Duchess Photos Jan 30, 2018

Duchess had another photoshoot with Jessica today, and modeled her saddle for good measure. Looking good, blondie! 

Catching up with Prince

In the year that Prince has been with SAFE, he has grown into one of the barn favorites. This handsome fellow has been developing his arena skills and enjoying trail rides. Prince has a very important job helping the newer SAFE horses walk confidently out on the…

Zoe’s Leg

Zoe has been with us for a little over a month now, and her leg continues to look better all the time. We are relieved that a laceration that was so ugly to begin with has left her with no permanent lameness. When she originally came to us we were still at the point…

Ben bangs up his knee

Boys will be boys. In December, Ben played a little too rough in turnout and got himself a nice swift kick to the left knee by one of his buddies. His knee swelled to the size of a grapefruit and had a minor laceration. Our Barn Manager, Lori, put her equine…

Cosmo Finds a New Home

Sometimes we come across families looking for horses that we know will give the absolute best home for any of our horses. The sad part is we might not have the perfect match in our herd while they are looking. When Cosmo was ready to meet potential adopters, we called…

Stella is Ready

SAFE owes a very big thank you to volunteer rider Casey for all her efforts and steadfast devotion to Stella through her rehabilitation and training. This little mare is full of life and has a BIG heart. She is more than ready to find her special someone and a family…

Always Improving Lacey

Since November, Lacey has been ridden by SAFE volunteer rider Alicia. The two are getting along great and Alicia has found out how sweet this mare can be when you get to know her and she respects you. Jessica came out on a rare dry winter day and got some great photos…

Evaluating Nashville

Last September we noticed that Nashville appeared lame during her groundwork sessions. Cantering seemed problematic for her and she had a tough time keeping her leads and not “bunny hopping.” It was concerning considering her son, Valor, had just had surgery to fix…

Teddi and Roscoe Intake Photos

Teddi and Roscoe arrived at SAFE in mid January, after being in Animal Control custody for three weeks. When they came to SAFE, we were asked by Animal Control to keep quiet about them because of the legal case against their former owner. Both horses were quarantined…

A Home for Stevie

We are so excited to announce the placement of Stevie into a wonderful forever home with Diana! The pair hit is off right away. Diana was looking for a riding partner she could grow with and was taken with this dark eyed love bug! Diana took time to get to know Stevie…

Piper begins her life at Safe Harbor

If you are missing one of your fellow volunteers during your shift at Safe Harbor there is a good chance you will find that person making googly eyes and stealing kisses from our baby Piper! She is a very sweet filly with a naturally lovely disposition. We have…

Training and Health Update: Raven

When you look at Raven, it’s hard to believe that this big, beautiful filly was a rough-coated, dull-eyed, rain rot covered baby less than a year ago. She has truly blossomed! She amuses us daily with her playful personality and enthusiasm for life. Right now our…

Training Update: Ru & Valencia

Terry and her volunteer riders have been working with Ru and Valencia regularly since the last Joel Conner clinic in November. She has this to report on their progress: The more time I spend with Ruach and Valencia the more I fall in love with them. Both are probably…

Training Update: Jessel

Jessel is back on the payroll at Joel Conner’s after a light fall schedule. She is now old enough to be in full time work and so we have bumped her work up in preparation to move her back to Safe Harbor in the spring. Joel’s ranch has been a great place for Jessel to…

Getting to know Duchess

Duchess is a lovely gentle mare that we really hope will prove to be suitable for a beginner rider. She settled into Safe Harbor last week nicely and we have lightly started groundwork as we becomes accustom to our barn and getting back into work. Overall, things are…

Duchess

We welcomed back an old friend today. Duchess is a 12 year old palomino Saddlebred mare, who came to SAFE as a two year old during a major Animal Control seizure in 2008. Duchess arrived at SAFE emaciated and unhealthy with badly overgrown feet and a dreadful parasite…

Valor’s Strength Training

Valor’s rehabilitation is going super! The barn managers at SAFE began with walking him 2x a day, added ground poles and walking up hills. He then was able to graduate to roundpen work with Jolene to prepare him for saddling and ultimately to be ridden. As part of his…

And the nominees are…

2017 was an absolutely incredible year for SAFE. We moved our entire operation from 3 acres in Woodinville to 11 acres just down the road in Redmond. We also had a record setting year in terms of adoptions, new intakes, and new volunteers, but the story for 2017 is…

Welcoming Melinda!

SAFE is overjoyed to introduce you to a new staff member who will be joining us in early January. Melinda Merryman is a veterinary technician who has accepted a position with SAFE to oversee the health and well-being of our horses. Melinda has been volunteering with…

Valor: A Good Little Helper!

Valor was on site to help Caren with the installation of his new turnout slow feeder. He inspected the work and was very helpful in making sure everything was level. Many of the turnouts are now equipped with these wonderful boxes that keep the hay dry, limit waste,…

Getting to Know Aurora

Aurora is a beautiful young mare with a lot of potential. We are very excited to be helping rehabilitate and train this big bodied and elegant Thoroughbred. She is now up to date on all of her medical and farrier needs. She did well for her dental visit with Dr. Fleck…

Raven: Training Video

Lisa has done a lovely job gentling this young athletic Thoroughbred mare. Raven is an elegant thoughtful young girl with a world of potential. We hope to start her this spring and lightly ride her this summer. She is just turning 3 this year so she still needs a lot…

Introducing Zoe and Piper

The newest horses at SAFE are a 6 year old Morgan mare and her 6 month old filly. The pair were seized by Animal Control when their owner refused to seek treatment for a serious wound on Zoe’s leg. It took more than two months of treatment for the wound to heal, but…

Jewel is finally home!

Simply the best part of our work at SAFE is seeing our horses placed in wonderful loving homes. It is what all the hours of volunteering and care is working towards. It is even more sweet when it is the placement of a long time herd member like Jewel. So many people…

Angel – It’s Been a Long Road…

We asked weekend Barn Manager Ian to tell us a little bit about Angel and how she is adjusting to life at Safe Harbor. Ian has a very gentle way in his relationship with horses which is the perfect energy for Angel right now. Here is what Ian had to say about this…

Training Update: Cosmo

We are always so pleasantly surprised when a nice horse like Cosmo comes into Safe Harbor. He is gentle to handle and he takes everything we ask of him in stride. Joel put a first ride on him for us in the September and while things went well there were a few training…

Getting to Know Belle

Belle is a very wise mare. She can be a bit of stand-offish when you enter into her paddock but once she takes an assessment of you, she is easily caught and willing to go along with what is being asked of her. She stands nicely to be groomed and has a pretty relaxed…

A new life, a new name, for Ruger

When one of SAFE’s Board of Directors puts in an adoption application, we know it’s going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for the lucky horse! Barbara came to SAFE to volunteer as a chore volunteer and quickly shared her gifts as a powerhouse organizer and…

A Perfect Match for Sierra

Nothing delights us more than to write these types of announcements and this one is very near and dear to our hearts. Donna came to SAFE like many other people do…by filling out the application for a horse with a pretty picture. After talking with her on the phone…

Clinic & Health Update: Anderson

Finally, the wet weather is here and Anderson’s cough has all but gone away! He is definitely a Northwest boy who likes wet air that is dry and certainly not smoky! We are going to lower his dose of prednisolone to try to wean him off of it. There is a chance he will…

Training Update: Renee

We are delighted to have Renee home from training with a glowing report! Joel really enjoyed getting to know this mare and said she has a ton of heart and try. You can see many changes in her overall relaxation upon her return to SHS. Now that she has been equipped…

Getting to Know Ruach

We are getting to know this tall dark and handsome fellow named Ruach. He has been ridden previously but it has been a number of years since dusting off the saddle for a ride. Dr. Fleck came out to do a dental float and vaccinate him. We have slowly added a mash of…

Getting to Know Valencia

The new sweetheart of the barn is Miss Valencia! She has been a doll from the moment we picked her up and continues to show a very nice character with lots of love to give. She and Ru have begun the process of separation and while change is hard we are careful to take…

Tasara Joins the Riding Horses!

From Terry: Sweet little Tasara is on her way to becoming a fun riding horse! I have been working with her for some time, getting her ready to be ridden. Due to her gentle disposition, we’ve been able to let other volunteers handle her too and do some groundwork with…

Clinic and Health Update: Rosie

Rosie is a solid citizen at SAFE and has done extremely well with all the changes over the last year. Rosie likes things to stay the same and loves constancy. So it is very nice to see how quickly she has been able to relax with changes in location and even new…

Clinic and Health Update: Prince

From the past few months, we have had glue on shoe on Prince to help him grow more sole and improve his soundness. Last week our farrier Daphne came and looked at his hoof health and said that we could once again try him without shoes. He was sound and his hooves are…

Training Update: Cali

Volunteer Phoebe has been working with Cali and took her into the recent Joel Conner clinic. Here is an update on how things are going: From the Joel clinic: The Joel Conner clinic in November was excellent! I got the gift of working with Cali Jane. She is smart,…

Training Update: Lacey

Training Update: Lacey

Volunteer Rider Alicia has started working with Lacey. Here is her report on how things are going: Lacey and I have been getting to know one another for about a month. She took a few meetings to respect and trust me but now we’re beginning to enjoy one another more on…

Clinic Update: Valencia

SAFE’s weekend Barn Manager Ian was able to help us and take Valencia into the Joel Conner clinic last month. Here is what Ian had to say about the experience: Valencia is a very sweet and loving mare who is still very new at SAFE. She was a little nervous at first in…

Health Update: Valor

Here is an update on Valor from our Herd Health Manager, Melinda: At the end of September, Valor had his umbilical hernia repaired and at the same time had a medial patellar ligament fenestration, which is a surgical treatment for locking stifles. He was put on a…

Clinic Update: Ben

SAFE’s Herd Health Manager Melinda is now riding Ben to help get him ready for adoption. Here is what she had to say about her ride with Ben in last month’s Joel Conner clinic. Ben and I participated in the riding portion of the Joel Conner clinic in November. I’ve…

Clinic Update: Mason

Here is a glowing report from Lori on her work with Mason in the recent clinic at SAFE: On November 18th I took Mason into the groundwork portion of the Joel Conner clinic. Mason did such a great job. His reactiveness has improved so much. Joel even came over and took…

Clinic Update: Raven

Raven showed much improvement and maturity in her second Horsemanship Clinic at SAFE. Casey had this to say about working with her: I had the pleasure of working Raven in both groundwork sessions of the November Joel Conner clinic. She settled right in to the…

Ben vs the Cows!

Here is what volunteer rider Lisa had to share about her time spent with Ben at a Horsemanship and Ranch Riding clinic October 6th: This past weekend, Ben and I attended the Ricky Quinn clinic in Ellensburg and, yet again, this horse has blown me away. We started each…