SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
First Day of School
Yesterday was a big day for Mr Curly Pants: he left his foster home, where he’s spent the last 6 months, and headed off to officially start his training. He’ll be spending the next three months with trainer Matt Olson, who will work with Owen in hand and then start him under saddle when Owen is ready. Owen is a very lucky horse because not long after he was surrendered to SAFE, his story caught…
A Good Karma Update
Karma had permission to leave the hospital a few weeks ago, but we had no room for her at Safe Harbor, all the stalls were full! We finally were able to move Oscar into foster with our dear friend Helga Roberts at Dutch Mills Farm, so that meant that Karma could finally join us in Woodinville. The next hurdle to getting Karma home was getting her into a trailer! She was difficult to load when we…
Emmy is younger than we thought!
Emmy is 7!!! Dr. McCracken came out to do her dental float last week, and after examining her teeth, said that Emmy is actually closer to 7 than 8 or 9 as we were told. Now that’s she’s recovered from her cough, Terry has started working with her again and she is doing well. She gets a little worried when she’s asked to stand next to the mounting block but she’s getting more relaxed about it.…
August Training Notes
Phoenix: Going well under saddle with strengthening exercises in the walk including: shoulder fore, hauls, halt rein backs, and collected walk. He’s up to 7 minutes at the trot and continues to look sound. We’ve been working in some trot poles during the rides. Skittles: Skittles is doing well with riding. She will have good days but others she is stiff and unhappy to use her back if I don’t…
An Open Letter from the Appaloosa Girl! Or Misty’s Summer of Contemplation…
Hello friends! This has been an interesting spring and summer for me! I left Countdown Stables at the end of February and came to Dancing Horse Stables (Kellie and Peter Larsen). They are my new foster people and Lisa, my old foster mom, is still coming to visit and ride me once a week. I have been getting used to my new digs. I have two new friends, Felina and Cardi, on either side of me. I…
Unwanted horses find love through SAFE place
Unwanted horses find love through SAFE place By Seraine Page, Bremerton Patriot Staff Writer Published September 4, 2014 Portland was found starving in a field in Snohomish County when he was discovered last June. Shortly after, the thoroughbred horse was retrieved by SAFE (Save a Forgotten Equine), an organization that focuses on rescuing, rehabbing, and retraining horses that have faced…
Rocky — Intake Photos
We have a new friend to introduce: this is Rocky, a 21 year old Paso Fino gelding, who was surrendered to SAFE over the weekend. As you can see, Rocky is severely emaciated, with an infestation of lice and badly overgrown hooves. We have taken him straight to the hospital where he’s being treated for starvation and malnutrition. Preliminary bloodwork seems to indicate that recovery is possible…
August Volunteer of the Month: Nora C!
Please join us in honoring Nora C as August’s Volunteer of the Month! Nora came to us this spring, asking if she could celebrate her 15th birthday with a work party at Safe Harbor Stables. Nora and her friends spent the day scrubbing fences, sweeping the barn, and picking rocks from the back pasture. But Nora’s giving spirit didn’t stop there! Even though she’s currently too young to hold a…
the Happy Appy!
Big thank you to former SAFE volunteer Chelsey B for sharing this photo of Aiden on SAFE’s Facebook page along with this cute message: “Look who we found?! Our one & only Happy Appy AIDEN!! Save A Forgotten Equine (S.A.F.E.) alumni is a happy boy, being good as usual! He was standing at the back of his stall when I realized who it was, “Aiden?!” his ears perked right up and he came over and…
Pretty girl!
Thank you to Jessica F for sharing this photo from our August open house!!
Bridgit is growing up!
We checked in recently with SAFE horse Bridgit to see how she is progressing in her preparation for training as a saddle horse. Bridgit has been in a foster home for the past year to give her a little time to grow and mature. Her foster mom had some wonderful things to say about this beautiful little mare… Bridgit has been with me for over a year now. In that time, she has grown a couple of…
Our Dottie Belle
We’re quite happy to report that we haven’t had any more colic scares from our dear Dottie recently. Since completing Gastrogard therapy, she’s doing great on a product called Smart Gut and a few other digestive supplements. She gets a mash twice a day made of Beet Pulp, rice bran, senior feed, alfalfa pellets, oil, and salt, and that’s done a great job of keeping her weight up, in…
Ruby — Before and After
Ruby is having a great summer living out in pasture at her foster home. Her foster mom, Jackie, calls Ruby a very sweet girl who is friendly, curious and loves attention. Jackie says she wishes she could let her in the house so they could watch chick flicks and snack on carrots together! Check out Ruby’s amazing transformation since she was rescued in April: Ruby Before: Ruby…
Catching up with Karma
The new girl, Karma, was taken straight to NWESC after we picked her up from Pierce County Animal Control. We were concerned about some edema on her chest and belly, as well as the slightly snotty nose she was exhibiting. Since NWESC is better set up to quarantine a horse, we thought it best to send her straight there initially rather than risking the health of any of the horses at Safe Harbor.…
The joy of Cameo
What a joy this little mare is becoming! I had some really lovely quiet rides on Cameo this month. She can still be quite the four year old handful but she has a new peace about her and ground work is helping her find that more and more. Once she gets rid of the excess exuberance and focuses, she is a delight to work with. Her whole body changes from flighty Arabian to an easy Quarter Horse…
Great news about Phoenix!
Handsome Phoenix — lovingly referred to by his friends at SAFE as our overgrown golden retriever puppy — is staying sound and happy in his rehab. As you know, he was diagnosed with a left front high suspensory tear in January. As far as we could put together, this injury was quite old so any acute treatments would not be very helpful. Upon consultation with Dr Lisa Krauter from Pilchuck…
Finn Update
As we talked about in his last update, Finn needed some special treatment and thanks to Jake Cowden, he has been able to get the shoes he needs to feel great. We gave him a few weeks after the first set of shoes to getting used to moving in them. When we trotted him out, we were very happy to see how much better he looked. Last week he got his second pair of therapeutic shoes and everything is…
Emmy update!
Emmy has been a rock star for everything I have introduced to her. She’s been doing well with ground work, lunging over trot poles, bathing, spray bottles, wearing a saddle with a girth, and bridling and taking the bit. She is also very well behaved in turnout with other mares and loves Dottie. The only time she has shown me fear or worry has been working alongside the mounting block in…
SAFE Alumni at the SAFE Show!
It was so delightful to have six former SAFE horses come out to compete at this year’s SAFE show. We love nothing more than seeing our old friends again, and nothing beats seeing them shine in the show ring! Thanks to these lovely photos by Karen Wegehenkel, you can share some of their stellar moments: Strawberry Shortcake, also known as Maggie Stella and Maggie were sailing high in the…
From the Horse’s Mouth: Adoption? Do you know that thing?
Hello to all my friends! I have something wonderful to share with you, but first I have a question to ask: Adoption — do you know this thing? Adoption is when someone says “Oh horse! Please come to my home and live there forever. There will be lovely hays and tasty, tasty grain for you, and also friends and fields and little houses. I am a good peoples and I want you to be my horse!” That is…
SHS Anniversary Open House — Sunday, August 24
You are invited to help us celebrate 2 years at Safe Harbor Stables in Woodinville at our next Open House! We’ll have vendors selling arts & crafts, a tack sale, a bake sale, and of course, the horses of SAFE will be there ready to say hello! We’ll also be grilling hot dogs for lunch! We hope you’ll stop by and join us! When: Sunday, August 24 from noon to 3pm Where: Safe Harbor Stables, 16509…
Skittles at the SAFE Show
What a “Show Pro” little Skittles turned out to be at the SAFE Benefit Horse Show! She had a wonderful “been there done that no big deal” attitude about everything. We all had a ton of fun at the show and she was so easy to work with in every way. She bathed, loaded and unloaded, settled into her stall, warmed up on Friday with no spooking or nervousness about anything, and went into each class…
Lola at the SAFE Show
I am very pleased with Lola’s growth overall the last 7 months. I have had countless volunteers and others remark at what a different horse she is to handle and how nice she looks under saddle. She was a star at the SAFE Benefit Show. Honest and well-behaved throughout the weekend…I couldn’t have dreamed of a better showing. Unfortunately, during turnout on Wednesday before the show, Lola was…
Horsebytes Blog: SAFE Forever
SAFE Forever by Monica Bretherton Posted August 8, 2014 I recently found the original ‘adopt me’ sash I made for Cedar. Only a few of the letters had fallen off.” That was an artifact from 2008, the second SAFE benefit show ever. According to my blog (well, that is why I write, because I have no memory), I made it as a distraction from potential pre-show nerves – it was thirty years since I had…
A Long Overdue Update for Bucky B Lucky…
Lucky has been on medical hold for a while now, while we worked to sort through a couple of issues. We now have more information to share regarding this handsome gentleman. First and foremost, Lucky’s behavior has been fabulous during his time in foster at White Birch Farm. Melonie reports that he is a joy to work with. In fact, he caught the eye of one of Melonie’s clients who applied to adopt…
New photos of Karma
The new girl, Karma, was taken straight to NWESC after we picked her up from Pierce County Animal Control. We were concerned about some edema on her chest and belly, as well as the slightly snotty nose she was exhibiting. Since NWESC is better set up to quarantine a horse, we thought it best to send her straight there initially rather than risking the health of any of the horses at Safe Harbor.…
July Volunteer of the Month: Erika Stringer!
We would like to congratulate Erika Stringer as July’s Volunteer of the Month! Erika joined the SAFE team about 8 months ago and has become a valuable member since then. Erika volunteers in several positions around the barn. She has a weekly chore shift and will fill in when ever she is able. Erika also donates her time as a volunteer groom and rider on a weekly basis. And she’s always willing…
Getting to know Emmy!
Emmy’s been at SHS for two weeks now, and she’s become everyone’s favorite girl! She’s tall and beautiful, but she’s also a sweetheart who is kind and willing and just plain nice to be around. Here are two updates that Terry shared with us last week: Big day for Emmy- 1st time lunging with a girth on. She did great and didn’t bat an eye. We have no history on her so we are taking things slow and…
Is there such thing as a horse that’s too easy?
Owen is always teaching me things, which makes interacting with him such a joyful experience. His smarts and his willingness make our sessions a lot of fun. He takes most everything he’s asked to do in stride…he always tries and he hardly ever overreacts. Which led me, a few days ago, to make a pretty big mistake with him… It started with a horsefly. This sucker was as big as a baseball and…
Stella learns to halter herself!
I have been working on catch and release games with Stella. She is a very timid girl but is coming along nicely. We have been practicing with the halter and her putting her own nose down into it. Finally got someone to hold the camera for me so I can show you all. She is really funny about it now. She see the halter and literally shoves her head into it. She was so afraid of people approaching…
