Alumni Update: Willow
Here are some photos we received from Willow’s adopter. She is very loved by her family and has been with them since 2008! Willow also has a best horse buddy, Saren, who is boarded on the family’s property.
Alumni Update: Mesquite
Mesquite and his family love trail riding on their new 10 acre property and on the many nearby trails in their neighborhood, including a rarely used soft, groomed airstrip!
Limelight Pet Project: Anderson
SAFE is grateful for support of our friends at the Limelight Pet Project who work to help shine the light on harder to place pets. Anderson was recently featured on Q13’s weekend morning show as a result of their work. Here is the longer interview that covers…
Alumni Update: Gunnar
Look at this tall beautiful boy! Gunnar’s adopter recently shared a few photos with us, including some with his best friend, Bryce.
Jollie is Adopted!
Miss Jollie joined her new family in November. Her new name is Liberty, “Libby” for short! She did great on her first ferry boat ride to Vashon Island with her adopter, Mike. She is settling in well and getting to know her new family members. We were able to see the…
Job openings at SAFE
Come work for our horses! SAFE is currently looking for an amazing person to fill some big boots as our Saturday Barn Staff member. Saturday Barn Staff Saturday Barn Staff member, 8am-5pm, $15/hour. Requirements include a minimum 3 years of horse care experience,…
Meet Shortbread and Whisky!
Introducing the newest little members of our herd! Shortbread and Whisky were living in stalls for the last year due to their elderly owners’ failing health. They have been signed over to SAFE and we will be seeking to place them together into a new home. Shortbread…
Alumni Update: Nashville
Here are some photos we received from Nashville’s adopter. Look at their beautiful barn! Nashville shares the barn with 2 goats and her horse buddy, Colville, another recently rescued horse.
Alumni Update: Nadia
Nadia celebrated her 3rd anniversary with her new family back in October! Here are some photos her adopters recently shared with us.
Veronica is Learning the Ropes
What a change Veronica has made in the last few months! She has gone from not wanting to be touched to greeting us at the fence with a nicker and inquisitive eyes. Over the summer Dylan has spent time with this sweet mare to be able to gain her trust to groom and…
Caramel is Coming out of Her Shell
Caramel was one of the Fall City 40 horses, but she is really becoming her own beautiful self. She is very independent and is slowly learning to trust people. She has put on weight, her coat is shiny and full, and that mane of hers is beautiful too! Caramel is still…
Back in the Saddle with Sienna
Sienna, like all the SAFE horses, had some time off this summer due to bad air quality caused by forest fires. But when the smoke had cleared and we started working horses again, Sienna presented with a left front lameness. It appeared to be an abscess but after it…
Piper Works on Steering
One of the ways to make sure Piper is following the rider’s feel and not just the reins is to take the reins away! This young mare is growing up nicely. She is 15h now and still growing and filling out. She still has lots still to learn and change as she develops but…
Beauty Under Saddle?
Beauty’s been enjoying the past year, settling into her life at SAFE. Her friend Jane has helped her become so much happier and relaxed around people. It is clear that Beauty has a riding history and she’s sound, so we thought we would see if she could be a riding…
Alder is Adopted!
A wonderful family picked up Alder back in November. Halle, who is 16 years old, is the PERFECT energy match for this young adventurous boy. They are going to have a blast together and hopefully we’ll see him at a few WASET shows in the future. The family is wonderful…
George’s Second Ride (Video)
George from Casey A. on Vimeo.
Flynn’s First Day Out
Last week was a great one for Flynn! We got the results of his histology test from Pilchuck Report and they found zero cancer cells! We were all concerned that the mass in his eye might be malignant, but the vets have concluded that it was likely a large ulcer caused…
Alumni Update: Atticus
Here are a few photos we received from Atticus’ adopter. What a sweet boy!
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Barb
Here’s a clinic report from Sarah V who worked with Barb, one of the Fall City 40 horses: I’d never worked with Barb before Thursday of the clinic, but was really excited to have the chance. I was onsite in Fall City in July of 2019 when we were trying to separate…
Joel Conner Clinic Update: Sienna
Thank you to Sue C. for this clinic report about her work with Sienna:I had the opportunity to work with Sienna at the November 2020 Joel Conner clinic. It was a great chance for me to take a step back, review, and work on my feel. Sienna knows the moves,…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Anderson
Here’s a report from Scott B who worked with Anderson in the November clinic: I got to ride Anderson last weekend at the clinic. He has clearly been well trained and is super talented. I really enjoyed the weekend as my first time getting to work with Anderson. The…
Zoe is Adopted!
We are so excited for this spunky mare to find her new family! Zoe not only has an amazing human family, but also a new herd mate, a mare named CanD. CanD was rehomed through SAFE’s Community Outreach Program, and the timing ended up being perfect because Zoe needed a…
Alumni Update: Bubbles
Bella (formerly Bubbles) is doing really well living with her best friend, Thunder, in North Carolina. She has a new found love of trail riding and will have her forever home with Mary who adores her.
Successful Surgery for Flynn
Errol Flynn returned home to SAFE yesterday afternoon after a successful surgery to remove his eye and the tumors that were growing there. Pilchuck Vet Hospital reports that they got a good look at the tissue surrounding the mass, and were able to remove it cleanly.…
Banner is Adopted!
Banner is thrilled to be home with his adopter Casey! He has a new best friend named Rowdy and he seems to have settled in well. Casey is a small animal vet and is very happy to have both horses living out their senior years together on her home property! “Banner has…
Jasper’s Journey Ahead
This one is a little bit of a heartbreaker. Jasper has entered the horsemanship program at SAFE and it is clear from his reactions that people have not been kind to him in the past. Jasper’s difficulty with changing eyes and his tense, upright posture show how…
A Boone for us all!
Boone has quickly become a volunteer favorite! This sweet little guy seems to be very adaptable to different situations and loves scratches and attention, especially if you have a snack for him! We have started doing a bit of groundwork with Boone and he has taken to…
Nova, the Stunner
Nova is growing into a stunning young horse! She’s got legs for days and looks a lot like her mom. Nova is definitely lower on the filly totem pole than Pippi or Rae, but this little herd is all best of friends! When Jill joined the filly paddock, Nova was the only…
Piper’s a Riding Horse!
Piper is a riding horse! While she’s still technically in training and on hold, Piper is proving herself to be quite a capable riding partner. In the beginning of her training, Piper was a little dull and didn’t move forward very easily. She has since overcome a lot…
Pippi is Growing Up
Pippi is growing up right before our eyes! In the last clinic, Pippi got her first real taste of groundwork. It’s clear that she is quite herd bound and since she’s been surrounded by people her whole life, has little respect for human personal space. During the…
Lacey Starts Fresh
Lacey Lacey Lacey…what a difficult pony you can be! Lacey participated in the recent Joel Conner clinic and gave the small, social-distanced audience quite a show, bucking and squealing away at the rope. It looks like it’s going to be a long journey for Lacey to…
Merry is a Riding Horse!
After 30 days of professional training and working in SAFE’s horsemanship program, Merry is now a riding horse! She is still very green and can have a bit of an attitude at times, but she’s progressing quickly through training and is ready for an advanced rider who is…
Artie Shaw Crescendos to New Heights
Little mister Artie sure is becoming a gentle little gelding! While he still has quite a ways to go in his training, the amount of improvement that Artie has shown is incredible. It wasn’t that long ago that Artie was the wild stallion kept in the round pen because he…
Introducing Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn is a POA pony in his mid-20s who was surrendered to Animal Control by his owner who could no longer care for him. Flynn’s right eye is badly infected, and vascular mass is growing over his cornea. Unfortunately, this has gone untreated for the past year.…
Sienna’s Stone Bruise
Recently, Sienna showed up lame at the walk. Assuming she had an abscess, we soaked her foot and kept it wrapped in an Epsom salt poultice. When she seemed to stop favoring that foot at the walk, it appeared that she was still off on her front left at the trot. With…
Darling Teddi is Feeling Better
Sweet, smart Teddi seems to be doing well, despite some complications from her previous surgery. Over the summer, it seemed that her lameness was much worse and noticeable at the walk even. Since then, Teddi has been on “stall rest” in her small paddock and seems to…
Billy Settles In
Billy seems to have settled into his new life at SAFE. He’s so quiet in his stall, you could walk right by him with noticing he’s there! He loves his salt block, his meals of timothy and doesn’t seem to mind that volunteers are always fawning over him through his…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Alder
from Kaya M. Alder continues to impress me with how accepting he is of new experiences and learning new things. I think I have been underestimating him! I was a little nervous about the clinic because we’ve never ridden with so many other horses or horses from outside…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Barb
by Kaya M. Sweet Barb is coming along so well with her training! She started the last clinic weekend a little dull and Joel explained that she needed to get her feet a little freer so that she could voice her opinion. We worked a lot on freeing up her feet and…
Poor Rae Rae
Rae recently was seen limping on her front right leg. We had our vet out to look at her and she was diagnosed with white line separation. We treated Rae four times a week with Venice Turpentine, but when out farrier came out a week or so later, she noticed a large and…
Hay Bank Update
by Debbie M, our hay bank admin The Year 2020 is going to go down in the record books for a number of reasons. One of those reasons, unfortunately, is the record number of job losses due to layoffs or shutdowns during the global pandemic. This has put countless…
Welcome Hazel!
We were asked to help with Hazel just a day or so before we lost Callista, so she is part of the SAFE herd in Callista’s memory. Hazel’s 70 year old owner passed away, leaving his 90 year old mother responsible for his estate and his horse. She lived on 20 acres, and…
Amelia is gone
We are literally heartbroken to tell you that early Saturday morning, we lost our dear Amelia. She had a bad bout of colic that started midday on Friday, and nothing that was done for her could relieve the discomfort and pain she was feeling. Every effort was made,…
Banner is Home
Banner made it safely to his new home where he met his new friend Rowdy! The two are getting along great and Banner has settled in nicely. Banner’s adopter Casey is a small animal vet and is very happy to have both horses living out their senior years together on her…
Welcome to SAFE, Billy!
Billy came into SAFE last Tuesday thanks to the help of driver Jane Ostrom Millar and pony wrangler Ian LeFae. He is a 2002 model (18yrs old). Pony type, brown and white paint 10.2h gelding. His R right eye has a blind spot, not painful. He has vision and manages…
A Sad Goodbye to a Special Horse
There’s just no easy way to say this…we had to say goodbye to sweet Callista this evening. 💔 When we first met Callista, we were immediately concerned about the severe muscle atrophy in her right hip. An ultrasound didn’t reveal a fracture, but the amount of…
The Limelight Pet Project Features Beauty
Thanks to The Limelight Pet Project for featuring Beauty! The Limelight Pet Project is a campaign local to Washington that shines a light on harder-to-adopt pets and the people who help them. We were excited to see Beauty this month on Q13 FOX. Here’s the article and…
Friendship Lights Our World!
Our barn bathroom was sad. It had a hole in the ceiling. It was unsightly and a bit drafty. Friends of SAFE to the rescue! SAFE Saturday Volunteer, Sarah McGarr, asked her talented friend, Andrew Perti to come and take a look. Andrew grabbed his tools and went right…
A Virtual Visit with Bowie
In lieu of in-person site visits, we’ve been conducting virtual follow ups with adopted SAFE horses. A SAFE volunteer spoke by phone with Pat, who adopted Bowie. Pat had this to say about her handsome horse: “He is so very happy. If you remember, this is the horse…
Checking in with Gunnar
In lieu of in-person site visits, we’ve been conducting virtual follow ups with adopted SAFE horses. A SAFE volunteer spoke by phone with Carrie, who adopted Gunnar as a companion for her riding horse, Bryce. Gunnar can’t be ridden but he still gets to show off the…
