Sophie at the Open House
Sophie was at her charming best this weekend, meeting and greeting at the SAFE Open House.
Emerald Downs “Where Are They Now?” — Doty Belle
Dottie was the star of this week’s Where Are They Now? feature at Emerald Downs. This video contains a great message about the value of horses who cannot be ridden, and we’re super proud of SAFE Board Member Eve Tai for this terrific interview!
Let’s hear it for Anderson!
Our gregarious gelding was released from the hospital last weekend and made an uneventful journey down to Vader WA where he will be starting kindergarden with trainer Darik Anderson. Testosterone is still ebbing away, but we have high hopes for this handsome fella. We also want to send an enormous THANK YOU to Dr Hannah Mueller and NWESC for doing a spectacular job working with Anderson during…
New intake: Sophie
We have a new horse to introduce. This is Sophie. She’s a 2 year old TB/QH filly that was surrendered to SAFE this morning. She sustained a bad injury to her neck about 3–4 days ago when she was impaled on an uncapped t‑post. The wound was not treated, leaving a gaping hole. Once we got her to Safe Harbor, she was seen by Dr McCracken, who was utterly amazed at how lucky this filly is to be…
Another Chance for Maggie
It always makes us sad to hear that one of the SAFE alumni is looking for a new home. While it’s our intention that every adoption will last forever, we understand that situations change and sometimes horses have to be rehomed. We do ask that our adopters take responsibility for finding an acceptable new home with someone willing to sign and honor SAFE’s adoption contract, and most adopters are…
A Yellow Ribbon for our Golden Boy!
Phoenix, along with his barn mates Karma and Bridgit, competed this weekend at the English/Western show at the Hollywood Hills Saddle Club! Phoenix brought home a yellow third place ribbon, and these lovely photos by Jessica Farren! Enjoy!
Video: Cameo Under Saddle
May Volunteer of the Month: Caren McMillen!
Caren has been volunteering at SAFE since February of 2014 and we are truly lucky to have her. Caren volunteers every Monday morning to feed the horses and do chores. She is always smiling during her shift and often stays around to help when needed. Beyond just feeding and chores, Caren also helps with turnout in the morning and getting the arena ready for the day’s training. In fact, just the…
Foster Update- Rocky
We just got a nice update on Rocky from his foster mom Kellie: “Rocky has been out a couple more times in turnout. I am only putting him out when I can watch him for now. Unfortunately, we had to put down his “neighbor” on Monday, so, Rocky has now moved to the other side of the main barn with 2 new girlfriends. He is moving around quite a bit which is good. He has a bit more room to walk. Every…
Training Update: Oscar
Here’s Oscar looking like a million bucks with Melonie Rainey in the saddle. We got an update recently from Melonie, who reports, “Oscar is doing excellent! But.…it’s up and down. He can be a real booger. He started bucking WAY too frequently with Zack [Melonie’s student], so I have been riding him. He does just fine with me and is fun to ride! Needs an experienced hand or will sniff it out.…
Get well, Anderson!
Anderson is experiencing some complications related to his gelding surgery. He has increased swelling and general discomfort along with slightly depressed attitude. He was started on antibiotics today, and this will delay his discharge from Cedarbrook Vet Care. We’d like to have his teeth floated and his vaccinations done before he leaves, but since a float requires anesthesia, it will not…
Nala the Wonder Horse
What a difference a pair of shoes can make! Nala is doing much better in her new shoes donated by our farrier Jake Cowden. She is much more balanced and comfortable with a rider over the last two weeks since the shoes were put on. We took her on 3 trail rides this last month and she has constantly been the best-behaved horse of the group. She leads at any point during the ride, she is not…
Our darling Bridgit!
The nickering QUEEN! There is not a lot about this cute little mare’s personality that won’t make you fall absolutely head over heels in LOVE with her! She is the type of girl that when you come up to her stall or her turnout paddock, she will come RUNNING to greet you. She LOVES to work and while riding will actually NICKER when you praise her and pet her on the neck. Bottom line: Bridgit is a…
Training Update: Annabelle
Annabelle is getting settled into the routine at Safe Harbor Stables. For the first week she was a bit nervous when other horses where being moves around from turnout or to the arena. She also would start calling and running even if the horse across from her went out to their run and she could not see them any more. She has since settled down quite a bit. Mornings are still a little exciting but…
Training & Heath Update: Sapphire
Since last fall, our “Arabian Gem” Sapphire has had 3 separate mild colic episodes. The first two were easily managed with pain reliever, walking and monitoring. The most recent event, at the end of March, required an emergency vet call to get her feeling better. Having eliminated parasites and sand as factors, we are now looking a little deeper for the potential cause of her digestive issues.…
Training Update: Einstein
Einstein is a true smarty-pants! We have introduced tack and a rider’s weight, taking things slowly as he still has some weight and muscle to gain over his back. He has been an absolute gem about everything. He is getting used to the flag work and connects very well to our body language and aids. He is a sensitive guy and he only requires a light amount for “ask” to get the desired response.…
May 21st is “Give Your Former Stallion a Bath” Day
Here’s Dr Hannah, teaching Anderson the joys of bathing on a warm day in late Spring! This was a great learning moment for our former wild stallion…and as it turned out, a learning moment for all of us as well. Although Anderson had been checked carefully for lice — and none had been found — lice were lurking and apparently they did NOT appreciate bath day all that much. So May 21st was also…
Training Update: Karma
It has been a few weeks of firsts for Karma: her first time jumping all the way into the trailer, her first trail ride as a SAFE horse, and her very first show! Trailer loading has been a challenge for Karma since the day we picked her up but we have had an amazing break through with it. She now will jump in without any hesitation or stress! She actually is quite content and happy inside the…
Stella!!!!!!!
Baby girl is back at Safe Harbor! I would say that we missed her but I’m not sure the neighbors were too happy she was home. She spent the first two days (and nights) calling for her bestie Jewel, who was stalled in the other barn. It was a bit of an adjustment being separated from Jewel but she got through it and is now settling into the routine of the barn. Our volunteer rider Sydney is…
Training Update: Kai
Kai is going very nicely for trainer Joel Conner in Vancouver WA. He’s made some great improvements, both in the ground work and riding over the course of his tune up training. There was a little setback a few weeks back when Kai cut his chin while playing over the fence. He is a playful boy who loves to play bite face with his neighbors. Joel moved him to a different stall so he would not have…
What a Jewel!
It may or may not be a secret but I LOVE this little mare SO much! She has grown into the cutest little quarter horse mare. She looks like a little miniature version of Finn and we all love his nice hindquarters! We recently brought both Jewel and Stella in from foster for a little training. One of the goals is to see how well Jewel does in work with her crooked front leg. Sydney is volunteering…
Training Update: Misty
Misty is really turning into a lovely horse. Her attitude while working is very steady and constant. She is ridden by a few different riders throughout the week and is well behaved for their different styles and abilities. We’ve been trying her barefoot for the last few weeks and have decided that she’s more comfortable with shoes on, so she’ll be getting a new set later this week. While she…
Photos: Phoenix Under Saddle
Training Update: Lola
It’s been a but of a rough year so far for Lola. Her feet become very uncomfortable while she was barefoot and unfortunately we did not correct the issue fast enough. She became sore on her right front and had to take some time off riding. We’re working on a new shoeing package to give her comfort while her heels have some time to grow out and she can have a more upright foot. These things take…
Cameo: Sister Moonbeam just wants to dance
I had the chance to chat with trainer Laura McCorkle who’s done a lot of work with Cameo over the past months and has seen the slow but steady transformation that this lovely mare has gone through. Laura laughs when she talks about Cameo’s “ice princess” demeanor, because underneath that chilly exterior lies the softest, kindest mare in the world. Cameo has really benefitted from the specialized…
Video: Anderson Post-Gelding Training & Exercise
We’ve been monitoring Anderson’s progress since his gelding surgery last week. Dr. Hannah Mueller is supervising his post-operative forced exercise, which will help reduce swelling and encourage drainage and healing of the surgery site. During this exercise, she has an opportunity to provide an essential introduction to training. These lessons will be crucial in Anderson’s transition from a…
Emmy Released to Rehab
Emmy was released from Rainland Equine into the care of her Aunt Kyle, who will be overseeing her rehab at Feature Farm for the next several weeks. To give you a clear picture of what that will involve, here is the discharge information from Rainland outlining the next twelve weeks of her rehab:
Video: Jewel Groundwork
Jewel doing groundwork with Sydney
So far is SO good for Ben!
Some horses just have that sparkle in their eye from the moment they arrive at SAFE. Within the abused or neglected body is a personality that’s just waiting for the energy and life to come back. Since the day he arrived at Safe Harbor, Ben has been one of those great horses. Outwardly he can be quite the goofball / class clown type, playing Catch Me with Sunny D along the fence line.. Other…
A Real Einstein
As we’ve gotten to know Einstein better, we’ve come to understand that he’s a pretty amazing horse. When he first arrived at Safe Harbor, after three weeks in Animal Control custody, he was pretty unsure about just about everything, so he spent his first few days acting rather withdrawn, silently observing the bustle of activity around him. But it really didn’t take very long for him to relax…
