SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
2014 Volunteer of the Year: Ann Amort
At the end of every year, SAFE looks back at all the great volunteers and has to make the difficult decision of who to recognize as Volunteer of the Year. We have so many people that give their time, energy, love, compassion, and support to SAFE. This past year we had one person that really stood out. Please celebrate with us in honoring Ann Amort as 2014 Volunteer of the Year! Ann has been…
2014 Q4 Impact Statement
New Horses Intake Date: December 18, 2014 Ben (Pierce County Animal Control) Nala (Pierce County Animal Control) Placed Horses Strider Skye Euthanization None
More Nala photos
Ben has been identified…
We’ve checked Ben’s tattoo and discovered that he is a 2004 gelding named Babe Hoolihan, bred in Washington state, and raced twice as a three year old. (He came in dead last in both races, so obviously horse racing didn’t suit him.) In 2009, he was rescued from an abusive situation in South Pierce County in which he was being beaten and starved. He was rehomed shortly thereafter to an individual…
Nala Intake Photos
We picked Nala up today from the Pierce Co Animal Control holding barn. She loaded into the trailer without a fuss, and made the successful trip to Poulsbo where she will begin working immediately with trainer Matt Olson. Here are her intake photos, along with video of Matt working with her after her arrival at Sandamar Farm.
Ben at Safe Harbor
Ben arrived safely at Safe Harbor Stables and Terry & Laura spent some time with him, getting him cleaned up and taking photos. As we suspected, this guy is a sweetheart!
Ben Intake Photos
We picked up Ben today from Pierce County Animal Control. He’s a 12 year old Thoroughbred gelding, tall, chestnut, with a blaze and one hind sock. He was picked up by Animal Control after a pizza delivery driver found him running down the road — he was in pitifully thin condition with a BCS of 1.5. He’s been in AC custody since August and has made a decent recovery, but he still need to gain…
Thank you Pilchuck Vet Hospital!
Over the course of the past year, SAFE has been extremely fortunate to have received donated veterinary services from Pilchuck Veterinary Equine Hospital. Their expertise and generosity has made it possible for us to perform diagnostic work on horses that we wouldn’t have been able to afford—or even justify—without their help. It’s hard to sufficiently express what an honor it is to have the…
The Paddock Paradise Project
Turnout. Every horse owner wants to provide more of it, but that’s often easier said than done. Land is expensive, and here in the Pacific Northwest, our winters and our horses can turn a lovely pasture to mud faster than you can say “What happened to my lovely pasture?!” Here at Safe Harbor Stables, we struggle with the same issues…we have 12 horses in residence at any given time, and limited…
SAFE Values Statement
SAFE is currently going through an exciting period of development and growth, and as a result, we’ve had the opportunity to take a closer look at who we are and why we choose to do the things that we do. Having defined these values for ourselves, it seemed to make good sense to share them with the people who support our mission and make our work possible. The resulting document — our Values…
Owen Training Update
Owen’s work under saddle with trainer Matt Olson is proceeding right on schedule…our curly boy is now walking, trotting, and cantering with a rider. If you’ve been following Owen’s story, you’ll know that we’ve all been a bit surprised at how well he’s done in his training…almost “too well” if you can believe that… So it’s actually been somewhat of a relief to us that Owen has started to…
November Volunteer of the Month: Karen Wegehenkel
The SAFE horses are all beautiful in their own way, and no one has done more to convey and share that beauty than equine photographer Karen Wegehenkel. Karen’s photographs are so beautiful, in fact, that it might surprise you to learn that this professional equine photographer donates her sessions and her work to our organization on a regular basis! We met Karen in 2011, and not long after, she…
Things We’re Thankful For
It’s the time of year when we like to look upon our blessings and be thankful, and the SAFE family has so much to be thankful for. Many of our blessings walk on four feet, and some are bigger than others, but none are bigger than Strider, who gives us 18 hands of handsome horse to be thankful for. We are thankful that Strider survived the horrific barn fire that took the lives of four other…
Rocky Update
An update on Rocky, our champion fighter! After intake, Rocky was transported immediately to Cedarbrook Veterinary to begin his rehabilitation. Hoof care specialist Daphne Jones (The Bare Horse) was called in to begin the process of addressing his severely neglected feet. After a few days in the hospital, there was concern about Rocky’s lack of appetite. He was simply not interested in eating.…
Emmy training update
We sent Emmy into training with Larry Plagerman two weeks ago, and got a great update. She’s been going WTC under saddle for a week now. The only issue she’s had is picking up the left lead. She is very right canter dominant and just needs to learn to function on the left lead. She is getting better and Larry doesn’t think it’s a physical issue, just a preference. She is softer now in the…
Lucky’s Low Bulk Diet
The past few months have included some health challenges for our dear friend Lucky. He had a mild colic episode, requiring the vet to come out and administer Banamine and fluids. He responded well, but about a week later he had another colic episode. When the third episode in a month struck, we knew we needed to get to the bottom of the problem. Working with Dr. Megan McCracken from Rainland…
Sapphire in training!
Phoenix in Rehab: Happy Update!
We had Dr. Krauter out last week to check on his progress with his front left suspensory rehab. She flexed him and he trotted clean!! His rehab has been progressing over the past 3 months, and he’s up to 10 minutes of trot per session. With this “all-clear” flexing, we can now add another 5 minutes of trot every week until he’s back to a full normal work load. This is very good news so we’d love…
Skye under saddle
And picking up her lovely feet to go over poles — at speed. Good girl, Skye!
Ginger Update!
Look, it’s Ginger!! Her adopter Monica N shared this cute photo on Facebook, saying “Since you all haven’t seen her in a bit, here is Miss Ginger after her first body clip! I fall more head over heels for her everyday! Thank you!!!” Thank YOU Monica, we are so happy that our girl has such a wonderful adoptive home!!
if you don’t like the weather in Seattle…
…wait 10 minutes and something different will come along. Luckily the SAFE horses are friends in rain or shine!
A visit with Sapphire
SAFE Volunteer Manager Heather shared these photos of Sapphire on the SAFE Tumblr page. I asked her to fill us in on how our girl is faring at her foster home. “I take lesson there on Saturdays,” Heather explained, “and I get to spend time with Sapphire. She spent the summer taking it easy. We all know how much Sapphire loves relaxing and grazing. She also gets to enjoy the company of SAFE…
Trotting with Owen
One week under saddle and Owen is making astounding progress with trainer Matt Olson. Check out this video, taken at the end of Owen’s lesson last Thursday. Did you notice how willingly Owen walked over the “bridge” from the trails course? How about that reinback? All this in a halter, no less. He has such a lovely willingness about him, he really wants to please. Formal training has really…
October Training Report
Phoenix had a hard month concentrating under saddle. He continues to look sound on the front but does come out of his stall pretty stiff both in the front and hind. He had quite a few naughty days this month mostly due to work, noise, and activity at the barn that made him anxious. He’s up to 10 min of trot per workout now and should be adding 5 more minutes per week after that. He has also been…
Finn Update
We’ve had a setback with Finn’s soundness this month. He has had some slight stiffness and isn’t looking as comfortable as he had been. When farrier Jake came to put on his new shoes last week, we noticed a bruise next to his frog on the right front. There was no indication of a rock or anything lodged under the pad. One thought was that the pads with built in frogs may be putting too much…
First ride for Karma, and more great news!
I have to say this little grey mare has my heart right now! She is making great strides in her rehabilitation and there is a lot of hope for the sweet side of this mare breaking through. She was very cautious when she first came to Safe Harbor and we made sure to take things very slow and at a calm easy pace. At about week 3 of liberty and ground work, she’s really made the transition to trust…
Stella the Brave and Beautiful
Stella is growing up nicely and has become much more consistent for other people to handle. She is easy to catch in turnout and happy to get groomed. She is still a little shy about letting people handle her feet but that’s continually improving too. She is a very brave filly! When she is unsure, she thoughtfully looks at new things with interest and quickly relaxes when she realizes that the…
Owen’s Week
Last week was a momentous one for Mr Curly Horse, and we could not be more proud of the amazing progress this horse has made. Monday’s accomplishment was a successful first standing hoof trim. Matt’s been working with Owen on picking up his feet since he took over his training, and he’s done really well with it. But the last time Owen saw farrier Joe Marceau was the day of his gelding surgery,…
How I roll
Hay from the Bin
Phoenix thinks hay from the bin tastes better then hay in a bag or on the ground!
