Training and Health Update: Sapphire

Sapphire is responding well to ulcer treatment and has not experienced any colic symptoms since the treatment began. She is also going well at the walk, trot, and canter.

Oscar at the 2015 SAFE Show

Oscar and his rider Casey Anderson were nothing short of amazing at the 2015 SAFE Benefit Horse Show. The pair competed in Dressage, English, Western, Halter, and Trails, and came away with 4 blues, one red, and one yellow ribbon! They won the Champion Rescue Horse…

Finn gets new shoes

We got to visit Finn recently and see how he is enjoying his new foster family. Our farrier Marla Karabinos was kind enough to travel to the foster’s home near SAFE Harbor and continue to shoe Finn for us there. The set up is perfect for Finn and his hoof comfort…

Michael Sparling and Ben

When Michael Sparling came to town for his most recent clinic at SHS, we asked him to work with Ben for a short session to help us assess him for training. Michael worked with Ben on the ground before getting into the saddle. Ben demonstrated both the anxiety under…

Update on Cameo

We are increasing Cameo’s hand walking to 15 minutes 2 times a day this week and so far so good. She is off all medication and is stable. She remains in good spirits and is relaxed for her hand walks and light massages. She loves her fan we set up outside her stall…

A perfect HOME for Kai

It takes a village to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome a horse and we all celebrate and share the success when one of the SAFE horses finds their forever home. We are excited to announce that our handsome boy Kai has found a loving home with Barbara F. He has just…

Stall Rest for Cameo

Two weeks ago, Cameo had a training mishap during a ground work session. She was being worked on a long lead rope, and she flipped her tail up and over the rope, clamped her tail down, and pulled the rope out of the hands of the person who was working her. In an…

A Visit with April

Do you recognize this former SAFE horse? It’s April, who left SAFE over a year ago to live at Equamore Horse Sanctuary in Ashland OR. Jessica F visited her last week, and took some gorgeous photos of this lovely mare. April was brought into the barn to be groomed and…

Dental Day at Safe Harbor

Yesterday was a marathon day of dental care for the horses at Safe Harbor Stables. Dr McCracken of Rainland Equine did seven floats and some lameness consultations along with them. Here’s a rundown of how each of the horses did: Annabelle was not terrific about…

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness with Dottie Belle

Dottie Belle has been living in foster care at Pacific Moon in Arlington for about six months now. Under Karen Moore and her team, Dottie has settled into a happy life outdoors among horse friends. Since her arrival, Heather Evans-Keliher and Eve Tai have visited with…

It’s been a long time, Khianna!

Khianna has spent the past three years or so living the good life at her foster home in Enumclaw. There she shared a five acre field with three other horses and enjoyed the great care provided by Denise M and her family. Khianna came to SAFE as an 13 year old, and we…

Welcoming Back an Old Friend

There’s a new face at Safe Harbor Stables, but it belongs to a horse that first came to SAFE way back in 2010. She was a 1997 registered Quarter Horse mare named Peppy Skippa Jewel, but we just called her Scarlett. She was originally signed over to SAFE by Animal…

California here he comes!

Leo is living the good life in sunny California! Like many of us from the PNW, the more arid climate is probably great for his breathing problems. Doesn’t he look happy?

Ben returns to the fold

For the past 60 days or so, Ben has been on an extended trial with a Hunter/Jumper trainer who was interested in finding out if he had a future as a sporthorse. This was a wonderful opportunity for Ben, and a tremendous help to us because it meant that he would…

Our brave Sophie!

Apparently nobody told Sophie that horses are usually afraid of tarps! Our brave little girl walked over the tarp before Terry could even finish spreading it out on the ground! And it only took about 30 seconds to convince her it was haute couture. She’s amazing.

Lola Off Work due to Lameness

2015 has not been a great year for Lola so far. She’s been lame on and off in front since the beginning of January, and although we’ve tried several shoeing changes and she’s been examined by our veterinarians multiple times, we still haven’t been able to pinpoint the…

Emerald Downs “Where Are They Now?” — Doty Belle

Dottie was the star of this week’s Where Are They Now? feature at Emerald Downs. This video contains a great message about the value of horses who cannot be ridden, and we’re super proud of SAFE Board Member Eve Tai for this terrific interview!

Let’s hear it for Anderson!

Our gregarious gelding was released from the hospital last weekend and made an uneventful journey down to Vader WA where he will be starting kindergarden with trainer Darik Anderson. Testosterone is still ebbing away, but we have high hopes for this handsome fella. We…

New intake: Sophie

We have a new horse to introduce. This is Sophie. She’s a 2 year old TB/QH filly that was surrendered to SAFE this morning. She sustained a bad injury to her neck about 3–4 days ago when she was impaled on an uncapped t‑post. The wound was not treated, leaving a…

Another Chance for Maggie

It always makes us sad to hear that one of the SAFE alumni is looking for a new home. While it’s our intention that every adoption will last forever, we understand that situations change and sometimes horses have to be rehomed. We do ask that our adopters take…

A Yellow Ribbon for our Golden Boy!

Phoenix, along with his barn mates Karma and Bridgit, competed this weekend at the English/Western show at the Hollywood Hills Saddle Club! Phoenix brought home a yellow third place ribbon, and these lovely photos by Jessica Farren! Enjoy! [gallery link=“file”…

Foster Update- Rocky

We just got a nice update on Rocky from his foster mom Kellie: “Rocky has been out a couple more times in turnout. I am only putting him out when I can watch him for now. Unfortunately, we had to put down his “neighbor” on Monday, so, Rocky has now moved to the other…

Training Update: Oscar

Here’s Oscar looking like a million bucks with Melonie Rainey in the saddle. We got an update recently from Melonie, who reports, “Oscar is doing excellent! But.…it’s up and down. He can be a real booger. He started bucking WAY too frequently with Zack [Melonie’s…

Get well, Anderson!

Anderson is experiencing some complications related to his gelding surgery. He has increased swelling and general discomfort along with slightly depressed attitude. He was started on antibiotics today, and this will delay his discharge from Cedarbrook Vet Care. We’d…

Nala the Wonder Horse

What a difference a pair of shoes can make! Nala is doing much better in her new shoes donated by our farrier Jake Cowden. She is much more balanced and comfortable with a rider over the last two weeks since the shoes were put on. We took her on 3 trail rides this…

Our darling Bridgit!

The nickering QUEEN! There is not a lot about this cute little mare’s personality that won’t make you fall absolutely head over heels in LOVE with her! She is the type of girl that when you come up to her stall or her turnout paddock, she will come RUNNING to greet…

Training Update: Annabelle

Annabelle is getting settled into the routine at Safe Harbor Stables. For the first week she was a bit nervous when other horses where being moves around from turnout or to the arena. She also would start calling and running even if the horse across from her went out…

Training & Heath Update: Sapphire

Since last fall, our “Arabian Gem” Sapphire has had 3 separate mild colic episodes. The first two were easily managed with pain reliever, walking and monitoring. The most recent event, at the end of March, required an emergency vet call to get her feeling better.…

Training Update: Einstein

Einstein is a true smarty-pants! We have introduced tack and a rider’s weight, taking things slowly as he still has some weight and muscle to gain over his back. He has been an absolute gem about everything. He is getting used to the flag work and connects very well…

May 21st is “Give Your Former Stallion a Bath” Day

Here’s Dr Hannah, teaching Anderson the joys of bathing on a warm day in late Spring! This was a great learning moment for our former wild stallion…and as it turned out, a learning moment for all of us as well. Although Anderson had been checked carefully for lice…

Training Update: Karma

It has been a few weeks of firsts for Karma: her first time jumping all the way into the trailer, her first trail ride as a SAFE horse, and her very first show! Trailer loading has been a challenge for Karma since the day we picked her up but we have had an amazing…

Stella!!!!!!!

Baby girl is back at Safe Harbor! I would say that we missed her but I’m not sure the neighbors were too happy she was home. She spent the first two days (and nights) calling for her bestie Jewel, who was stalled in the other barn. It was a bit of an adjustment being…

Training Update: Kai

Kai is going very nicely for trainer Joel Conner in Vancouver WA. He’s made some great improvements, both in the ground work and riding over the course of his tune up training. There was a little setback a few weeks back when Kai cut his chin while playing over the…

What a Jewel!

It may or may not be a secret but I LOVE this little mare SO much! She has grown into the cutest little quarter horse mare. She looks like a little miniature version of Finn and we all love his nice hindquarters! We recently brought both Jewel and Stella in from…

Training Update: Misty

Misty is really turning into a lovely horse. Her attitude while working is very steady and constant. She is ridden by a few different riders throughout the week and is well behaved for their different styles and abilities. We’ve been trying her barefoot for the last…

Training Update: Lola

It’s been a but of a rough year so far for Lola. Her feet become very uncomfortable while she was barefoot and unfortunately we did not correct the issue fast enough. She became sore on her right front and had to take some time off riding. We’re working on a new…

Cameo: Sister Moonbeam just wants to dance

I had the chance to chat with trainer Laura McCorkle who’s done a lot of work with Cameo over the past months and has seen the slow but steady transformation that this lovely mare has gone through. Laura laughs when she talks about Cameo’s “ice princess” demeanor,…

Video: Anderson Post-Gelding Training & Exercise

We’ve been monitoring Anderson’s progress since his gelding surgery last week. Dr. Hannah Mueller is supervising his post-operative forced exercise, which will help reduce swelling and encourage drainage and healing of the surgery site. During this exercise, she has…

Emmy Released to Rehab

Emmy was released from Rainland Equine into the care of her Aunt Kyle, who will be overseeing her rehab at Feature Farm for the next several weeks. To give you a clear picture of what that will involve, here is the discharge information from Rainland outlining the…

So far is SO good for Ben!

Some horses just have that sparkle in their eye from the moment they arrive at SAFE. Within the abused or neglected body is a personality that’s just waiting for the energy and life to come back. Since the day he arrived at Safe Harbor, Ben has been one of those great…

A Real Einstein

As we’ve gotten to know Einstein better, we’ve come to understand that he’s a pretty amazing horse. When he first arrived at Safe Harbor, after three weeks in Animal Control custody, he was pretty unsure about just about everything, so he spent his first few days…

New shoes for Phoenix

A pair of new glue-on shoes have really helped Phoenix’s tender toes! And look how well-behaved he was for his hoof preparation! He knew that farrier Jake Cowden was not going to hurt him. He’s such a sweet and trusting horse. So far he seems to be a lot more…

Sweet Relief for Annabelle

Before her rescue, Annabelle had not had proper hoof care for some time. Her hooves were terribly overgrown and split, making movement quite uncomfortable for her. Dr Hannah gave her a preliminary trim while she was at NWESC, but today she got a full and proper trim…