August Training Update: Ben

Checking in with Lisa and Ben: Ben is doing so well! He is soft, tuned in to my feel, learning to pick up and carry a soft feel at the canter, and figuring out how to lift and shape himself around my leg on a gentle bend. This last piece was actually something I was…

July Training Update: Ben

Checking in with Ben and Lisa!! It’s been very interesting getting to work with Ben every day, with no other horses on my roster. I’m able to get down to some nitty gritty details, get back to some Super Basics, and really work on some holes that I knew were in there,…

Ru: Happy at Home

Here’s a lovely update from Ru’s adopter, Sierra: I have had Ru for a week now, and he is settling in so well. I love this horse more everyday that he’s with us, and everyday we make progress with his training and with our relationship. We are working hard to make…

Getting to know Star

Star began his training today at SAFE. He definitely has some training in there, some typical late cut Arabian attitude, jumpy but comes back quickly, a sweet cuddly side and a “walk all over you with my left shoulder” issue. He was a very good boy for his first…

Good things come in threes

Good things come in threes

Like all good horse owners, we keep close eyes on the weight of our horses. Clearly no one wants to see skinny horses, but a horse that’s overweight can face health problems too. Every SAFE horses has its meals tailored to its weight and health, and we make…

Tabitha is a riding horse!

Tabitha is a riding horse!

Tabitha just got a status update from “Prospect” to “Riding Horse”!! She’s spent the past couple weeks making that transition, thanks to our good friend, horseman Ben Hannan. Here’s a video that Ben shared with us last week. We’re really proud of this lovely mare and…

More horsemanship for Sage!

More horsemanship for Sage!

Sage has a new friend: SAFE volunteer rider Scott B has started working with her and was kind enough to share his notes after their last session! I worked with Sage on Sunday. These are the issues I noticed with her: • She’s very herd bound • She needs to respect my…

Roscoe: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Roscoe: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Volunteer rider Lisa G rode Roscoe in last month’s Joel Conner clinic and had this to report: I worked with Roscoe in the riding portion of the recent Joel Connor Clinic, and we made much progress.…. and found many things to continue to work on! Roscoe has always…

Sage: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Sage: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Miss pony mare Sage got to participate in her very first Joel Conner clinic last month, thanks to her friend Lisa! Here’s what Lisa had to report: I had the happy fortune to work with Little Miss Sage in part of the groundwork portion of the recent Joel Connor Clinic.…

Sienna: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Sienna: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Terry worked with newbie Sienna in the groundwork portions of the Joel Conner clinic, and had this to report: Sienna was a superstar for the Joel Conner clinic! She became very relaxed and calm in the clinic setting with the other horses around. She even stood quietly…

Mason: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Mason: Horsemanship Clinic Report

SAFE Barn Manager Lori M took her favorite guy Mason in the first day of the Joel Conner clinic. Here’s what Lori had to report: On June 22nd, Mason and I participated in the Joel Conner clinic Friday morning groundwork session. Mason was feeling his oats that morning…

Teddi: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Teddi: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Volunteer rider Phoebe T participated in the Joel Conner clinic with Teddi. Here are her reflections on the clinic and Teddi’s progress: This is my 4th groundwork clinic, I now feel comfortable asking questions and asking for help. I have realized that much like for…

Nashville: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Nashville: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Nashville and her volunteer rider Casey A took part in the last Joel Conner clinic. Here’s what Casey had to say about the progress that Nashville is making: Nashville did very well during the riding portion of the Joel Conner clinic. At the last clinic, she was very…

Stella: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Stella: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Stella and Casey took part in the June Joel Conner Clinic and had this to report about their experience: I worked Stella during the groundwork sessions the first two days of the Joel Conner clinic. I had noticed that Stella was very troubled about changing eyes, the…

SAFE Alumni Update: Opal

Opal (now known as Bella) enjoyed a trip to the ocean with a friend!   For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can post updates, photos, and videos of their SAFE horses, to share…

Ru: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Ru: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Ruach was able to participate in this month’s Joel Conner clinic, thanks to volunteer Scott B, who worked with him all three days in both groundwork and riding. Here are Scott’s reflections on the clinic: The clinic with Joel was really an amazing experience for me. I…

Duchess’ Next Chapter of Hope

Duchess’ Next Chapter of Hope

Here at SAFE we have a lot to say about our horses, a lot of stories to share. But in the case of Duchess, whose re-adoption became final in June 2018, a new voice has taken up her story, and it’s only fitting that we share that with our wonderful supporters so…

Lacey: Horsemanship Clinic Report

Lacey and Erika participated in the June Joel Conner clinic at SAFE. Here’s what Erika had to say about the experience: This was my second clinic working with Lacey, and this time we went back to basics. We spent a lot of time working on moving her front-quarters,…

SAFE Alumni Update: Nora

Nora, now known as Mercy, in her new home:   For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can post updates, photos, and videos of their SAFE horses, to share their progress with the SAFE…

SAFE Alumni Update: Jewel

Jewel and Julie went camping!!   For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can post updates, photos, and videos of their SAFE horses, to share their progress with the SAFE…

June Training Update: Ben

Ben and Lisa’s June Training update: Yesterday during our morning ride, we were joined by three Hunter/Jumper students and their instructor. I was invited to stay for the lesson, as the instructor believed it would be good for her students and their horses to have…

Healing Heartbreak: Tasara is Adopted

Healing Heartbreak: Tasara is Adopted

We’re thrilled to announce that Tasara’s adoption is final! She is now living in Battle Ground WA with her new friend, Sherri. The story of how Tasara and Sherri came together is simply magical. Tasara became a SAFE horse in June 2017. We were contacted by a woman who…

SAFE Alumni Update: Bridgit

Bridgit’s adopter shared these lovely photos of her girl, as well as one of her good friend Oreo the pony! Photos by Jessica Farren.   For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can…

SAFE Alumni Update: Tasara

Tasara and her adopter Sherri, getting ready for a trip to Trout Lake for some trail riding!   For updates on many of your favorite adopted SAFE horses, visit our SAFE Alumni Facebook group! It’s where SAFE adopters can post updates, photos, and videos of their…

Sage Health Update

Sage Health Update

Sage got a visit from Dr. Fleck today to recheck her ACTH level. She’s been on a trial dose of Prascend for several weeks since her level came back at the high end of normal at her last vet visit, and she looks and acts like a new horse. We’ll have answers from the…

Dental Day for Bowie, Orion, and Justin

Dental Day for Bowie, Orion, and Justin

Our three newest gentlemen had their first visit from the vet recently. All of them have unknown histories of veterinary care. It’s likely that Justin and Bowie have at least had dental work at some point in their past, but it’s quite possible that Orion has never had…

Where in the world is Ben?

If you’ve come to visit Safe Harbor Stables, recently you may have noticed we are missing one very large chestnut boy who has been a long time resident of SAFE. So where is our handsome boy Ben? Well…After a brief adoption trial that did not work out, we decided…

Unfortunate News For Teddi

Unfortunate News For Teddi

Teddi had a visit from the vet last week. She turned up lame on her left front leg, and we noticed a suspicious bony lump on her pastern that has been getting larger over the past few weeks. After a brief lameness exam, Dr. Fleck took some radiographs, and the…

Introducing Mina and Luna

Introducing Mina and Luna

Mina and Luna are the latest additions to the SAFE herd and they are both pregnant. Mina and Luna have been in a vet’s care for 6 weeks and they have made nice recoveries from the neglect they faced in their previous lives. Their pregnancies have been confirmed by…

Sage Gets a Spa Day, and Health Update

Sage Gets a Spa Day, and Health Update

Our little Sage has blossomed! She came to us with a long, dull coat from neglect and malnourishment–so long and scruffy, in fact, that some of us referred to her endearingly as our little yak-pony. But after some good nutrition, a few baths, and a round with the…

Piper’s New Foster Home

Piper’s New Foster Home

Last week, we tearfully loaded Piper into a trailer and wished her well as she headed off to her new foster home. Because Piper is so young, she has a lot of growing up to do before she’ll officially start training. So we started thinking about sending her out to…

Busy Bee update

Busy Bee update

another brilliant update from Ruckus’ family: Hello hello, Here are some pics of Ruckus is his big boy bridle driving and also with his new fly sheet for this season with the cutest bee print ever 😂 We are calling it the “Busy Bee” very fitting for little man…

Raven Takes Another Field Trip

Raven Takes Another Field Trip

Raven’s colic saga has unfortunately continued since her last update. Although her colics are usually very minor, we still want to get to the bottom of the problem and find a solution if we can. We hauled her into Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital last week for an internal…

It’s Stormy in the Sunshine

It’s Stormy in the Sunshine

Stormy took advantage of our nice weather this week by requesting a spa day. She must know that bath time is followed by grazing on fresh grass while fur is drying.

Asha and Tabitha out on the Grass

Asha and Tabitha out on the Grass

Two approaches to finally being back out on the grass again: 1) Asha: commence eating and don’t let anyone distract you. 2) Tabitha: run circles around your friend because it feels so good to be outside!

Introducing Sage and Pyrrha

Introducing Sage and Pyrrha

Sage and Pyrrha were seized by Animal Control due to neglect and lack of care. The two mares had essentially been abandoned in a field and left to fend for themselves for quite some time. They were both in poor weight with massive amounts of dirty, matted fur all over…

Ru: Joel Conner Clinic Report

Ru: Joel Conner Clinic Report

I got to work with Ru for the groundwork and riding portions of last weekend’s Joel Conner clinic. The changes I saw in him over the two days that we participated had me smiling from ear to ear! I was so proud of this sweet boy’s “try.” The first morning was a little…

Meet Bowie!

Meet Bowie!

This handsome hunk arrived at Safe Harbor Stables after several weeks in Animal Control custody and a few more weeks at Cedarbrook Vet Hospital. Bowie, a 20 year old Halfinger stallion, was seized from his owner along with 5 other horses now residing at SAFE. He…

Renee: Joel Conner Clinic Report

Renee: Joel Conner Clinic Report

SAFE volunteer rider Phoebe worked with Renee during the Groundwork sessions of April’s Joel Conner Horsemanship clinic. Here’s what she had to share about the experience: This was the first time I really worked with Renee, besides bringing her in and out from…

Updated Photos of Amelia

Updated Photos of Amelia

Amelia is looking much happier and prettier now that she’s enjoying some grooming and kindness. She will be going on trial for adoption as a companion horse, so fingers crossed she has a new home!! [gallery link=“file” columns=“2” size=“medium”…