Adoption Announcment: Dottie!
A truly wonderful thing has happened: Dottie’s foster family has decided that they can’t live without her and made her part of their family permanently! She is comfortable and very happy with her home and all the animals living with her. She has constant companionship…
Asha Is Home in Redmond.…But Not For Long!
Asha recently completed her training with Nick Donahue and is back at SAFE. She had a slow start in training because she got a sinus infection before starting work and needed antibiotics to get rid of it. Once she was well, Nick took some time on the ground to help…
Adoption Announcment: Kat!
Adoptions are always wonderful to announce but this one has a very special joy around it. Lovely Kat has found a forever home! Long time volunteer and alumni manager Shar has opened her home and family to give this very deserving mare a safe and loving home. We are…
Adoption Announcment: Moon!
We are excited to announce that Moon has found a wonderful forever home! During her time at SAFE, Moon received needed medical and farrier work, but unfortunately, she was never 100% sound on her front left hoof. While she is very comfortable in turnout, we decided…
Conversations: Radio Interview with SAFE Executive Director Bonnie Hammond
Aired Sunday, September 29, 2019 on 5 Entercom radio stations in Seattle
Three New Intakes at SAFE
SAFE welcomed three new horses to the herd today. These horses were badly neglected, starved, and in desperate need of veterinary care when they were seized from their owner by Pierce County Animal Control. A fourth horse that was also seized with this group was…
Valor Gets a Bone Scan
Valor took a trip to Rainland Farm Equine Clinic for his bone scan procedure at the end of September. It was great to be able to get some concrete answers and know where his lameness issues really lie. The trouble with a bone scan is that it can reveal a large number…
Slim’s Hoof Saga Continues
Slim has been battling osteomyelitis in his coffin bone for a couple of months now. We thought we were seeing improvement but then he hit a snag with another recurring abscess just below his coronary band. No matter how much soaking and pouticing we did, the abscess…
An Answer for Amelia: Health Update
Troubleshooting Amelia’s stomach problems has been an ongoing struggle since we got her. She’s only had one minor colic episode, but she has had off and on loose stool from the get go. We’ve tried all sorts of things. She’s been on different probiotics, elimination…
Someone Loves Orion!
it’s Roxanne, his adopter! The two are doing great!!
A Great Horse Has Gone
We are deeply saddened to tell you that SAFE horse Honeycutt left this world on Monday. His loss has left a huge hole in our organization, our barn, and our hearts. Honeycutt was about 22 years old and already battling Cushing’s Disease when he became ill. And…
Dear Chance, Rest in Peace
Tragic news from Tracy G, who adopted and loved Chance: I can’t believe I am writing this and I don’t even really know what to say… so, here goes whatever. I lost Chance, my fur baby and best friend, on Saturday. We were doing some really great groundwork at liberty…
Anderson: Clinic Update
Here is what Kaya had to say about Anderson in the Horsemanship clinic this past September: This clinic with Anderson was a huge learning experience for me. I went into the weekend feeling confident about Anderson, but knew that we needed to work on having more life…
Luna is a Riding Horse!
Luna is doing great in training down in Oregon with Nick Donohue. Here’s a recent video of this former broodmare taking big steps towards a great new life!
Valor, Renee, and Zoe Take a Field Trip
About a month ago, a company that puts on continuing education seminars for veterinarians reached out to us to see if we had any horses they might be able to use for an upcoming course at Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital in September. The topics were centered around…
The Limelight Pet Project Features Lacey
Thanks to The Limelight Pet Project for featuring Lacey! 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’re delighted they chose Lacey to share this month on Q13 FOX. Here’s the…
Limelight Pet Project: Meet Lacey!
POSTED 9:59 AM, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 Link to article on Q13 website: https://q13fox.com/2019/09/10/lime-light-pet-project-meet-lacey/ SEATTLE — If you love horses- and are looking for one- this gorgeous mare may be the one for you. Q13 is partnering with the Limelight…
Redmond Reporter: More than 100 horses are being hoarded by a nonprofit in Puget Sound
Under guise of nonprofit caring for rescued horses, allegations of animal cruelty arose. By Aaron Kunkler and Ashley HirukoFriday, September 6, 2019 8:30am No one really knows how many horses Sharon Hunter has. Hunter, who owns and operates the Hunters Wind Wild Horse…
Marta Gets a Forever Home!!
We are excited to announce that Marta is ADOPTED!! She is now living in a lovely home in Issaquah with a younger Arabian mare named April. Her adopter, Ginger, loves her sassy side and visited Safe Harbor a number of times to get to know her before finalizing the…
Lacey’s New Riding Partner
I’ve been Lacey’s riding partner for the past couple of months and can tell you that this mare is a ton of fun! She has loads of personality in a little package. When I first started riding her, I worried that I might be a bit on the large side for her 13.3 hands. But…
Mina’s Next Step
Mina has now fully recovered from her umbilical hernia surgery. She has graduated to regular turnout, and we’re working on building her strength back up so that she can get started under saddle. She’ll be going to training in September. Mina’s a smart mare so we don’t…
Getting To Know Cassidy
Cassidy is opening up more each day and her personality is coming through now that her herd bound issues have been addressed. In the beginning, she was so worried about being away from Moon and Slim, we were concerned she might even colic if separated too quickly.…
Honeycutt and Sinatra Update
Honeycutt and Sinatra have settled in to life at Safe Harbor Stables. They reside in the paddock closest to the gate where they can watch people come and go. From the far side of the paddock they can see lots of other horses, and watch our volunteers at…
Valor’s Lameness Puzzle
This sweet guy can’t seem to catch a break. A recent lameness has Valor sidelined once again, and we are waiting on more diagnostics to tell us what’s wrong this time. He became very sore in his back during ridden work at the end of June. Dr. Meyer of Pilchuck Vet…
Teddi Makes Progress
Teddi recently had a recheck exam with Dr. Fleck and it looks as though everything is healing the way it should. Her bones are still healing so she still has a limp if she trots, but that’s to be expected at this point. She has graduated to a slightly larger turnout…
Fall City Forty: the Full Story
We’ve had to stay pretty quiet about the situation with the Fall City Forty for two reasons. One, because we were being threatened with legal action for our involvement in this rescue mission; and two, because we were holding out hope that we would be allowed to…
The Babies are Growing Up!
It’s hard to believe how fast our little foals are growing up. It seems like just yesterday that they were trying to figure out how their legs work. Today they are three confident, adventurous, happy-go-lucky fillies who are ready to take on the world. And they’ve…
Returning Friends
When SAFE adopts out a horse, we make it very clear to the new adopter that their relationship with SAFE is just getting started. Most of the people who’ve adopted from us over the last 14 years remain in regular contact with us, whether…
Meet Cyrus
As part of our work to support Animal Control agencies in Washington state, SAFE is often asked to take in horses that are part of active cruelty investigations. Sometimes we can make this information public right away, but in other cases, we are asked to keep these…
Stevie 2019 Site Visit Photo
Shasta and Sunny at the 2019 SAFE Show
Sunnny and Shasta were out once again to meet & greet their fans the 2019 SAFE Benefit Horse Show at Donida Farm in Auburn. They were also celebrating their Syndicate Sponsorship win for the second year in a row — raising $975 and winning the coveted title of…
Big Horse, Big Hoof: Slim’s Foot Problems
A 17.2 hh draft horse puts a lot of weight on his front feet. So it’s important that those feet stay healthy to help support the horse’s sheer mass. Unfortunately for our sweet Slim, hoof care has been a struggle. It’s unclear whether Slim’s hoof problems arise from a…
Quality Time with Angel
Angel is living the good life these days. She gets to be in a lovely, large turnout paddock 24 hours a day with her best friend Renee as they do the very important work of being aunties to our three resident babies. Angel takes this role very seriously. She loves the…
Progress for Remy
Remy has been working his way back to health slowly but surely. Dr. Meyer of Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital has been seeing him for chiropractic adjustments on a regular schedule, and each time he gets adjusted we see improvement. We are hopeful that this setback is now…
SAFE Runs Smoother with the Help of Interns
SAFE has been fortunate to have the help of some kind, capable young people this past school year who chose to spend their time working as interns at the barn. Thanks to a partnership with The Big Picture School in Bellevue, SAFE benefitted from the enthusiastic…
Glory Helps Start Luna
We sent Luna out to Nick Donohue for her start under saddle, and it was so nice to see a SAFE horse helping another SAFE horse. Thanks for the flagging assist, Glory!
Marvelous Mina: First Saddling!
Mina and I have gotten to know each other well, and I think she’s pretty great. I think she truly does feel affection for “her” people. She has the softest, kindest eye of any horse I’ve ever met, and there’s a lot of soulfulness in her personality. But don’t let her…
Redmond Derby Days Parade
A big thank you to Shasta & Sunny and all the wonderful SAFE volunteers who marched in the parade at Redmond Derby Days this year!
Photogenic Lacey!
Ruby 2019 Site Visit Photos
Foster Update: Dottie Belle
Sweet Dottie is doing very well at her lovely foster home in Woodinville. She has made a few new friends this spring including 2 minis, 3 alpacas, 4 goats, and a flock of chickens! Her SAFE buddy Piper has recently moved home to Safe Harbor for a bit of training and…
Millie’s Beautiful Transformation
What a beautiful mare this girl has become. She is gentle, interested, and affectionate with both her new human and horse buddies. While we have many weeks of training ahead before she is ready to adopt, this girl’s future is shining bright.…
Teddi: On the Road to Recovery
It has now been a month since Teddi had surgery at WSU to fuse her pastern joint. We’re pleased to report that she’s doing great! Everything is going to plan with no complications so far. Her sutures are out and we are no longer needing to bandage her leg. If you…
Surgery for Mina
The very first time we saw Mina from a distance, we thought she was a gelding. But when we got a little closer, it became clear that she was actually a mare with an umbilical hernia. Umbilical hernias occur when the abdominal wall around a foal’s navel fails to close…
New Fancy Video
Recently Joel Conner was at Safe Harbor and Casey asked him to jump on Fancy to see how the work she had been doing felt to him. He was very happy to see how far Fancy had come in the last weeks and complemented Casey on a very nice job setting the foundation for this…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Moon
Kaya has been helping us with Moon and recently took this lovely big mare into the Joel Conner groundwork class at Safe Harbor. The two really connected over the weekend and Moon had some great changes. Kaya’s groundwork is improving and she has become a very BIG help…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Anderson
Recently Kaya has taken over riding Anderson at SAFE. She is doing a great job with him and it is really great to see him take to a new rider. He is keeping up the training and seems as the saying goes “the student has become the teacher.” He has been a good boy for…
Training Update: Kat
Kaya has been doing a fantastic job helping prepare Kat for adoption. Kat has gained a ton of weight and has some topline muscle now! She has settled in so well to life at Safe Harbor and her special connection with Kaya is very sweet. We’re glad she has such a great…
A Cure for Amelia’s Allergies
Trying to figure out why a horse is perpetually itchy can be a frustrating, head-scratching, expensive experience. Our last-ditch effort before jumping to allergy shots for Amelia was the elimination diet. Cutting out all of the things she is potentially allergic to…
Asha gets started!
The first of the mamas from last year is on her way to get started! Asha moved down to Nick Donohue’s training barn at the end of May. We had only been able to do a little bit of groundwork before she left Safe Harbor so Nick would be starting pretty much from the…
