Sapphire

Sapphire is responding well to ulcer treatment and has not experienced any colic symptoms since the treatment began.

She is also going well at the walk, trot, and canter.

Since last fall, our “Arabian Gem” Sapphire has had 3 separate mild colic episodes. The first two were easily managed with pain reliever, walking and monitoring. The most recent event, at the end of March, required an emergency vet call to get her feeling better.

Having eliminated parasites and sand as factors, we are now looking a little deeper for the potential cause of her digestive issues. She is a sensitive Arabian mare who sometimes worries about things, so we are currently exploring treatment for ulcers as a possibility to keep her healthy. Dr. Mueller is scheduled to evaluate her shortly and we will keep you updated on what decisions are made.

Aside from the occasional tummy ache, Sapphire continues to do well under the guidance of trainer Kim Lacy. She is going walk, trot and canter but Kim reports she is still a bit “sticky” to the leg and opinionated. They are able to work through it and it is progressively getting better. Kim thinks Sapphire would enjoy a trail ride. We will see if we can make that happen soon! Also Kim has yet to put any other riders on her yet but feels she is ready to have someone else try her. I will be planning a trip up there shortly and will take more videos and pictures of her. She had a possible stone bruise this past week so we are waiting for her to get over that and then plan a visit.

SAFE Volunteer Manager Heather shared these photos of Sapphire on the SAFE Tumblr page. I asked her to fill us in on how our girl is faring at her foster home. “I take lesson there on Saturdays,” Heather explained, “and I get to spend time with Sapphire. She spent the summer taking it easy. We all know how much Sapphire loves relaxing and grazing. She also gets to enjoy the company of SAFE Alumni Ginger. Now that summer is over, it’s time to start back to work for her. I can’t wait to hear how she does and see her in action!”

The next lucky SAFE horse to work with trainer Kim Lacy is Sapphire, who made the move to Hidden Falls Farm in Arlington today. Here’s Kim with her new student, ready for action!

Sapphire wore a saddle for the first time today as a SAFE horse, and she was a champ! Terry was even able to lay across her back and have a volunteer lead her around the arena for a few steps. Great work, Sapphy!!

We had a pretty big setback with Sapphire after Sasha’s passing. We’ve been doing ground work with her to gain her trust, and she regressed quite a bit and started showing some aggressive behavior again. But thankfully, by the end of the month, she was getting back to where she’d been before. Sadly she may always have aggressive tendencies, especially around food. It remains very important that our volunteers remember this and do not attempt to clean around her in her stall when there is hay or grain present. We’ve already had at least one incident of a volunteer forgetting this rule and being kicked at after disturbing Sapphire during a meal. And although the volunteer admitted that she knew better, it is still alarming to us to see Sapphire behave that way. Like many horses who have been starved, Sapphire will always need to be handled with care and focus. She’s not a bad horse, but she’s lived through some bad times. Hopefully with consistent handling, she will learn that we mean her no harm.

SAFE Harbor volunteer Heather E has been interacting with Sapphire since her arrival at SAFE, and they’ve developed an interesting relationship. We asked Heather to share her experience with this lovely but troubled horse:

Sapphire is one of the most welcoming horses at SHS. She will pop her head out of her window and nicker a warm “Hello” every morning. I like to think it’s because she’s happy to see us but it might be more about the hay we bring her. 

Early on, I decided to try and spend as much time with her as I can. In the beginning, she just barely tolerated me. I got the pinned ears, stiff body, and mean face. But slowly we’ve established a relationship. She walks to turn out with me, like the grey lady she is. I am now able to groom her with no problems. I’ve also noticed she is not as reactive to having her legs touched. Sapphire and I are working up to me picking her hooves and I’m looking forward to that day. She is such an affectionate horse. She follows you around the arena seeking attention or stand at her gate for a nose scratch. I’m still trying to convince her that she wants my kisses! It’s a work in progress…

Terry has invited me to watch Sapphire during her training with Laura. The first session I saw was not a stellar day for Sapphire. She was testing her limits and challenging who was in charge. By the end, she pulled herself together and was doing what was asked, grudgingly. The next training session was better. Sapphire was more willing, less questioning, and she was learning. She still, however, has her moments of acting out inappropriately. It hasn’t been unprovoked behavior lately but more because she’s being asked to do something that’s hard or new. 

I am truly hopeful that Sapphire has turned a corner in her life and mindset. There is still a lot of work ahead but her cheering section is big. All of us at SAFE are Sapphire’s 12th man. 

Our pretty grey Arab Sapphire has been a challenge since the moment we met her, displaying unpredictable bouts of overreactive behavior that make her the sort of horse that you don’t want to turn your back on. From what little we know about her background and where she came from, she probably has fairly good reasons for being on her guard with humans, having suffered abusive treatment in the past. But now we need Sapphire to adapt to her new life where she will always be treated fairly, and it’s a struggle for her at times.

Sapphire and Sasha

Sapphire has a nickering welcome for the people around her, and she can be a very good girl when she wants to be. But we’ve had more than one episode where she has bitten or attempted to bite the volunteers who clean her stall, causing us to have to put restrictions on who is allowed to handle or get near her. Terry is doing ground work with her on a daily basis in an attempt to teach her what types of behavior are acceptable and unacceptable. She’s also being lunged at all three gaits, and is finally starting to get the hang of that exercise. Sapphire is bright and responsive, and quite able to learn, which is a positive thing. It is just going to take time and patience to undo the damage that was done to her in her former life, and establish new behaviors.

She’s spending her time with her doppleganger, Sasha, and the two mares get along well in turnout and side by side in their paddocks.

This lovely creature is Sapphire, a 9 year old Arabian mare who was rescued from a neglect/abuse situation. She came to us with lacerations around her hind legs from being tangled in rope, several feet of her tail burnt off, and some alarming behavior. She’s been sequestered at NWESC for the last seven weeks while Dr Hannah worked on her injuries and got her accustomed to being handled and now she is at SAFE Harbor, where we have finally gotten to see her sweet side! She’s being handled very very carefully, but she has made tremendous progress since her rescue. Welcome, Sapphire!!

Terry had this to report about Sapphire, who has been at SAFE Harbor for one week now:

“She was a great girl today. Stood for grooming, all good except for back feet, we didn’t push it today. She haltered a few times and over all just took sometime letting her know I’m a friend. She is very sweet with lots of nickers when you go to her stall.”

Here are some photos that Terry took of Sapphire today. As you see, she is looking much better than she did at intake, but her leg still shows signs of her injury, even after two months of treatment. You can also see what was left of her tail after the burned parts were removed. 

Here’s video of Sapphire playing in the arena after the work party ended. She seemed to be having a blast!

Sapphire was living in a situation of neglect on a local reservation. Animal Control officers in King County had been monitoring the mare’s condition for a period of time, but when tribal police found her running loose down a road, SAFE was called in to negotiate a surrender with the horse’s owner. Sapphire was signed over to SAFE, and taken immediately to NWESC for treatment of several wounds she had sustained, most notably a series of infected lacerations caused by a rope that had been wound around her hind legs. A large section of her tail had been burnt off at some point as well. Sapphire also displayed some alarming behavior — squealing, striking, and cow-kicking to be specific — that left us very concerned that she might be too dangerous to be handled safely by the volunteers at SAFE Harbor Stables. Because of this, we chose to sequester her at NWESC while her wounds were being treated by Dr Hannah. Hannah was able to make a great deal of progress with her during the seven weeks they were together, and she was released to SAFE Harbor Stables. Since she’s been home, we’ve been treated to glimpses of Sapphire’s sweet side…nickering, watching the activity around her with great interest, enjoying a romp in the arena, and best of all, forming the start of a friendship with barn manager, Terry Phelps. We are still handling her with great care, but we are starting to think that she is going to be okay.