Training update: Anderson

Anderson is one BIG love bug! If he could, I believe he would come into the house and snuggle up on the couch with me. This big puppy has a giant heart. It’s been a joy to be around him during his journey to becoming a riding horse. He has a very smart and strong…

Adoption Announcement: Mesquite!

We are so pleased to announce that Mesquite has been adopted! This handsome and talented boy has truly made an amazing transformation. Less than eight months since arriving at SAFE as an unstarted stallion, Mesquite is now a well-adjusted good citizen with loads of…

Foster Update: Rocky

Update from Rocky’s foster mom Kellie: Just wanted to let you know that Rocky is still doing very good. He is eating most of his meds (7/8th???) and I’m seeing only a few hay “balls” with the orchard grass hay. I think it is softer for him to chew. His weight is…

Foster Update: Banjo and Finn

Here are some great photos of Finn and Banjo (aka “Joey”) and their foster parents Carrie and Derek. They are taking wonderful care of these two boys. We are so lucky to have wonderful fosters to care for and love our companion horses! [gallery link=“file”…

Sophie: Baby is growing up!

Sophie had her first dental float this week! We were able to confirm that she is coming four years old this year. One baby cap came off during the float and one wolf tooth was extracted with no trouble. She needs a little work with needles for sedation but wasn’t too…

Heath Update: Anakin

After six months in our care, we’re reaching the final stages of Anakin’s rehabilitation. Dr. McCracken came out Monday to do a dental float and give him his vaccines. Unsurprisingly, Anakin does not have the world’s greatest teeth…there was bad ulceration but he…

Health Update: Emmy

This week we brought Emmy home from winter turnout at foster. We had a lameness evaluation done on Tuesday (video posted below) and sadly, she is still slightly off on the right hind. The time off has helped her some, but there is clearly something still bothering…

Check in with Cameo!

Cameo is getting back to work and doing very well. We are keeping things easy to start with, working on groundwork, saddling, and hooking up with her handlers. Already we are seeing good changes! Here is an update from her volunteer rider Claire: “Cameo has come a…

Thank you from ALL the horses at SAFE!!!

A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who donated during the Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG event May 3rd and 4th! Generous donors like you raised over $16 MILLION dollars for non-profits in the Greater Seattle area. SAFE is so very thankful to all of you who donated over…

Training Update: Jewel

Claire has done an absolute AMAZING job training Jewel for SAFE. Our little palomino paint has transformed into a beautiful young riding mare with a TON of potential. Claire had a few things to tell us about the progress Jewel has made and riding her in last month’s…

Ben at the Joel Conner Clinic, April 16–17, 2016

(as reported by Ben’s regular rider, Lisa Garr) In December of 2015, Ben and I participated in a clinic at SAFE with trainer Joel Conner and I was just hoping he would stay calm enough to participate safely. Well, he blew me away then with his focus, willingness, and…

Eye Surgery is a Success

We have good news to share: Anakin had his eye surgery done last Thursday and it was a complete success. He spent the night after the surgery at Rainland Farm Equine Clinic so Dr McCracken could watch over him following the procedure, and he was released into our care…

Jessel Medical Update

On February 5th, Jessel sustained a skull fracture while she and Tess were playing in turnout. Radiographs were taken and determined that the fracture was about 2 1/2” long and had slightly dislodged the bone in her face. She was prescribed antibiotics, pain…

Stella Medical Update

On March 24th, Stella came up completely lame on the left hind leg. Dr. McCracken came out and diagnosed her with a peroneus tertius tendon rupture. This tendon is part of the apparatus in the hind limb that coordinates flexion and extension of the stifle and hock.…

First meeting of new friends

With Shay’s recent passing, Marta was in need of a new friend to join her at her lovely foster home in Fall City. Since we’ve determined that Aubrey is not sound enough to be ridden, she seemed a good choice. Here are photos of the two mares meeting for the first time…

Nadia Update!

Hi Bonnie, We wanted to write and give you an update on Nadia! We adopted her from SAFE almost 5 years ago. She was my daughter Zoë’s very first horse and she is now riding her for WAHSET for Yelm High School.  I thought I’d send you some pictures of our first couple…

Run free, Shay

Strength and beauty. Two words that perfectly describe Shay. In the four years that we have known her, we’ve seen her battle back from neglect to become a vibrantly, beautiful mare. She’s lived a happy life in the company of her best friend Marta under the wonderful…

Anakin Update — March 14, 2016

Another month has flown by and the skelatal horse we met back in December is becoming more and more of a memory. Anakin has now put on nearly 200 pounds since his rescue, and he is starting to glow with renewed health and vitality. He’s enjoying more and more turnout…

Rocky: New Photos and Heath Update

We had a nice visit last week with SAFE horse Rocky at his foster home. Jessica Farren was able to come along and took some beautiful photos of Rocky. He has really come a long way from the frightened and pained horse that SAFE took in over a year and half ago. His…

Aubrey: Health Update

Dr. McCracken came to examine Aubrey and check her soundness to see if she could be a light riding horse. After palpating the front leg she determined that the bow tendon is very old, so there is no point in ultrasounding it. Dr. McCracken confirmed that Aubrey has…

A Great New Life for Maggie!

For SAFE horse Maggie, the road to her forever home has been a long one. This mustang pony mare was gathered out of a Nevada BLM roundup in 1995, so by our estimation she’s about 22 years old. We know very little about her life before coming to SAFE but there’s pretty…

New shoes for Phoenix!

We had new shoes made for Phoenix and he is LOVING them! He is sound and moving great in them. David Barron and Gavin Cooper from Olympic Forge started trimming and shoeing horses for SAFE at the beginning of 2016. Phoenix has been struggling to find the right pair of…

Training update: Khianna

Here is an update from Khianna’s volunteer trainer and rider Jolene. We are very proud of her progress: Khianna is slowly transforming into a calm and confident horse. A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to use a tarp to assess Khianna’s progress. I expected a…

Rover Update!

Rov is a joy to our family and appreciated every day. All of the horses on the property love him and look after him like a little foal. And, my daughters have a ball with him even though they’re now too big to ride him.

Freedom at last!

Yesterday was another big day for Anakin! Following his eye doctor appointment and a sponge bath, he got to go out into his run for the first time ever! His exercise has been strictly controlled in order to keep him from burning too many calories, but the racehorse in…

An Appointment with the Opthomologist

While Anakin’s weight has steadily been improving since his rescue in early December, his left eye has become more and more cloudy. The pressure in the eye has been monitored by his veterinarians, and it was recommended that we have him examined by an equine eye…

Introducing Lisa Garr, Weekend Barn Manager at Safe Harbor

As SAFE grows, we continually find ourselves wanting to do more for the horses in our care. Compared to even just three years ago, the amount of daily activity and labor at Safe Harbor has easily doubled. Every day we have volunteers cleaning stalls, throwing hay, and…

Aubrey Intake

Aubrey was surrendered to SAFE by her owner who was unable to provide care for her. She’s had it pretty rough for a while now, and has rain rot over most of her back and hooves that are in bad need of a trim. She also had a badly bowed tendon on her left foreleg which…

Phoenix: Health update

To help understand Phoenix’s navicular diagnosis, we asked Dr. Devine from Pilchuck to write up a brief explanation of the diagnosis and treatment options. We are currently managing him with shoe that have a lift in the heels and he seems happy and is looking good. To…

Home from the Hospital!

We welcomed Anakin to Safe Harbor Stables on Wednesday, a long awaited homecoming for everyone at SAFE. After four weeks at Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital, Anakin was released from their excellent care into ours. Finally strong enough to stand up without the aid of the…

Health Update: Phoenix

We are again working with our farrier to find the best shoe package to help Phoenix’s soundness. Last summer, Dr. Devine from Pilchuck did a big work up on our golden child which included x‑rays. The conclusion was that the root of his lameness is navicular syndrome.…

Health Update: Emmy

Emmy’s rehab after surgery went according to plan — or so we thought —until around the 6 week mark. We noticed her take a few bad steps in turnout and that raised a few red flags that something might be wrong. Dr. DeWard examined her and noted swelling in the stifle…

Professor Anakin Gives Back

We are preparing for Anakin’s release from the hospital on Wednesday, getting his feed delivered, getting his stall ready, and preparing for transport. In the meantime, we were delighted to find out that Anakin is already giving back to the horse community! We…

Getting to know Bean

New horses always take time settling into their new lives as SAFE horses. In the first few weeks they’re here, we get to know their personalities, what they like, what they don’t like. We start to dream of what kind of home will be the perfect match. Bean had been a…

Anakin Update: Jan 13 2016

Anakin has now been at Pilchuck for three weeks. We continue to see improvements in his condition. He’s steadily gaining about a pound a day, topping the scales at about 865 lbs now. (For reference, a horse his size should weigh between 1100 and 1200 lbs.) His calorie…

Cameo: Making Progress, Getting Stronger

Cameo continues to make good progress in her rehab from last July’s injury. Volunteers have been walking and trotting her in hand for the past several months. Cameo is a pretty good girl for her exercise sessions but she is easily spooked if there is too much noise or…

Getting to know Jessel

Well color me impressed! Jessel had her first health check up with Dr. McCracken and she was a superstar. She was a little shocked by the first vaccine but it only got better with the others. We will be giving her more boosters in a few weeks but at least she won’t…

Getting to know Tess

We are happy to have three sweet new mares in our care: Tess, Bean, and Jessel. They were rescued from a very tough situation of neglect and starvation, and it’s going to take some time and TLC before they are ready for adoption. At the moment, we are letting them…

Training Update: Mesquite

Sometimes you meet a horse and say, wow, now that’s my kind of horse!  Mesquite has had my heart from the beginning. Once I rode him, I was done for! He is an amazing horse! He is kind, gentle, intelligent and fun. Plus, he has three smooth gates. Oh, and did I…

Banjo and Finn: Foster Buddies!!

Banjo spent about a month at Safe Harbor Stables before heading out to a foster home with Finn. These two Palomino geldings are like brothers!  After a little “play fighting” to establish that Finn was the boss, they have now settled in and are good buddies. This is…

Foster and Health Update: Rocky

I recently spent the morning with Rocky during a routine vet visit from Dr McCracken. His foster parents, Kellie and Peter, have done wonders in gaining his trust with their kind and patient handing. Rocky has come a long way from the timid boy he was when we first…