pregnant prior to their rescue, and while we are firmly on the side of responsible breeding to do our part in minimizing America’s homeless horse population, we really can’t wait to hear the pitter-patter of little foal feet in the barn aisle. We don’t like to see…
Training Update: Roscoe
Roscoe is a nice gelding with great ground manners. He has been a champ on the trails and has learned to work well in the arena and respond to directions from legs, seat, and reins. We’re pretty sure that Roscoe was ridden in his past but probably never anything more than “get on and go” on the trails. He is not a push button horse, but he is getting better about lining out and staying on the…
August Training Update: Ben
Checking in with Lisa and Ben: Ben is doing so well! He is soft, tuned in to my feel, learning to pick up and carry a soft feel at the canter, and figuring out how to lift and shape himself around my leg on a gentle bend. This last piece was actually something I was missing, but thanks to Roscoe and Joel at the last clinic, I finally REALLY felt leads at the trot and it is making a huge…
July Training Update: Ben
Checking in with Ben and Lisa!! It’s been very interesting getting to work with Ben every day, with no other horses on my roster. I’m able to get down to some nitty gritty details, get back to some Super Basics, and really work on some holes that I knew were in there, but I continuously overlooked or pushed through in order to get him to a good place for other people to ride him. I am going to…
July Volunteer of the Month: Pat Banner
Redmond resident Pat Banner has been named as Save a Forgotten Equine’s July Volunteer of the Month. She was selected for this honor because of her tireless energy and work ethic, her incredible reliability (unless there’s snow!) and her all round cheerfulness. Pat Banner is an 84-year-old retired elementary school teacher who taught in Puerto Rico and three different states during her career.…
Ru: Happy at Home
Here’s a lovely update from Ru’s adopter, Sierra: I have had Ru for a week now, and he is settling in so well. I love this horse more everyday that he’s with us, and everyday we make progress with his training and with our relationship. We are working hard to make sure he remembers what SAFE taught him and making sure he listens to me! Ru and my other gelding, Harley, are becoming good friends.…
Remy’s Rescue Story
to come
Getting to know Star
Star began his training today at SAFE. He definitely has some training in there, some typical late cut Arabian attitude, jumpy but comes back quickly, a sweet cuddly side and a “walk all over you with my left shoulder” issue. He was a very good boy for his first session. We’ll see changes but due to his age and past handling it’s going to take some time and patience. We were able to give him a…
Good things come in threes
Like all good horse owners, we keep close eyes on the weight of our horses. Clearly no one wants to see skinny horses, but a horse that’s overweight can face health problems too. Every SAFE horses has its meals tailored to its weight and health, and we make adjustments as needed to maintain proper weight. So a few weeks ago, we started to notice that Asha was looking a little round in the belly.…
Tabitha is a riding horse!
Tabitha just got a status update from “Prospect” to “Riding Horse”!! She’s spent the past couple weeks making that transition, thanks to our good friend, horseman Ben Hannan. Here’s a video that Ben shared with us last week. We’re really proud of this lovely mare and feeling very optimistic about finding her the perfect home!
More horsemanship for Sage!
Sage has a new friend: SAFE volunteer rider Scott B has started working with her and was kind enough to share his notes after their last session! I worked with Sage on Sunday. These are the issues I noticed with her: • She’s very herd bound • She needs to respect my space and “stay off” me • She need to connect to me • Found her to be very “reactive” This was my first time working with Sage. I…
Roscoe: Horsemanship Clinic Report
Volunteer rider Lisa G rode Roscoe in last month’s Joel Conner clinic and had this to report: I worked with Roscoe in the riding portion of the recent Joel Connor Clinic, and we made much progress.…. and found many things to continue to work on! Roscoe has always had a hard time moving his forequarters around and engaging his hind end, so we focused a lot on this; getting a smooth rhythm going…
Sage: Horsemanship Clinic Report
Miss pony mare Sage got to participate in her very first Joel Conner clinic last month, thanks to her friend Lisa! Here’s what Lisa had to report: I had the happy fortune to work with Little Miss Sage in part of the groundwork portion of the recent Joel Connor Clinic. This was Sage’s 1st introduction to the SAFE Horsemanship work and this little old gal did great… despite the fact that the…
Roscoe’s 1st Trail Ride!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x‑kjGwX1Q_w&t=7s
Sienna: Horsemanship Clinic Report
Terry worked with newbie Sienna in the groundwork portions of the Joel Conner clinic, and had this to report: Sienna was a superstar for the Joel Conner clinic! She became very relaxed and calm in the clinic setting with the other horses around. She even stood quietly with me and almost fell asleep during a break. This smart, athletic mustang mare is making amazing strides and transformation in…
Mason: Horsemanship Clinic Report
SAFE Barn Manager Lori M took her favorite guy Mason in the first day of the Joel Conner clinic. Here’s what Lori had to report: On June 22nd, Mason and I participated in the Joel Conner clinic Friday morning groundwork session. Mason was feeling his oats that morning with all the clinic excitement! We started out in the round pen to work out some built up energy. Once we entered the arena for…
Teddi: Horsemanship Clinic Report
Volunteer rider Phoebe T participated in the Joel Conner clinic with Teddi. Here are her reflections on the clinic and Teddi’s progress: This is my 4th groundwork clinic, I now feel comfortable asking questions and asking for help. I have realized that much like for the horses, the time between clinics is important for me to ‘soak’ on things heard & seen in prior clinics. It’s part of the…
Nashville: Horsemanship Clinic Report
Nashville and her volunteer rider Casey A took part in the last Joel Conner clinic. Here’s what Casey had to say about the progress that Nashville is making: Nashville did very well during the riding portion of the Joel Conner clinic. At the last clinic, she was very concerned about the close proximity of other horses, though she was safe and reasonable with all of the energy. During this…
Stella: Horsemanship Clinic Report
Stella and Casey took part in the June Joel Conner Clinic and had this to report about their experience: I worked Stella during the groundwork sessions the first two days of the Joel Conner clinic. I had noticed that Stella was very troubled about changing eyes, the flag, having things touch her legs, and having the back cinch and saddle strings touch her sides. This trouble was apparent both on…
SAFE Alumni Update: Opal
Opal (now known as Bella) enjoyed a trip to the ocean with a friend! For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can post updates, photos, and videos of their SAFE horses, to share their progress with the SAFE community!
Ru: Horsemanship Clinic Report
Ruach was able to participate in this month’s Joel Conner clinic, thanks to volunteer Scott B, who worked with him all three days in both groundwork and riding. Here are Scott’s reflections on the clinic: The clinic with Joel was really an amazing experience for me. I loved it, loved being a part of it and loved how much I was able to learn and apply during the three days. As I said to Joel at…
Duchess’ Next Chapter of Hope
Here at SAFE we have a lot to say about our horses, a lot of stories to share. But in the case of Duchess, whose re-adoption became final in June 2018, a new voice has taken up her story, and it’s only fitting that we share that with our wonderful supporters so everyone can appreciate the journey that this horse has taken. She’s been rechristened Esperanza, which means Hope. This is the latest…
Lacey: Horsemanship Clinic Report
Lacey and Erika participated in the June Joel Conner clinic at SAFE. Here’s what Erika had to say about the experience: This was my second clinic working with Lacey, and this time we went back to basics. We spent a lot of time working on moving her front-quarters, both going forward and backing up. Her hindquarters are easily moved, but she tends to put her weight on her front end, which gets…
SAFE Alumni Update: Nora
Nora, now known as Mercy, in her new home: For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can post updates, photos, and videos of their SAFE horses, to share their progress with the SAFE community!
SAFE Alumni Update: Jewel
Jewel and Julie went camping!! For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can post updates, photos, and videos of their SAFE horses, to share their progress with the SAFE community!
June Training Update: Ben
Ben and Lisa’s June Training update: Yesterday during our morning ride, we were joined by three Hunter/Jumper students and their instructor. I was invited to stay for the lesson, as the instructor believed it would be good for her students and their horses to have another body in the arena. I knew it would be good for to work with other horses around, and the energy H/Js bring; so I asked a…
