Training Update: Flagging Off Otto
Otto’s fourth birthday just passed, and it’s hard to believe that the little sickly boy with the infected tooth who arrived at the end of 2021 is now such a solid (and healthy!) riding horse. Casey A, who has been spending the most time riding and working Otto over…
Poppy’s Playmate
If you squint, it’s hard to differentiate the two little black mares who came in together as part of the Graham 27 seizure. They’re both small of stature, both rather narrow, both almost fully black. In the shadows, it’s hard to even tell they’re there. When night…
Zelly’s Progress
Zelly is the very definition of ‘looks good for her age.’ At 20, she is no spring chicken, but her physical condition and her mental acuity show a horse who still has a lot left in the tank. When first assessing Zelly on the ground, we met a horse who was…
Alumni Update: Glory
Glory is doing well. Melissa, Glory’s adopter, enjoys riding her in the wheat fields near where she lives. Melissa’s son is also starting to ride Glory and has dreams of doing some roping on her one day.
Good Boy Jax
What a nice horse Jax has turned out to be! He’s made such a transformation since entering our horsemanship program about a month ago. It’s been extremely enjoyable working with this gelding, and teaching him a new and better way of being. When we started working with…
Esme — Ready for Adoption!
Esme, started under saddle last fall, is coming along very nicely as a riding horse! She is a cute little mover, and is soft on a loose rein, walk trot and canter. She recently had her very first rides in the outdoor arena, and did great, even amongst many would-be…
Jacob’s Trial
Part of our adoption process at SAFE involves doing our best to ensure the matches made between horse and human are the best fits possible. We try to make sure of this before the horse is out the door – adopters are encouraged to come and visit with their potential…
Alumni Update: Doolin
Shannon does lots of groundwork with Finn (formerly Doolin) to help him relax and be less nervous and he is doing really well! She has ponied him with her older Quarter horse and is teaching him how to ride comfortably in the trailer. Last September, she brought Finn…
Harissa’s Progress
For us, it begins in a muddy field. Harissa stands with her herd, four mares total, perhaps aunts or cousins or sisters, bound if not by blood then by the unfortunate nature of their circumstances. They squelch through the muck as they approach us, curious,…
Alumni Update: Henry (James)
James over the past month. He’s been making some friends at the barn.
Alumni Update: Rae
From Christina: Rae says pre-dinner/post-ride snacks hit different on these chilly fall days (especially when your friends aren’t invited to the buffet and are jealously thundering around their paddock!)
Guard Pony Lacey
Trudy, our wonderful Saturday barn staff, recounts an interaction that she and our sweet (and brave!) little Lacey had recently: “It’s arena turnout season… Where some of our sweetest pairs of horses get time playing together in the squishy sand footing. They get a…
Inula Learns to Pony
Just because you can’t (or shouldn’t) ride a horse doesn’t mean there isn’t a host of fun activities you can get up to with them! The basics are obvious — extended grooming sessions, hand walking and grazing, and the tried and true classic for any and all horse…
Giving Thanks at SAFE
There is always so much to be thankful for here at SAFE, but for this season of thanks giving, we went around and asked some of our herd to name one thing they were thankful for this year: Brandy, during a recent arena turnout session with BFF Bandit, took a moment to…















