Jewel

November 2023

From Julie: So yesterday (November 29th) I realized I made a huge, sad blunder. November 4th is Jewel’s adoption day and the day we celebrate her birthday. I’ve never forgotten it — until now. Almost a month late! I felt so bad. I apologized and tried to make it up to her with treats. Jewel is now 12.

Jewel and Julie went camping!!

For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can post updates, photos, and videos of their SAFE horses, to share their progress with the SAFE community!

Jewel Western Dressage test Hollywood Hills Saddle Club Ride and Review:

The cold weather has been hard on all of us. The horses and volunteers had to endure a few weeks of abnormally low temperatures for our area and we are all looking forward to warmer spring and summer months! One of the biggest problems is the very hard ground in our dry lot for turnout. Unfortunately, Jewel went out there and jumped around and came in sore. To help release some of the tight muscles in her neck and hind, Lori spent some time massaging her. She really liked the work and we took this funny video of the great releases she was getting and all the BIG yawns! Jewel is feeling better now and back to work. We are going to make sure that Lori gets to her on a regular basis and have the chiropractor come out again soon. All good things to help her feel her best and like all of us… make it through the cold weather!

Looking good with volunteer rider Sydney!

Jewel is now officially confirmed in her walk trot and canter work under saddle. She’s been getting constant work here at Safe Harbor and has recently added a few new volunteer riders to her workout team. Just five years old this year, Jewel has filled out into a very good looking pony! She is suitable for an intermediate rider, due to her age and just having one year under saddle. She only shows signs of getting better with training. She is uncomplicated to ride, has great ground manners and no vices. We would love to see this girl find her forever home soon! Help us get Jewel a home and open a space for SAFE to pick up another horse in need.

SEE JEWEL IN ACTION at the 2016 SAFE Benefit Horse Show, July 30–31, 2016, at Meadow Wood Equestrian Center in Snohomish. Click here for details about the show!

Claire Crist, a volunteer at SAFE, is doing her senior project by helping horses get trained and adopted at SAFE. Her blog, Finding the Feel, documents her work with SAFE horse Jewel. Read more at http://learning.safehorses.org.

Here are some videos from our ride on Saturday. Jewel’s canter under saddle is improving so much, and she is really getting the hang of turns on the haunches. She’s coming along so well, I can’t wait for the clinic in just a little over a week!

Jewel greeting one of our younger guests at the open house.

Jewel has doing well in her training and riding work with shoes on for the last 6 weeks. Our farrier Marla Karabinos was out yesterday to put a new set on. We discovered that she has a pretty significant bruise along the outside of her right front foot under the shoe. This is her high angled “club” foot and was the reason she got shoes on when we found that the hoof was causing her discomfort. Why she has the bruising on this foot is due to the limb deviation which causes uneven loading. Simply put, she lands heavy on the outside of her right foot and this caused a bruise to form.

We are trying a new set of shoes with leather pads cut to fit just under the shoe. The hope is that this piece of leather might help some of the compression caused when she loads that foot. We are also doing a bit more research to see if there is anything else we can do to help her feel better on that foot. She remains sound for riding so far but the bruise tells us there is a problem. She is stoic so she doesn’t show pain while being worked but she’s extremely sensitive to the hoof testers. We will continue to work on getting her hooves comfortable in hopes to help prevent any long term issues. On a positive note, her left knee has reduced a little in size since the shoes have been put on. The support and trim have helped alleviate some of the stress on that leg. Here are a few pictures to understand what the bruise looks like, the conformation on that right leg and the new shoes we put on yesterday.

We are all very excited that for her senior community service project, volunteer Claire Crist chose SAFE! Here is a little about her first project with Jewel. You can follow her progress online at: http://learning.safehorses.org

“My name is Claire Crist. I’ve been volunteering at a local horse rescue called Save A Forgotten Equine (SAFE) since January 2015. SAFE is a truly remarkable organization filled with people who are committed to the well-being of all horses. Countless horses have passed through SAFE’s doors and been given a second chance at a life they deserved all along. Because of the huge difference SAFE has made in the lives of so many horses, I wanted to give back to this one-of-a-kind organization. To do this, I’m starting a project that involves a combination of community outreach and working with SAFE’s horses to get them ready for adoption.

The first step of this project is assisting in the training of Jewel, a four-year-old paint pony. She’s a pretty special girl—quiet, gentle and just wants to get along with people. When Jewel came to SAFE at less than a year old, she was infested with lice, emaciated, and had facial indentations from a halter that was too small for her. SAFE took her in and helped her make a full recovery from her neglect. This spring, Jewel was started under saddle and is coming along excellently, thanks to some help from trainer and clinician Joel Conner. She’s teaching me a lot too!

To further her training, Jewel and I will be riding in the Buck Brannaman clinic in Spanaway, WA from October 30th to November 2nd. Buck Brannaman is a world-famous natural horsemanship clinician who travels the country helping horses and people work together. A huge part of SAFE’s mission is to have their horses experienced and educated before adoption for the good of both horses and people. This clinic will be an indispensable opportunity for Jewel; it will help her become the best horse she can be for whoever is lucky enough to adopt her. We are so excited, but we need your help to make this happen! Even a small donation makes a huge difference. Our fundraising goal is $1,000 which covers the clinic fee, transportation, and the cost to house Jewel in Spanaway.

Please check back often to follow our progress! I will be posting regular updates of how Jewel is doing and a summary of what we learned at the clinic. This little horse is going to make someone very happy!”

Volunteer rider Claire has taken on Jewel as her special project. She has been working with her since just before the SAFE show and there have been some great changes since then. Here is an update from Claire about how things are going so far:

“Jewel is an absolute delight to work with, especially now that she and I have gotten some valuable help from Joel. I’ve started being more clear and assertive when asking her to move forward, but also just “getting in and getting out” so she has a better chance for success. We went from ears-pinned, crow-hopping when asking her to just trot, to moving out at walk, trot and canter off of practically just my seat (with a few “reminders” here and there!). As Joel suggested, we have been practicing backing circles and short serpentines to help her carry more of her weight on her hind end as oppose to her front end. Jewel has a bit of a club foot and crooked leg so it will help her a lot to keep the weight off of this foot as much as possible. Because she is so heavy on the forehand, backing circles has been challenging for her but she is starting to develop a really nice reach. We are also still working on yielding the hind correctly—when I first started working with her she tried to do this with no bend in her body and pivoting on her inside front foot (which means she is just bracing), but now she is starting to step under really nicely with an actual bend. We still have a lot of work to do, but she is coming along so well! Her personality is just fantastic, she is very quiet not spooky at all. I get the sense that she just wants to be around people and to get along. She is such a great little horse, I love working with her!”

It may or may not be a secret but I LOVE this little mare SO much! She has grown into the cutest little quarter horse mare. She looks like a little miniature version of Finn and we all love his nice hindquarters! We recently brought both Jewel and Stella in from foster for a little training. One of the goals is to see how well Jewel does in work with her crooked front leg. 

Sydney is volunteering for her senior project and Jewel has become one of her training horses for the next 3 weeks. So far they have worked on remembering some of the light groundwork we had did with Jewel before she left Safe Harbor last fall to go into foster. Sydney reports that Jewel is doing well with the desensitization to the flag, as well as lunging and maintaining a bending circle. Sydney has even tried a light saddle on her back to help her get used to having tack on and the noises that a saddle makes. 

Jewel is a sensitive mare but she has quite a tough outer layer. She has a slight stubbornness to her but she is also very interested in being with you and interested in what you are asking. It will be neat to see how she progresses over the next few weeks and if she is able to stay sound for the work. We sure hope this little mare can be a riding horse, she has so much personality to offer!

Jewel doing groundwork with Sydney

Terry and Jewel working together at liberty

Terry and her team spend time teaching the SAFE horses the small but important skills they’ll need once they’re adopted. Some of the horses still object to the spray bottle (I’m looking at you, Kai!) but Jewel is completely unfazed.

Dr King of Pilchuck Vet Hospital came out to SHS and donated her time to give lameness exams to some of the SAFE horses. We asked her to take a look at Miss Jewel, and her assessment of Jewel’s crooked leg was not half bad. In fact, she told us she’s seen perfectly sound horses in full training with much worse looking limbs. Jewel was not lame during the exam, and Dr King indicated she’d like to see her again after she’s had some hard work to see if the lameness presents itself more clearly. But overall she was positive about our little princess and said to give her some more time and keep up the good regular trimming.

Jewel Groundwork

Jewel Lunging

Jewel is doing well, learning to lunge and develop some ground manners. She still pulls on the halter when lunging and she overreacts when asked to go out on the circle. Treatment to the injury she sustained to her left hind foot was actually beneficial to desensitizing her to having her feet handled. I really concentrated on this every time a lot and last week, when Daphne trimmed her, she was perfect! Jewel does seem to be very stiff and sore when moving and we’ve noticed that she continually rests her larger left knee when in her stall or sleeping. It’s beginning to look she she will need more time before she will be ready to start under saddle, even though she’s almost three years old. We’re probably going to need to give her more time for growing over the summer and reassess her in the fall.

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 can’t help stopping to say hi when you hear that soft knicker behind the stall door.  She is quiet and calm all day with the busy barn life going on around her.  I personally think she may be under the impression that she is at a spa.  Deep bedded stall, room service and daily visits from her hair and grooming specialists.  While grooming and braiding her hair, Jewel has a relaxed soft eye.  I’ll have to say she is the absolute cleanest looking horse in the barn!  We did try a few toys hanging in the stall but she really wasn’t too interested in them and she seems very content looking out her window and nibbling from her hay bag.

The area that was lacerated is a hard place to keep from moving.  So she has not been allowed to go out of her stall during this critical healing time.  I am hopeful each time the bandage is changed that the vets will say she is free to go play in the arena.  Although it is healing well, with no signs of proud flesh or infection, it is defiantly taking its time.  Meanwhile we keep giving her lots of special attention and tons of kisses—she is such a doll!

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 in a location where stitches were not an option. So the leg was carefully wrapped to keep the wound clean and Jewel was put on stall rest. Antibiotics and pain relievers were prescribed. Aftercare instructions included every-other-day bandage changes.

At first, Jewel tolerated the treatments well. But she eventually grew tired of it and over the recent weekend the bandage change turned into a major battle. With oral sedatives on board, three people working to distract her, and multiple restraint strategies in play, Jewel was determined to lob strong kicks at SAFE Barn Manager Terry each time she attempted to touch the leg. After it became apparent that the safety of the handlers was in jeopardy, the decision was made to call the vet out (another Saturday emergency call!!) to utilize IV sedation to get the bandage change completed.

Jewel continued to battle, even after IV sedation, and the vet (who initially found it amusing that he was being called out for a bandage change) agreed it was necessary and suggested that she would need sedation again for the next treatment. Fortunately, the wound is not infected. But it is in an area where movement inhibits healing, so Jewel is on lockdown in her stall to try to facilitate the healing.

Jewel has been a tough nut since the day she became a SAFE horse. We have worked hard to teach her that people can be trusted and are her friends. Terry has invested significant time teaching her good manners on the ground. It is unfortunate that this injury has created a situation where Jewel’s opinion of people has been negatively impacted. We will get her through this medical issue, and then go back to work on her trust and behavior. We are committed to this young mare and helping her become a good equine citizen so she can find her forever home with a person of her own. 

Curious Jewel sniffs noses with a reindeer-brave little girl!

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 and is quite sensitive under her mask of confidence. When she is about to or has done something wrong, just using your voice to correct her can be all she needs to make the right decision.

Jewel still is quite young and has “baby” energy that needs to be released. We have yet to find her a perfect turnout pal since the other playful horses get too aggressive with her and she thus returns with squeals and kicks to protect herself.  Savannah has been an ok companion for some turnout. However she would rather look for hay on the ground than engage with Jewel so it doesn’t solve the dilemma to finding her a buddy to help let out the energy. So for now, I get to be her “play” friend and she loves to chase down the yoga ball or run in the arena as I make a fool of myself running and playing till she thinks it’s a good idea to join in the fun! It’s quite comical but gets her to play without feeling like anyone is chasing her around.

While this mare comes across as having thick skin and maybe a little pushy, it has been my experience that she really just needs to learn her place and good social skills. Jewel is learning quickly that I will love on her with all my heart but she has to show respect and follow lead I am offering. She really wants to be the teachers pet!

A little dirty after a good roll

When I was told that Jewel would be moving back from foster, I was warned she had a history of being a bit of a stinker.  I thought for a long time on how to prepare the barn for this little rebel and what ways I could set her up for a successful transition.  We played a little musical stalls and left an open space between her and the other horses to ensure no kicking or broken fences to mend!

When I heard the trailer pulling up I was ready for a sassy little mare to pop out but to my astonishment this fluffy doll face peaked out from the trailer and walked off like she been in and out of trailers a thousand times!  She walked easily into her new stall and pleasantly began eating her hay.  She fit right into the routine of the barn and never once squealed or kicked at her stall and instead knickers to her neighbor Miah.  I think she is laughing at me for being so careful but better to be over prepared.

I turn her out in the arena for a little play time and she bucks a few good ones then comes to me for some love and to be taken out for grass turnout. She is currently going out with Maggie and Miah.  The two older mares are a little annoyed by the little youngster but over all they graze quietly near each other.   She plays a bit, loves to roll in the dirt, and sometimes give a few good bucks before relaxing in for some grazing.

Jewel enjoys turnout with Maggie & Miah

She is a bit on the skinny side, probably due to a little growth spurt this summer, so we are giving her lots of good hay and some rice bran and vitamins to help.  Her winter coat is also well on its way.  She has been pleasant to groom and I have begun working with her on some basic ground manners.  She is easy to halter and leads well however she is still hesitant to halt or backup but after a few easy corrections she is able to do both on command.

Last week we started to introduce the “dreaded” fly spray bottle.  Her foster mom had done some work with this as well but she is still very afraid of it and did protest; nothing too bad just a roll of the head and a few scoots away from the bottle.  We ended the session on a good note and accomplished a little spray touching her shoulders. We will continue to work on establishing trust and ground manners but would love for this youngster to get another great foster or better yet to find her forever home with lots of room for this little one to play.

She may have a few little jagged edges to polish out but I believe that it won’t take long until this jewel shines like a diamond!

It’s been a while since we updated Jewel’s page, and last time we reported about her, things were not going perfectly for this little gal. She was having a rough time getting along with other horses, and she was showing some conformation issues that had us a little bit worried for her future. But things have improved for Jewel over the last several weeks, and we have some more uplifting news to report.

First off, we had her examined by a veterinarian to get a second opinion on her physical condition and conformation, and the prognosis was a lot more positive than we were expecting. She does show some lateral rotation in her right front leg, but she tested sound at the trot in both directions. The vet feels that the RF rotation is fairly mild and likely won’t prevent her from being used as a riding horse. She also thinks it is likely to continue to improve as her chest expands as she grows. So she’s essentially been cleared to start training. We won’t be starting her until next year when we’re confident that she is fully three years old.

Her behavior has also continued to improve, and we are very grateful to Jewel’s foster mom, Janelle, for working with her on her issues. She’s getting along better with her herd mates, and this past weekend, she allowed Janelle to give her a bath. Well…half a bath…she did well with the scrubbing and soaping on one side of her body, but when the hose came out to rinse her off, she had some objections to it…so she got half a bath, and Janelle will try to wash her second side another day. On the plus side, her bath revealed some LOVELY dapples…she’s blossoming into a gorgeous filly!!

Report from trainer Brittney Stewart on her visit with Jewel today:

Jewel was fine to handle. I did have a sharp growl at her when I went to halter her and I thought she was thinking of showing me her hindquarters. She submitted to haltering and was good about the exam. A little squirrelly unsure, but Dr Megan McCracken got done what was needed. 

She said she is sound and we can start training her. As her chest fills out she’ll look less crooked. She thinks her putting on weight is why it looks less crooked. Being super picky, Megan said she has a little more effusion right hock and left stifle, but that can just be Jewell’s normal way. 

Trotting cantering in uneven field of slippery rocks she looked sound. She had one lame step to right, but it was really rocky and slick, so Megan said she wouldn’t count that against her and looked sound going to the right afterwards.

Jewel has been making great progress with the help of her foster mom, Janelle, but she’s had some recent setbacks that have us a little worried. Janelle recent adopted an older gelding from NWESC, and brought him home to join Jewel and her daughter’s pony Lucky. Jewel took an immediate dislike to the new horse, and began displaying some extreme aggressive behaviors toward him. In particular, she started kicking the walls of her stall so hard that the noise travelled all the way to the house, and made Janelle worry that she would injure herself. The new horse has gone off for a month of training, so some peace has returned to Janelle’s farm, but now Jewel is beginning to behave aggressively toward Lucky who she used to get on well with. This anti-social behavior has us worried.

Jewel has done very well in her ground work training with Janelle, so she’s made a few attempts to test her progress by having her husband work with her, with mixed results. She’s still got a long way to go before she can be safely handled by just anyone.

We’re also troubled by the fact that Jewel recently lost a front incisor, which could indicate that she is closer to 2.5 years old, instead of a yearling as we were originally told. She has one leg with some significant crookedness that we’ve hoped would improve with age, but if she’s older than we thought, that possibility becomes less likely. This concerns us because it calls her future soundness and suitability as a riding horse into question.

In the meantime, she is filling out nicely and has shed out most of her winter fuzzies, revealing a pretty palomino and white coat, which reminds us a little bit of Misty of Chincoteague! We’ll keep you posted on her progress.

A terrific update from Jewel’s foster mom! Thank you Janelle for taking such wonderful care of this filly!

Just wanted to let you all know that Jewel has been doing really well. She has calmed down tremendously and is not spooking as easily, especially with being touched. Yesterday, I went into the barn to let the horses down to the pasture and she was laying down in her stall. She let me come right up to her and I sat quietly with her for a few minutes, petting her neck and face. She was so relaxed and happy, it felt good to see her like that.

I have been working with her using clicker training, and am happy to report that it is coming along well. She is not pushy or mouthy getting treats. Also, the clicking sound doesn’t scare her anymore like it used to. she is letting me toss the lead rope over her back, butt and around her back legs all while standing still, with no halter, free, and in the paddock. I want her to know that she can walk away if she wants, but I am trying to teach her that it is more rewarding to stay still than move anywhere. She is making huge strides in this direction. As a side note, she lets me run my hands all down all of her legs. I have not yet gotten to the point where I am picking up her feet, but that will start soon.

She is also coming up to me in the pasture so that I can put her halter on. I don’t have to chase her or trick her or anything. I hold the halter right where she can see it so she knows about it and can make the decision to come anyway. I have found the best way to get her haltered with little to no problems is to first let her come up to me. Then I put the lead rope around her neck from under her neck, not over her neck (so, I swing it over her neck from the far side of where I am standing). I then drop the led and put her halter on, and she stands really still for me.

I have also started to have my husband do some clicker work with her. I want her to learn to trust multiple people in multiple situations. Daphne is coming soon to trim her feet again so it will be another good learning opportunity for Jewel. She doesn’t really like Daphne (she makes her do horrible things like pick her feet up!), but she respects her. I am hoping we wont have to use the rope to pick her back legs up at all. We’ll see how that goes. I’ll give you another update after her trim.

Oh, one last thing, she is growing like a weed! I am going to stick her soon so I can start keeping track of how fast she is actually growing. I think she’s going to be a big girl.

Here’s an update from Jewel’s fabulous foster mom, Janelle!

Jewel is looking better!