SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
Training Update: Mesquite
Sometimes you meet a horse and say, wow, now that’s my kind of horse! Mesquite has had my heart from the beginning. Once I rode him, I was done for! He is an amazing horse! He is kind, gentle, intelligent and fun. Plus, he has three smooth gates. Oh, and did I mention, he’s also quite HANDSOME! Between you, me, and Mesquite, somebody better adopt this boy soon or I might have to do it myself!…
Banjo and Finn: Foster Buddies!!
Banjo spent about a month at Safe Harbor Stables before heading out to a foster home with Finn. These two Palomino geldings are like brothers! After a little “play fighting” to establish that Finn was the boss, they have now settled in and are good buddies. This is the perfect foster home for Banjo and Finn! Both horses need to be kept off the grass for the most part due to their tendency…
Foster and Health Update: Rocky
I recently spent the morning with Rocky during a routine vet visit from Dr McCracken. His foster parents, Kellie and Peter, have done wonders in gaining his trust with their kind and patient handing. Rocky has come a long way from the timid boy he was when we first met him. His eyes are bright and he even has more spunk, which is nice to see! Dr. McCracken drew blood to check his Cushings and to…
Health Update: Karma
Karma’s rehab has been going well. She is progressing with her trot work and the transition to having a rider was uneventful. She has been easy to handle in every way. Karma is available for an adopter who is willing to carry on with her rehab plan. We are very hopeful for a full recovery.
Grandma Dottie Belle
Dottie has a new friend at her foster home at Pacific Moon Equestrian Center —an 8 month old KWPN gelding named Frido! This young son of Freestyle seems to really enjoy life in the big field, as long as Dottie is by his side. Dottie has taken the little guy under her wing, and is now affectionally known as Grandma by everyone at Pacific Moon. Dottie received another surprise when, as an early…
Seattle Times: Celebrated horse, found neglected and starving, faces uphill course to health
Celebrated horse, found neglected and starving, faces uphill course to health By Jessica Lee Published January 8, 2016 at 8:24 pm Link to story on the Seattle Times website With a starved frame, Anakin lacks strength to stand on his own. The 20-year-old Thoroughbred was found neglected in Western Washington early last month following a celebrated career in research years ago. But now, several…
Training Update: Anderson
Anderson made his way home from training a few weeks ago. It has been a lot of fun getting to know his personality and to start riding him. I have 100% confidence getting on him. With unfamiliar horses you don’t always know how they are going to react to a new rider, but Anderson was honest and not at all afraid or unsure about having me climb aboard. While he is still a little leery about…
Adoption Announcement: Hickory!
Hickory has been adopted! It is wonderful that this gentle boy has found a perfect home while he’s been training with Joel Conner. Fran, his new owner, is an avid trail rider who is looking forward to having him join her two older horses. Fran plans on leaving Hickory in training with Joel for a few more months. This is a great chance for him to learn more and for Fran to get to know him better…
A perfect place for Lola!
The end of 2015 was a very busy time for us as a few of our horses made their way to join new families. One that has been a LONG time coming is LOLA’s adoption! It has been quite the journey for this little mare. SAFE and our volunteers have been with her through many transitions. People would often ask the question: “Why hasn’t Lola found a home yet?” and we were just as baffled. All we can…
Anakin Update — Jan 5, 2016
Anakin continues to make progress in many important ways. He’s slowly gaining weight–topping the scales at 856 lbs at yesterday’s weigh in — and his appetite remains hearty. He’s drinking plenty of water, passing manure, and his protein levels seem to have stabilized. He did appear to have a mild episode of colic over the holiday weekend, but after a dose of banamine, he seemed fine again.…
Wrap up from Joel Conner Clinic Dec. 12–13, 2015
We had a great time hosting Joel again at Safe Harbor. The horses and volunteers had an amazing weekend and everyone progressed in their feel and training. Here are a few accounts from the volunteer participants about what they learned about the horses they were working with during the clinic: Jolene D:Khianna- At the time of the clinic Khianna had a total of 4 or 5 rides on her since her return…
Chip finds his forever home!
Chip has been a SAFE horse for a while…three years in fact…and we’ve had the opportunity to watch his transformation from a breeding stallion to the best and happiest gelding in the herd. And today we can happily announce that he has finally found his forever home! We couldn’t have dreamed up a better placement. Chip has a lovely 10 acre farm to roam, lots of good food to eat, a family with…
Khianna: Training update
Khianna has shown progress in her training with volunteer Jolene. The two are working diligently and their efforts are paying off. Here is a little about Khianna’s personality from Jolene: “When Khianna first arrived, she was very fearful of most things; she was so tense and nervous that her skin even had wrinkles. I had gently touched her where a girth would be and it startled her so much…
Ben and Lisa Take a Lesson with Michael Sparling
Here is a lovely write up from Lisa G who is training Ben at Safe Harbor. He is gaining a lot of confidence from her steady and caring approach. I worked with Ben in a lesson with Michael Sparling the other night, and have a lot of things, big and small, to work on over the next couple of weeks. First and foremost is something that we have been focusing on, but need to up the game on a little,…
Emmy, Sophie and Annabelle are turned out for the winter!
Emmy is getting a winter turnout with her new friends Sophie and Annabelle. Sophie and Annabelle have been at the farm for about a month now and welcomed Emmy into the herd. They are all getting along well and even the goats get to hang with the girls! We are hoping that some rest and time out will help Emmy make a full recovery and we will be taking a look at her soundness again in the late…
Do You See the Family Resemblance?
This lovely young mare to the left is one of Dottie’s offspring, Dana. Doesn’t she look a lot like Dottie? Dana lives in Juneau, Alaska and a few months back, her owner was researching her lineage online and stumbled upon Doty Belle’s “Where Are They Now?” video on the Emerald Downs website, which led her to SAFE. Dana is about three years old and is in training to hopefully do three day…
Photos of Khianna
Here are some beautiful photos Jessica took of Lisa and Khianna working together:
2015 Q4 Impact Statement
New Horses Intake Date: Dec 8, 2015 Anakin (owner surrender) Intake Date: Dec 28, 2015 Tess (Snohomish County Animal Control) Bean (Snohomish County Animal Control) Jessel (Snohomish County Animal Control) Placed Horses Chip Hickory Lola Maggie
Anakin Update 12-28-2015
We had a little unwanted excitement just before Christmas. Up until Dec 23rd, Anakin had not tried laying down in his stall at Cedarbrook. He’d just graduated to free choice hay (as opposed to the small frequent meals he’d been getting up to that point) and he’d stopped trying to eat his bedding, so his stall was once again filled with fluffy shavings. It must have looked very inviting because…
Tess Intake Photo — Sept 2015
Bean Intake Photo — Sept 2015
Bean is one of three mares seized by animal control in Snohomish County after they were discovered hidden in a barn, locked in filthy stalls, and starving. Bean’s filly Jessel was one of the three. Bean was considerably underweight when she was seized. The horses were signed over to SAFE in late December, four months after their seizure. [gallery link=“file”…
Jessel Intake Photos — Sept 2015
2015 Volunteer of the Year: Jeanne Stine
SAFE is about horses, but at the end of the day, it’s just as much about the people who make it all happen. The volunteers at SAFE are kind, generous, selfless individuals who give their hearts to our shared mission…and as often as we celebrate the horses, behind the scenes there are people supporting each other, helping each other, making friendships that will last a lifetime. To us, every…
Anakin Update
Our boy continues to fight the good fight at Cedarbrook Vet Hospital where he is being cared for round-the-clock. His feed has been increased so that he now has soaked hay in front of him nearly 24 hours a day, which makes him VERY happy! He does have some swelling in his legs and abdomen that has us a bit worried…blood tests done last week show a decrease in his protein levels since his…
Horse Collaborative: Anakin and the Anatomy of a Horse Rescue
Anakin and the Anatomy of a Horse Rescue From the racetrack, to the research lab, to death’s doorstep by Bonnie Hammond Published Dec 16, 2015 Link to the story online at HorseCollaborative.com Link to the story on Horse Collaborative’s Facebook Page For us, Anakin’s story began early Monday morning with an email asking for our help. It was from a woman in Winlock, Washington who wanted to know…
Training update: Nala
Nala continues to do well under saddle. She is moving up to more trot and is looking sound! The volunteer riders are dedicated to her rehab work and they are enjoying getting to ride her. She is still bare foot and as long as that looks good we are going to see if how she does without shoes. So far she is looking strong and healthy! Keep up the good work baby girl!
Scarlett is doing great!
After some time off we are back to riding Scarlett. She has been such an amazing girl through everything. We had her flex tested a few weeks ago and got the all clear to start riding her again. She picked it back up like she hadn’t missed a beat. What an ANGEL! We are actively looking for her forever home. Her ideal adopters would be someone who is looking to love this mare into her senior…
KOMO‑4: Snohomish horse near brink of death is now on road to recovery
Snohomish horse near brink of death is now on road to recovery By KOMO News Staff Aired on Dec 12, 2015 Click this link to view the video on the KOMO Website SNOHOMISH, Wash. — A local horse that’s near the brink of death is now on the long road to recovery in Snohomish. It’s pretty tough to look at Anakin, a 20-year-old Thoroughbred gelding. He’s painfully thin. His hips and all of his ribs…
Behind the Scenes Photos from Anakin’s News Story
KOMO-TV reporter Steve McCarron and cameraperson Robin visited Anakin at Cedarbrook Vet Care today to film for the story that appeared on the evening news. Here are some behind the scenes photos of the shoot! click to enlarge and view as slideshow
Anakin’s Amazing Story
For us, Anakin’s story began early Monday morning, with an email asking for our help. It was from a woman in Winlock WA who wanted to know if SAFE had room to take in an emaciated Thoroughbred gelding. He had been rescued a few days earlier by her young boarder, and it had become clear to her that he was going to need much more than either of them would be able to provide or afford. While SAFE’s…
