SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
Aiden at Donida
Look who I ran into yesterday at the Donida schooling show! It’s Aiden! He competed in the hunter classes and did a terrific job.
Marta and Shay greet springtime
Spring has sprung, apparently, and what better way to celebrate than letting the ponies into the pasture! Yesterday Marta and Shay enjoyed a very serious bit of rolling and then took off and galloped a few laps around the pasture. Their foster mom Eileen took this video afterward. “Turns out there is a woodpecker who has returned to the neighborhood and is pecking every loud surface he can…
Einstein Intake Photos
Einstein is a 15 year old Quarter Horse gelding seized by Animal Control for lack of care. He’s already gained about 50 pounds since he was taken from his home, and he’s starting to shed his scruffy starvation coat. His hooves are going to need a lot more care as they were very flared with underrun heels when he came in. The condition of his hooves seem to be having an effect on his movement, he…
Kai Training Update
Kai is doing “amazing well” during his tuneup training with Joel Conner. We couldn’t be happier with his progress and how soft, relaxed, and balanced Joel has him going. Take a look at these fun photos of Kai getting accustomed to a rope being thrown from the saddle and the weight of pulling the training log. This work is building trust in his rider and teaching him to be more focused on what’s…
2015 Q1 Impact Statement
New Horses Intake Date: January 2, 2015 Ivy (City of Snohomish Animal Control) Boone (City of Snohomish Animal Control) Dillon (City of Snohomish Animal Control) Intake Date: March 31, 2015 Maggie (returned by adopter) Placed Horses Owen Skittles Bucky B Lucky Euthanization Dillon (euthanized due to extreme neglect)
March Volunteer of the Month: Jackie Liles
SAFE depends on volunteers in many different ways. Jackie Liles is one of our most important volunteers: she is a SAFE Foster! Jackie has been fostering horses with SAFE for several years. She opens her home and heart for any horse we ask of her. There have been times when we needed a hospice home for a horse, which can be a lot to ask of someone. We knew Jackie was the right person for the job.…
Lucky in Love
Obviously, adoptions are special to us…nothing makes us happier than being able to announce that one of the SAFE horses has found a home. But every so often, an adoption will fall into place that just reaches into our hearts and gives a little squeeze. An adoption that makes us pinch ourselves to be sure we’re not dreaming. On Saturday afternoon, over birthday cake and carrots, we celebrated…
New Board Members: Welcome Lara Lutz and Meghan Hoey!
We would like to introduce two new additions to the SAFE Board of Directors: one, a familiar face, and the other, a new friend! Lara Lutz has been involved with SAFE since the day she opened her home and heart to a rescued mare named Amber, way back in 2010. Since then, Lara has been an active volunteer for SAFE, lending her expertise in accounting, bookkeeping, and event planning. And since the…
March training update: Karma
I cannot lie, this horse is my favorite to ride and work with at Safe Harbor. She is very smart, sensitive and loyal. We continue to progress every week with more consistent riding, light aids and very soft contact in her mouth. We have restarted Karma using the style of groundwork and riding taught by Buck Brannaman and I can in all honesty say this was a perfect way to help this very abused…
March training update: Misty!
Misty is going very well for her volunteer riders. She is working on good ground manners and we have had little to no problems managing her behavior at Safe Harbor. She did have an allergic reaction a few weeks ago to what we could only guess was a bee sting. It caused her face and eyes to swell up. Dr Fleck came out to see her and gave her some steroids to help reduce the inflammation. All the…
Ben training update
Ben has been getting some good work with our volunteer riders. He is a very interesting fellow who has a playful side that has to be carefully managed. He is not for an inexperienced horse person. Even walking him to and from turnout requires the handler to be mindful of Ben’s energy and helping him to make good decisions. He’s like an overgrown puppy, unaware of his size or that he can’t play…
Video: Ben Jumping (baby fences!)
Ben really seems to enjoy free jumping! Terry set up this little jump chute in the arena, and Ben was more than willing to show us how easily he can soar over a 6″ cavaletti! Go Ben go!
Letters from friends: Skye and Strider
We were delighted to receive some very special mail last week that included letters and photos from two adopted SAFE horses, Strider and Skye! They both sound very happy in their new home! First a letter from the big horse himself: Hi SAFE Friends, It’s Strider! I’m loving it at my new home. I recently moved out of the old barn and into the new barn my people built for me, in an extra big stall.…
March training update: Cameo
Cameo has improved so much over the past several months. She’s become very steady under saddle and seems so much more mature. She is lovely to handle and work with now that she has lost that flighty edge. She has really settled into the ground work and being ridden on a loose rein. She is walk, trotting and cantering with a more relaxed manner. I think this is a combination of all the wonderful…
A Message from the President: “Am I crazy?”
“Am I crazy?” This was the title of the document SAFE’s president, Debi Shatos, shared with the Board of Directors last September. Our resounding answer was “NO!” The potential craziness in question outlined a plan to lease the house adjacent to Safe Harbor Stables and establish both an office and a residence. Today, four weeks after helping unload a 20-foot U‑Haul truck, I am thrilled to…
Kid Kai
Chip’s First Day in Foster Care
Chip was moved from Safe Harbor to a foster home in the Maple Valley area, where he now shares a huge field with an older horse named Jesse. Here’s a video of his arrival and meeting Jesse for the first time:
Who saw this coming?
Owen has been adopted, and it will probably come as no surprise to anyone that his adopter is SAFE Executive Director Bonnie Hammond. It was never our intention that Owen would end up spending his first spring and summer as a SAFE Horse on Bonnie’s farm in Silverdale, but we didn’t know when we accepted him into our program that the young Curly Horse stallion was not only untrained, but…
Kai in training
Kai left on Tuesday to spend a month in training with Joel Conner, who was recommended to us by Buck Brannaman. Kai made the 3 hour journey to Vancouver WA without a problem (thank you Chris T for hauling him!) and settled in nicely at Joel’s farm. The next day we received this photo of Kai sporting a brand new look, and a report from Joel that Day One was a success and that he’s already quite…
Welcoming Ivy to Safe Harbor!
Ivy has just arrived at Safe Harbor after 60 days in the care of the vets at NWESC. She’s part of an active Animal Control case, and although she’s currently in decent weight and condition, another horse seized from the same owner had to be humanely euthanized due to extreme neglect. So Ivy is a lucky girl. We’re looking forward to getting to know her better, — so far she seems sensible,…
A happy home for Skittles
We talk a lot about dreams coming true for our horses when we finally get to send them off to their new home, but we’re happiest when an adoption can make a dream come true for the human side of the new partnership as well. Susanne M has supported SAFE for quite some time now as a monthly sponsor, but one day she happened to share with me that at age 65, she had a dream of someday becoming a…
Boone Intake
to come
February Volunteers of the Month: Chloe and Allison
Celebrate with us February’s Volunteers of the Month, Chloe & Allison!! Allison and Chloe have been volunteering with SAFE for almost three years. They are a wonderful Mother/Daughter team that we have come to depend on for many reasons. They have a regular Sunday feeding shift and then come back for our very important Sunday night check. When we were looking for someone to take over making…
Aiden Update!!
Here’s a note we received from Aiden’s adoptive family: “Aiden has been here at our house for a couple of months now with his new buddy. He is continuing his training and we are getting ready for the upcoming show season. He has been doing lots of trail riding, jumping and his favorite, dressage. He has settled into his new home well and become fast friends with our new mare.” [gallery…
Emmy veterinary update
Emmy was seen by Dr McCracken at Rainland Equine last week for continuing diagnostics, following the discovery of the OCD lesion in her stifle. The results of these diagnostics were informative but not completely conclusive. Dr McCracken used Rainland’s “Lameness Locator” system to objectively measure response to localized sedation, or blocking. This is important, as it quickly became clear that…
Michael Sparling Clinic: Kai
Kai did well for Stephanie in the Michael Sparling Clinic. He was, as Michael put it, the trickiest horse that came to the clinic. To ride Kai successfully, your timing has to be dead on and you have to be right there to support and help him find balance. It is important to “get in and get out” and not to back off or be off in your timing. Michael worked with Kai each day of the clinic with…
Sad news about Emmy
A few weeks ago, Terry was showing Emmy to some potential adopters. She looked fine at liberty and on the lunge line, but when Terry got on her to ride, Emmy pinned her ears and kicked out at her leg…behaving in a way that was very non-Emmy like! Terry got off and checked the saddle fit, watched her on the lunge again, and got back on. Again Emmy made it very clear that something was not…
Nala graduates from training!
Nala graduated from training last week and headed off for Safe Harbor Stables, where she immediately was enrolled in the Michael Sparling clinic! Volunteer rider Lisa G was aboard, and the two of them did quite well together. Lisa says she’s really enjoyed riding Nala so far, and we are so pleased to see that the training that Matt Olson has done over the past 60 days is translating to other…
Misty is Available for Adoption Again
As excited we are to find potential adopters for our horses, it is always more important to us that the match be right for all involved. Our adoption process is designed to ensure that both the horse and the adopter are right for each other, and we work hard to make sure that both parties are well acquainted with each other before the adoption becomes final. This includes multiple opportunities…
Ben Update
Ben is looking great! He needs to gain about 100 more pounds or so but his appetite is up and he is eating very well. We are doing light liberty and ground work with him while he recovers from starvation. He is a very smart and fast learner. We will start to reintroduce tack to him later this month in the hopes of having him ready to be sent out to be restarted under saddle soon.
