Moshi’s First Rides
Moshi, one of the Graham 27, had her first rides here at SAFE recently. From the first few times working with her, we had a feeling this little mare was going to make it easier on us than some. And this isn’t to say that there are not always challenges (both standard…
Paw-ppy
Horses have a remarkable field of vision, able to see about 350 degrees around them. Each eye can work independently of the other, which makes sense – horses, prey animals by nature, have the best chance of survival if they can scope out almost the entirety of their…
Betty and Eleven Are Adopted!
Eleven and Betty arrived as a pair, nearly indistinguishable from one another, and left just the same: together. We’d gotten to know them a lot better by then — the way Eleven would maneuver her lips into a quasi-vacuum to suck up her prascend-stuffed carrot each…
Back to (halter starting) Basics with Esme
Even though Esme has been going well under saddle for a bit now, there are still some basics that she is in need of revisiting. Because Esme was improperly halter started once upon a time, she still has a difficult time coming off of pressure. In the below video, Joel…
May Volunteer of the Month
We are oh so lucky Lara found SAFE! She has been a rockstar on the Sunday PM shift, stepping up as Shift Lead and then Barn Assist coming early to help with hay drop and turn in. Not only does she work a full time job and commit one of her weekend evenings to SAFE,…
Lacey, Back in the Saddle
Our longest resident at SAFE is a little chestnut mare named Lacey. 7 years Lacey has been here, so you would think that by this point we know her very well. And while this isn’t wrong, there are many ways in which Lacey remains an enigma to us. For a while she was…
Introducing the Gig Harbor 7
The majority of the horses who come to SAFE come as singles or in pairs. One here, one there, typically with some space in between arrivals. But on occasion, we are called to assist with a larger seizure. It hasn’t been all that long since the Fall City 40, and an…
Addie, at Training
Our little Addison has been away at off-site training for the past 30 days, and has been doing quite well with the new experiences she has been exposed to. Dylan has been putting her through the paces, riding her outside, flagging off of her, and practicing building a…
Heart of the Horse
July 20 from 5–10 pm
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Joel Conner Horsemanship Clinic
Aug 16–18
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Nova’s Horror-mones
Nova has spent the entirety of her life here at SAFE. Her first breaths, steps, and moments were here on the farm, witnessed and overseen by the people who would go on to take care of her as she grew from a gangly filly into a long-legged mare. It is safe to say that…
Friends for Arrow
Arrow was a stallion when he arrived at SAFE, and while he was kind and gentle, we made plans to get him the snip as soon as possible. We are pro-gelding around here for a number of reasons, but for the sake of this article, I will specify one in particular: friends.…
Flagging Poppy on the Rail
For Poppy these days, wearing a saddle is no big deal. Nor are many of the things that once bothered her — being touched with a flag, or a rope. She has made huge strides, but there is still prep work to do when it comes to readying Poppy for a rider. One thing we do…
Brandy’s Mouth
For some of us, getting older means our visits with doctors and specialists increase, our bodies requiring more maintenance to remain afloat. And while the same is often true for horses of a certain age, there are some cases when vet care is required less frequently.…
Alumni Update: Miah
Miah was rehomed in early 2023. She is now living with Ashleigh who says Miah is happy and healthy and has two little girls who love her. Miah and Ashleigh’s daughter, Zoey, went to their first performance show together in April.
Jacob’s Return to Work
Jacob, we have learned, vacations well. I love this term, ‘vacations’, and the implications it has for horses (and humans) alike. While I don’t exactly imagine a horse on a beach, sipping piña coladas sprawled out on a lawn chair, the reality isn’t much different: a…
