Kelly is Adopted!
Kelly was the last of the Graham horses to arrive at SAFE, but no less loved. Actually, she quickly cemented herself as a volunteer favorite (we all know size doesn’t matter, but it’s hard not to instantly love the really big and really small ones). It was really her…
Barb’s Recent Daze
Oh little barb! What have you been up to? Well, for starters, she was turned out with a herd again — do you hear that sigh of relief? Finally, she said. Back in her old stomping grounds, living with other mares 24/7. Getting into trouble, of course. We have to watch…
Nova’s Training Looks
Our lady Nova has been off at training for the last little while, and while we miss her tall, dark, and handsome self, we couldn’t be happier that she is getting a quality education under the blue skies of Ellensburg. Nova will likely always be a mare who is her best…
Handsome Jacob
If you’re looking for a photogenic horse, a horse who practically poses for you when you take out your camera, then look no further than Jacob. Well, ok, Jacob and Edward — they’re kind of a matched set, and the way they play off one another’s energies is second to…
Heroic Henry
Two weeks ago, we reported that Henry had regressed in his training a bit, becoming unfocused and exhibiting herd-bound behavior. A new routine was established for him: stand tied in the big covered arena while Jax gets worked, followed by some moving and flagging…
Otto is Adopted!
Otto was born to the desert, raised alongside sun-warmed rocks and plump lizards in the wilds of Nevada. He was rounded up, tattooed, and, via some circumstances unknown to us, found his way to Washington. A boy of only three, some of his adult teeth still sitting…
A Bath for Moshi
Being a horse at SAFE means many things: you get fed three times a day (if not more), you always have fresh clean water, you get daily vitamins and minerals, you make new friends on two legs and four, and you learn a whole lot of things. We do our best to prepare our…
Tiva’s Journey, So Far
I’d written an article some months ago documenting Tiva’s journey with the intention of having a video to accompany it, showcasing the immense amount of progress she has made since she first stepped off that trailer over a year ago, snorting and scared. But as it has…
Summertime Bijou
As the days slide along and we begin to cruise into the summer months of long sun and warm weather, as the ground dries up and we ask ourselves ‘mud? What mud?,’ as we open our pastures and slowly introduce our herd to grass, the horses make the transition to living…
Arrow’s First Bath
The first glimpse we had of Arrow was of a slender buckskin horse curled up in the back of a paddock, sternal like a cat in the ‘loaf’ position, watching over his surroundings. He rose slowly, in no hurry to greet us, accepting our invitation to come over and say…
Brave Roy
In my time at SAFE, I’ve learned a thing or two about horses. One of the things I learned is that the majority of them love power tools. If you have to fix a fence or drill in some hardware nearby, even the more timid horses will inquire as to what you are up to. But…
Thank you Blue Spruce!
We have several retaining walls around our property and it has come time to give them a little updating. This task was originally a little daunting both because of the price of railroad ties and the amount of labor necessary, but, thanks to the Nichols family at Blue…
Alumni Update: Moon
Moon is very happy being a beautiful pasture ornament, hanging out with her animal friends and greeting visitors to the farm. Her best friend is a draft gelding named Goliath. She especially enjoys having a friend her own size for mutual grooming. In addition to…
Addie, Ready for Adoption!
Addie arrived at SAFE back in November of 2022, as part of the Graham 27 seizure. She was the youngest of the Graham group, with a dental putting her at around 5 years old. And while her exact breed makeup is unknown, Addie proves you can be every bit as cute even…
Alumni Update: George
We recently heard from George’s adopter who said: “George is doing phenomenally. We haven’t had time to hit any “real” trails yet but since the daylight has been sticking around longer in the evenings we have been working on our confidence moving off on solo rides…
Edward, Back to Work
Since healing from his popped splint, Edward has been on the mend and back in work. Edward is a special guy. He is definitely the kind of horse who, if he knows you and trusts you, allows you to get a lot more done. Whatever happened in Edward’s past, a…
Going the Distance with Montana
From the moment he arrived at SAFE, Montana garnered a lot of attention. He is a flashy-looking horse, and with his medicine hat markings and pretty blue eyes, it’s no wonder he had people immediately smitten. But Montana was — is — troubled. He had a rough start in…
Figuring Out Henry
Figuring out horses is a thing we have to do a lot here at SAFE. Rarely do they come with instructions. Their histories often begin at the point where they’re rescued, and we can usually only guess at what their lives were like before. We watch for clues or hints. We…
Bandit & Brandy on Grass
If you were to stay at the Brandy and Bandit Bed and Breakfast (only fun to say because of all the alliteration, and goodness me, try saying ‘Brandy and Bandit’ ten times fast), you would find that grass is newly on the menu. These two ladies have been spending a bit…
Meet Arrow
A handsome stallion joined our herd last week — an 18 year old buckskin boy named Arrow. He was an owner surrender, and while he is overdue for some basic care and in need of groceries, he has clearly had some good experiences in his past given how gentle he has shown…
Alumni Update: Rhythm
What a cute selfie of these two! Rhythm and her adopter competed in low-level eventing for 10 years, but nowadays Rhythm and her pasture mate, a 27-year-old retired roping horse, enjoy their time just being horses and going on a couple of rides a week. [gallery…
Irene is Adopted!
This is a record breaking adoption!! Our Irene was at SAFE for a short 3.5 weeks and it only took 11 days for Irene’s new adopter, Stanalee, to meet her and fall in love. That’s incredible! Stanalee came to us looking for a pasture mate for her mare, Kihanna (a SAFE…
Domino’s Days
What has our rodeo king been up to in his spare time? Well, mostly Domino is still just patiently waiting for his person to show up. This sweet old gent is ready for a nice and easy retirement, ideally alongside a pushover gelding or a nice mare he can romance. Domino…
Terrific Tanis
Volunteer Meghan N has been spending most of her weekday afternoons with Tanis for almost a year now, and took the time to write a bit about their partnership over the last months: “Yet again, Tanis impresses us with the huge amount of try she has! This…
Alumni update: Bowie
Bowie is doing entirely well in his loving adoptive home with his friend Raven. Although would like to be, he is not on pasture right now because he is on a diet. He needs to lose some weight so he is currently in a gravel paddock and will be back on the trails once…
Cramer is Adopted!
Once upon a time, there was a big bay horse. Before he came to SAFE, he had cut his teeth at the rodeo, used for years as a bucking horse. When his quarter ran out, he was relegated to a practice horse for people to hone their skills, and when his time there was done,…
Meet Roy!
Our newest addition has a very sad story and once again we are so thankful for the animal control officers in Pierce County for their gallant efforts to help horses in our community. Roy was part of a herd of 7 horses, sadly two were euthanized on the property, one at…
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…
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…
Jax’s Back
As is the case with any new horse, it takes some time before we get to know them. That period of unknowing that comes before knowing is always so strange to reflect on – the hidden personalities that lurk beneath the surfaces, waiting to be teased out by proper care…
Nova at Training
What is that saying, girls go to college to get more knowledge? (I think there’s a part about boys in there too, but it’s a little less kind). The girl in question here is Nova, and the college is a place in Ellensburg with teacher, Dylan Palm. With a great start…
GiveBIG May 2–3rd
Each first Tuesday in May, Washington Gives promotes participating nonprofits through their online giving platform to help individuals and businesses discover and donate to nonprofits in Washington State. You can support SAFE during GiveBIG by clicking here.
Veronica’s Tarp Journey
Where do ‘grandma’s horses’ come from, what are their origins? Just as all grandmas were once young women, some surely more wild than others, such must be the same for the horses who earn this moniker. Continuing the metaphor, on the ground, Veronica is closer to…
Frosting’s First Ride
The Frosting who arrived at SAFE at the beginning of 2021 was a scraggly creature, barely half a panel high at the wither, and covered in a ratty, matted coat. She was just shy of a year old then, and still clacking at every horse around her to remind them that she…
Ride, Darla, Ride
While Darla is ready to leave the nest and embark on her next big adventure alongside a lucky adopter, we are happily enjoying the time we still get to spend alongside this special girl. Kaya M, Darla’s primary rider, has been putting in a lot of work to prepare this…
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Zelly
Kaya M brought Zelly into the groundwork portion of the March Joel Conner clinic, and had the following to say about her experience there as well as her observations of Zelly under saddle: “They say that being around smart people makes you smarter and I think that…
Health Update: Declan
Since arriving at SAFE, Delcan has been a little bit off, physically. Granted, he’s an older gentleman, and with the wisdom of age comes less desirable things, like arthritis, but we still wanted to check him out with our vets. To add another layer, when he first…
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Eleven
Sue C partnered up with Eleven at the March Joel Conner clinic, and had the following to say about their time together: “I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Eleven at the March 2023 Joel Conner clinic. Eleven is a lovely 24 year old Percheron cross…
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Betty
Candi K recently worked alongside Betty in the March Joel Conner clinic, and had the following to say about their time together: “At first glance you might think Betty is big and assuming but once you look into her eyes you will see a gentle soul. At all of 5’1” I…
Hopper and Sparrow Move to SAIN
Hopper and Sparrow made their way to Skagit Animals in Need where they will enjoy life in their foster program (with new buddies!) until SAIN is able to find them a loving retirement home. We are very thankful to partner with SAIN to help find these boys homes and…
Artie Out on the Town
Given how mellow he has been under saddle thus far, we had no reason to believe that Artie would not be able to find as much comfort in his rider outside the arena as he did within it. And our hypothesis was proved correct when taking him out for the first time for a…
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Brandy
Carrie S participated in the March Joel Conner clinic alongside Brandy, and had the following to say about their experience together: “I had the opportunity to work with Brandy during the groundwork portion of the Joel Conner Clinic in March of 2023. Brandy had…
Quincy, back at SAFE
Easy has never been a word one would associate with Quincy. He first came to SAFE back in the beginning of February 2021 as an anxious stallion, incredibly reluctant to be caught and very nervous to be handled. He was gelded here, and a lot of time was spent to gentle…
Darla, out and about
With the onset of nicer weather comes the shedding of many things: layers, coats, and roofs. The latter of which doesn’t actually go anywhere, rather we just get out from under them. Walks around the property are a great first step for prepping horses for the trails,…
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Darla
Kaya M rode Darla in the March Joel Conner clinic, and wrote the following about their time together: “Darla is really starting to show what she’s capable of and the March clinic proved that she’s much more capable, understanding, and prepared to handle difficult…
