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…
Luna: First Saddling
We currently have two horses in training with Nick Donahue at Silver Spade Ranch. Today Luna was saddled for the first time, and allowed to move out in the round pen and become accustomed to this new sensation. Nick says he’s happy with how she did! We’re so excited…
Stormy: Worth the Wait
Stormy’s story is truly a fairy tale! She came to SAFE scared and hurt, with little to look forward to. Today she lives like a princess, and although her “little girl” is a proper grown up, the love between these two is absolute magic. Thank you to Leigh for sharing…
Who’s Your Fave? It’s Stella!
Recently we asked our volunteers if they had a favorite among the SAFE horses, and if so, what it is that they love about them? The answers we received gave such wonderful insight into who our horses are and what they mean to us, so we wanted to share these words.…
Joel Conner Clinic Update: Sienna
Sienna was set to be in the clinic with Joel but we had a little setback the day before he came out. It had been a very busy week with outreach cases and Sienna was not able to be worked as much as normal. I jumped on her for a quick ride the day before the clinic and…
Local Eagle Scout Goes Above and Beyond for SAFE
Zeke Almond, a 2019 graduate of Woodinville High School, completed his Eagle Scout Project on June 23rd, 2019 at SAFE. Zeke designed and built a storage shelter to house tools and equipment near the quarantine area of our facility. Zeke is a member of troop 525 and…
Who’s Your Fave? It’s Renee!
Recently we asked our volunteers if they had a favorite among the SAFE horses, and if so, what it is that they love about them? The answers we received gave such wonderful insight into who our horses are and what they mean to us, so we wanted to share these words.…
Piper Wears a Saddle!
Our baby Piper is growing up! She is just a bit older than two now so we’re introducing her to some groundwork. She attended her first Horsemanship Clinic at Safe Harbor last week. She did very well with all the other horses around us. We worked in the last hour of…
Amelia Finds a Friend
Joel Conner Clinic Update: Amelia
Amelia has been moving along steadily in her training with horsemanship volunteer Phoebe. They have been able to take thing slow and at a comfortable pace for Amelia who has had some trust issues from her past life. A few weeks prior to the clinic, Phoebe was able to…
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Millie
What a superstar Millie was during the recent Joel Conner Horsemanship Clinic at SAFE! The first day she took the lay of the land. It was her first time in an area with so many other horses and she was interested in meeting them all. She did well focusing on me and…
Photo and Training Update: Sienna
We had a chance to have photographer Alessia Rauseo visit Safe Harbor and take some beautiful photos of our sweet Sienna. Sienna has recently come home from Nick Donohue’s training barn and she’s doing very well. She is still fairly green but she is accepting me as a…
Alumni Update: Aiden
Congratulations to Cooper (Aiden) and his girl Maeve who had a fabulous day at the 4H qualifying show this past weekend. The pair won blues in English and Western Pleasure and took Grand Reserve in bareback equitation! Cooper and Maeve, we are SO PROUD OF YOU!!
Alumni Update: Whiskey
Whiskey’s adopter reached out to us recently via the SAFE Alumni Facebook group and shared this great picture of the pair on the trail. Therese says that Whiskey is still going strong at age 24, and that they’ve had some great adventures in the high country together.…
Teddi’s Big Day!
On June 10th, Teddi loaded like a pro into our horse trailer and went for a smooth 5 hour drive to Washington State University. After months of anticipation and preparation, the day had finally come to have the…
New Video for Zoe!
Zoe has been home from training for a few weeks . She has matured so much with her riding and is ready to meet prospective adopters. I have enjoyed getting to ride her and figuring our who will be suitable for her at this point in her education. We have had a few…
Training Update: Sienna
This horse is helping me be a better rider, horseman, and hopefully, a better human being. Her try inspires me to work harder to be the partner she needs to guide her through this journey to adoption. Where she is today is light years from when we first met. Her…
Goodbye, Boss Hoss
At the heart of the work that SAFE does is one simple goal: putting a stop to equine suffering. It’s something we have done for every horse we’ve encountered over the years. We’ve removed horses from situations of dire neglect and shown them that there are good people…
Glory has been adopted!
We are thrilled to announce that Glory is officially adopted to Melissa N! Matching our horses with the perfect adopter is a big part of our work at SAFE. We are very lucky to have so many wonderful horses but they all have their stories and are at different places in…
Nashville has been adopted!
Finally, we can shout it from the roof tops: Nashville has found a HOME!! This very well-minded mare met a wonderful family and they accepted her for who she is and what she had to offer. Over the last few months this mare had met a few families but nothing came to…
Justin has been adopted!
Justin has found an outstanding home with Kim! They are a great pair and Justin has a new brother named Linus. They are all doing well and loving the pasture together! Kim had many OTTB and when she met Justin, she saw in him characteristics of her old partners. His…
First Bath for Millie
Now that summer is here, Terry has the opportunity to teach Millie another new skill: getting used to the hose.
New Photos of Fancy
Vibrant Valor and the Case of the Sticky Stifles
(Valor photo by Sundee Rickey) Unfortunately for Valor, his mother, Nashville, did not bless him with strong stifles. Since his arrival at SAFE we have worked to help cure him of his locking stifles (upward fixation of the patella), a condition that can cause a…
Teddi’s Surgery Fund
It was a little more than a year ago that we met Teddi. She came to SAFE as part of a large Animal Control seizure situation involving six neglected horses, and it was clear from the start that Teddi had had a pretty rough go of it. Her eyes were full of sadness. She…
New Video and Update: Kat
We have taken things slow with Kat since she returned to SAFE. First we needed to get her dental updated and put her on a weight gaining plan. She was not getting enough calories before coming back to Safe Harbor so Melinda, our Herd Health Manager, set up a plan to…
Training Update: Asha
Dear Asha has come home to Safe Harbor and started her preparation for saddling. She is pretty troubled about things like the flag so I am working on getting her relaxed and hooked on to me. It takes her some time each workout to find peace with me and not overacting…
Video & Training Update: Kat
Kat has made a wonderful transformation since her return back to Safe Harbor earlier this year. She was pretty skinny when she came back so the first thing was to get her healthy. Melinda, our Herd Health Manager, set up a refeeding plan to increase her calories. We…
Pasture Time for Millie
Millie has spent a great deal of her life in the company of her sire, Boss Hoss. Terry’s been helping her adjust to an independent life without her parent nearby. These videos are from Day 1 and Day 2 of Millie’s transition to a new life as an individual, learning to…
Millie Week 4
Things are Looking Up for Gunnar!
We have all fallen in love with Gunnar! This handsome half-Arabian is as sweet as they come. At the time of his intake we were told that he was 11 years old, but physically he looks like an older gentleman and his dental revealed teeth that look much older, as well.…
Tabitha has been adopted!
We are so pleased to announce the successful adoption of sweet Tabitha, now called Willa by her new family. This mare is in her element, loving long rides on the trails with her owner Alyssa and companionship of her retired 25-year-old draft mare, Ray. She has been…
Just a Picture of Hickory and Fran
Pogo has been adopted!
Small but mighty Pogo has found a home! Julianne reached out to SAFE interested in adding this pint-size cutie to her family as a driving horse and family pet. She and her family came to meet him and were fully informed of his current behaviors and the progress he’d…
Training Update: Zoe
To give Zoe the best chance at finding a home, we decided to give her a few weeks of professional training with Nick Donohue. This time will allow her a few more life experiences and make her ready for a great home to adopt her. All the updates from Nick have been…
Girl Scouts magically turn cookies into hay!
Girl Scout Troop 42212 of Redmond, WA visited Safe Harbor Stables when they were thinking about a nonprofit to support with their cookie sales and they fell in love with SAFE. To say these girls are enthusiastic about horses is an understatement. They enjoyed their…
Dottie and Piper, Living the Good Life
Dottie and Piper are living it up at their foster home! They get to be friends with all kinds of farm animals, they have acres to roam and graze on, and they have a foster family who adores them. Piper is getting to be a big girl. She’ll be two years old in June and…
Alumni Update: Rhythm
Rhythm became a SAFE horse back in 2010, surrendered into our care because of a life-threatening injury caused by barbed wire. His adopter Hillary gave us this update on her boy recently: The first photo is of the day I brought Rhythm home from SAFE, while the second…
Alumni Update: Dusty
Climb on into the Wayback Machine because today we’re catching up with a horse that was adopted from SAFE in 2010. Dusty came to SAFE as part of an animal cruelty case when he was a young stallion — just look at him now! His adopter Beth A had this to report: A…
