SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
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.
Great progress this month for Karma
Karma is a ton of fun to ride and work! She is going very nicely for all that is being asked of her and making progress every day. She is feeling more balanced in herself and starting to hold a little more self-carriage. Her back and neck are starting to fill in with lovely topline muscle. We will be putting front shoes on her in hope that this can help correct some of her club foot balance…
Big man Chip!
We are working to clear up some accesses and fungus in this sweet boy’s feet. He has been very good for the cleanings, poultice applications, and for wearing boots. His feet are looking and smelling much better! We also turned Chip and Finn out in the arena together. It was pretty funny to watch the two boys get as puffed up at they could to meet and talk about who was in charge. I think they…
Training Update: Cameo
Cameo gets the right lead canter!! The new shoes are wonderful and the small changes that have been started are making a ton of difference in her ability to carry a rider. We have also noticed that the build up on her left shoulder from the right club foot has started to look more even with the right shoulder. This makes the saddle a lot easier to sit level on her back without having to shim up…
Training Update: Finn
Unfortunately Finn has come up lame this month. We had Dr Krauter out to asses him and she found that the root of the lameness is in his left stifle. He is getting some time off and a loading dose of Pentosan. We will reassess him at the end of the load but we are now 3 weeks into it and he is still stiff on that left leg. At the end of the Pentosan loading we can also try him on a daily dose of…
Training Update: Kai
Poor Kai had a few hoof abscesses this month. We have been treating them and all are healing up well. We are working him in boots, and that seems to be helping with his front foot tenderness. He is holding a good weight through the winter. We are looking into getting him some bodywork to help with his physical strains. The area that needs the most attention is his left sacrum, which can get…
Training Update: Phoenix
Phoenix was introduced to small paddock turnout this month — he really enjoyed the change of scenery and spending time next to other horses. We are working him up to longer amounts of sustained trot. Currently he is doing 1–3 laps of trot with a few long sides of canter. This month, we will begin to add large circles to his workout. Everything continues to go well for his rehab. Once we are…
Dottie’s New Foster Adventure
As much as we’ve loved having Dottie Belle at Safe Harbor, the relative confinement hasn’t always worked well for her size and temperament, resulting in a string of colic scares. We’ve done all we can via diet and supplements to keep her happy, but really what this mare needs is to live outside. Now, thanks to Karen at Pacific Moon Equestrian Center, Dottie is able to do just that! She shares a…
Unusually warm weather in January? Bath day!
thanks to Jessica F for these photos!
Video: Sapphire Under Saddle Walk Trot
Emmy, photos by Karen Wegehenkel
Let’s not forget Oscar!
Oscar, if you recall, was returned to SAFE by his adopter, having regressed a great deal from the horse he was behavior-wise when he was adopted. After his return, we started noticing some lameness in his front right leg. Dr King of Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital donated her time to perform a lameness exam on Oscar and since his x‑rays were clean, it was determined that some kind of soft tissue…
Good News about Phoenix!
We are excited as to how well Phoenix’s recovery has progressed! We are now riding him daily for about 45 mins of walk and trot work along straight lines, and he has remained sound through it all! Our next steps include introducing turnout in a small pasture; trotting around the entire arena (up to 1–3 laps with walk breaks); cantering along straight lines, and in 3–4 weeks, large circles! After…
Video: Lucky Under Saddle
Lucky is going beautifully under saddle! He has strengthened over his top line and built up a good amount of muscle over his back. He is holding a nice self carriage and has an easy walk, trot, and canter. Lucky is ready to show First Level dressage this year and and with the right rider could begin schooling Second Level movements. He still needs some strengthening to hold himself through the…
New shoes for Cameo
We have been working with farrier Jake Cowden to help Cameo’s club foot by adding shoes. We’ve been making very slow and subtle changes to her hooves, but already we are seeing signs of improvement. She is striding better in the front with lots more toe flip instead of jamming her right front into the dirt. She continues to become more calm and relaxed. As Cameo becomes more balanced and feels…
Finn, Making Progress
I have been riding Finn for about a month now. He is a gentleman for tacking up, he stands for mounting and dismounting, walks off and halts when asked and yields his hindquarters and shoulders from both the leg or guiding reins. He is comfortable at the walk but has some hesitation when asked to trot. We have been working to get him sound and comfortable and we have found that the shoeing…
Ben has a sweet spot…
…and Steph knows right where it is! This is a happy horse. Ben is steadily gaining weight and winning the hearts of our volunteers! He is a sweet boy and very smart and willing to work. We are just lightly working him at liberty and adding a little bit of groundwork off the rope halter. He needs to gain more weight before we can ask much of him but for right now we are working on simple…
