SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
Finn at SAFE Harbor
Finn was released from Dr Hannah’s care this week, and is now part of the herd at SAFE Harbor Stables. He’s already found one new BFF in Jewel…the two of them are quite smitten with each other. They are a nicely matched pair, about the same size and very similar in color as well. They spent some time hanging out in the arena together today, and there was some definite smooching going on!…
Finn gets his toes fixed!
Farrier Jake Cowden made a special visit to Dr Hannah’s Cedarbrook Veterinary Hospital to visit Finn. Finn came in pretty overdue for a trim, so his feet needed someone pretty immediate attention. He has a crack in his front right cornet band that, as it grows out, creates a crack all the way down to the tip of his toe. This may require him to always keep shoes on his front feet but it remains…
2013 Volunteer of the Year: Heather Evans-Keliher
Volunteers are the heart and soul of SAFE. Day in, day out…the volunteers of SAFE arrive at SAFE Harbor Stables multiple times a day to care for the horses. Feed. Water. Muck. Repeat. Our volunteer program makes it possible for SAFE to help horses in need. Every day, we are grateful for the dedicated volunteers who work hard caring for our herd. Each January, we have the pleasure of selecting…
Meet Finn
We have a new horse to introduce. His name is Finn and he is a 14 year old Quarter Horse gelding. Finn was injured in his pasture when he impaled himself through the muscle of his right shoulder. His owner was unable to afford to have a vet out to see him. She treated his wound herself for a few days but when it began to become infected, she called SAFE for help. Fortunately with the recent…
Exciting New SAFE Logo Wear!
If you were at Heart of the Horse you had the opportunity to preview the new SAFE Logo Wear collection. Now, these items are available for sale to all SAFE supporters. Please head over to our web shop, where you can browse our selection of items, colors, and embroidery colors. You can easily place your order online, and choose to have your items shipped to your home or pick them up at SAFE…
Volunteer Rider Report: Kat and Erica B
Erica is a SAFE volunteer who rides Kat on a regular basis. She had this to say about her work with Kat: I have now been riding Kat since December, and the most notable points for me have been her willingness to work, and her demeanor. Kat hasn’t ever seemed particularly cuddly, but what I have noticed is that she is happy when we’re working. She likes to trot, and it feels like she really wants…
Skye moves to training
Skye will soon be making the move to her next phase of training, when she heads up to Half Trak Farm to start work with Andrea. She’s spent the past three months at Lake Tapps Equestrian Center, where Team Zanotelli was able to use the covered arena to continue her training. In January, Skye was cared for by long time SAFE supporter, Lynn Mazer, and her sister Carol, who gave her the attention…
Skittles Training Report, January 2014
Skittles is very sweet and easy to be around and groom. She has some pushy behaviors when asked to move and yield her front shoulders. She carries her head high and is tight over her back. After her arrival at SAFE, we gave her time to settle in, followed by ground work to help establish leadership, then started riding her last week. There were no problems with tack or grooming. On her first…
Volunteer Rider Report: Kat and Sara E
Sara E is a SAFE volunteer who has been riding Kat on a regular basis. She had this to say about her work with Kat: I first met Kat when I first started volunteering with SAFE and was doing night feeding. Truthfully I wasn’t impressed, she was standoffish and a little food aggressive. She was never out right mean, but was not a cuddle bunny or tried to seek out your company. Over the last year…
Kai – a Master of Socrates
Can’t help but love this big hunk…somewhat distant exterior, but a heart of gold underneath for the right person, and, if you work for it, tons of easily offended dignity. He is the type that really doesn’t like to be laughed at or have his many ideas dismissed or ignored. If he gets emotionally hurt or rattled, he reacts with grumpiness but he doesn’t really care that much about your love or…
Jewel ‑The Patient Little Patient
You can probably imagine my response to the call that Jewel had been injured. At first I was worried that she was hurt, then hearing the treatment plan I was quickly thinking: oh no what are we going to have on our hands?!? I am very pleased to report that she has been a little angel in her stall. She is more of a cuddle bunny than ever before and very very happy to see everyone. You really…
Love Me and Keep Me Safe
Dottie is a loving, gentle horse who would make a great companion. We have some concerns about her overall soundness as a riding horse but we are taking things slow with her to see where we end up. If she can only be pasture-sound, it would be nice to see her go to a home where she will get lots of attention. She just loves interaction and learning things. She’d be a great prospect for…
Lunar New Year Celebration
Sunny D & Shasta were greeters at this year’s Westminster Chapel’s celebration of Lunar New Year. SAFE was asked to be this year’s special animal guests because 2014 is the Year of the Horse. Sunny and Shasta were wonderful greeters to the more than 1,500 people who came to this year’s celebration of Asian culture and arts. Sunny & Shasta got to pose for photos and also meet some of the…
Another Challenge for Jewel
During the major windstorm last weekend, SAFE horse Jewel was injured. We discovered a 2” laceration across the back of her left hind pastern. The cut was deep enough to warrant an emergency vet call, and Dr. Penny came out to take a look (driving around multiple downed trees to reach SAFE Harbor!) Fortunately, there was no tendon involvement. The wound was clipped, cleaned and treated. It was…
Taste the Rainbow!
We have a new horse to introduce to everyone! Her name is Skittles, she is an 18 year old Arab mare who is supposedly trained and able to be ridden Skittles was seized by King County Animal Control several months, and placed at Northwest Equine Stewardship Center for rehabilitation. She came to NWESC underweight, but as you’ll see from the photos below, they did an excellent job of returning her…
Cowgirl Kat!
It’s been a while since we updated you on Kat. We’ve seen a definite improvement in her tendency to trip over her front feet, and we suspect that the addition of vegetable oil to her diet has helped with that. Volunteer Sara E has been working with Kat under saddle and after a great ride last night, Sara had this to say about the little redhead: “Kat’s doing great! I think she likes the western…
Oscar, returned to SAFE
We have an old friend back among the herd at SAFE Harbor…the Arabian gelding El Johar Jamaal, formerly known as Oscar the Grouch, currently known as Oscar the Sweetie Pie. SAFE has elected to allow Oscar’s owner to return him to us to be rehomed, as we strongly feel that taking him back is in the best interest of everyone involved. We are currently reassessing Oscar under saddle, and hope to…
Jewel: Checking in on our little missy
I have continued to work with Miss Jewel on her ground work to establishing respect and good social behaviors. A lot of the work includes leading and positioning along with catch and release game. She is a surprisingly very smart little girl who really enjoys doing a job well. She will lick and chew when she has done it right and of loves getting lots of praise. Jewel reacts well to voice cues…
Portland medical update
We’re happy to say that Portland’s recovery has continued and he’s now officially up to a good weight (4/9 as determined by Dr DeWard) and looking healthy. Now that he’s got plenty of good food to eat and no mean horses beating him up, he’s truly enjoying life again, which is wonderful. We had Portland examined by Dr Bob DeWard and asked him to evaluate Portland as a potential riding horse. SAFE…
Bridgit was *not* on Santa’s Naughty List
She was a very good girl this year, so Santa brought a special gift for Bridgit…GrownUpClothes! She got her very own Pony size surcingle. Here she is modelling her Big Girl outfit. Isn’t she adorable? (the angle of the photo is exaggerating her current slightly butt-high build). Bridgit continues to learn and grow. She now straight ties and cross ties with confidence. She stands (mostly)…
Training Update for Bucky B Lucky!
Lucky has had a recent change of scenery, moving from Dutch Mills Farm up to White Birch Farm, where he will continue his under saddle work with trainer Melonie Rainey. We would like to thank Helga Roberts at Dutch Mills for everything she’s done for Lucky during his stay there. She’s been his trainer, his advocate, and his friend, and we know that she will miss him a lot. We’re also grateful to…
Marta & Shay update
Marta and Shay continue to thrive under the careful care of their foster mom, Eileen. With their blankets on, it’s hard to tell who is who, they are such peas in a pod! Both mares continue to be easy keepers on restricted diets, but they are getting to enjoy a brief reprieve from their grazing muzzles during this very barren January. These two would be a great pair of companion horses!
Misty at a ‘big girl barn’
An update on Misty from Lisa: Misty enjoyed a trail outing on New Years day, to our usual spot at Rattlesnake Lake/Snoqualmie valley trail. She was very well behaved on the trails, and didn’t balk once! Even though we arrived and parked among other horse trailers and horses (it was busy that day) she stood quietly for tacking up and tolerated the activity quite well. We ended our trail ride with…
Catching up with Zanadu!
It’s always a happy day when we get an update on Zanadu. We like to think that all of the adopted SAFE horses are loved, but when it comes to Zan, there is no question that she is adored, treasured, and beloved. Karen sent this update: Zan and I are doing spectactularly well! She is a delight and quite the character. Zanadu is such a wonderful girl — I saw that in her from the moment we met. I…
January training notes: Sasha
Sasha seems to be showing signs of discomfort, especially tracking to the right on the lunge line. She does a lot of chewing and moving/opening her mouth…it almost looks as if she were sucking on her tongue or cheeks. She can’t hold the right lead canter without swapping her hind and cross firing. We’ve been doing light groundwork and lunging to see if strengthening helps.
2013 Q4 Impact Statement
New Horses Intake Date: October 6, 2013 Sasha (returned to SAFE) Intake Date: October 7, 2013 Phoenix (sold by adopter, surrendered to SAFE by new owner) Intake Date: October 19, 2013 Kai (returned to SAFE) Intake Date: November 2, 2013 Savannah (sold by adopter, surrendered to SAFE by new owner) Intake Date: November 19, 2013 Oscar (returned to SAFE) Placed Horses Maggie Chance Miah Moonshine…
Ginger is cantering under saddle!
Here are some photos of Gingers ride today. She is doing well and a lot of fun! She is a green walk, trot, canter. Steering is optional. =)
December Volunteer of the Month: Megan Wilson
December is such a festive month. There are so many reasons to be happy and so many things to celebrate. December Volunteer of the Month, Megan Wilson, is one of the reasons we’re celebrating this month! Megan has been volunteering at SAFE since April. She is at Safe Harbor every Sunday morning (except when she is called away to take care of a sick patient or deliver a baby!!), doing chores and…
Happiest holidays from Strider & Chip!
Strider had to leave his Monroe foster home with Sheridan and Austin with the onset of winter weather, since Sheridan’s barn has still not been rebuilt. We are so fortunate that our good friend Heather, who’s already fostering Chip, offered a place in her lovely barn for Strider to stay the winter. Strider and Chip hit it off immediately, and Heather’s barn cam shows the two friends chatting…
A Home for the Holidays for Moonshine
Most of us have probably wished at one time or another for a pony under the tree on Christmas morning. Well Moonshine won’t be going anywhere near the Gable’s Christmas tree but he’ll be there in spirit as this wonderful family celebrates the holiday. It gives us great happiness to announce that Moonshine has been adopted! He left SAFE Harbor yesterday for his new home at Gold Creek where he and…
