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.
