Volunteer Update on Sapphire
SAFE Harbor volunteer Heather E has been interacting with Sapphire since her arrival at SAFE, and they’ve developed an interesting relationship. We asked Heather to share her experience with this lovely but troubled horse: Sapphire is one of the most welcoming horses…
Dances with Horses — a Visit from Trainer Laura Nurss
Thank you to Eve Tai for this writeup and for the attached videos! A few weeks ago, SAFE hosted Laura Nurss, a horsemanship and liberty work teacher at Horse Haven at Bear Creek. We asked Laura to come to SAFE Harbor to work with Dottie, Sapphire, and Lola to help…
Finn at SAFE Harbor
Finn was released from Dr Hannah’s care this week, and is now part of the herd at SAFE Harbor Stables. He’s already found one new BFF in Jewel…the two of them are quite smitten with each other. They are a nicely matched pair, about the same size and very similar in…
Finn gets his toes fixed!
Farrier Jake Cowden made a special visit to Dr Hannah’s Cedarbrook Veterinary Hospital to visit Finn. Finn came in pretty overdue for a trim, so his feet needed someone pretty immediate attention. He has a crack in his front right cornet band that, as it grows out,…
2013 Volunteer of the Year: Heather Evans-Keliher
Volunteers are the heart and soul of SAFE. Day in, day out…the volunteers of SAFE arrive at SAFE Harbor Stables multiple times a day to care for the horses. Feed. Water. Muck. Repeat. Our volunteer program makes it possible for SAFE to help horses in need. Every day,…
Meet Finn
We have a new horse to introduce. His name is Finn and he is a 14 year old Quarter Horse gelding. Finn was injured in his pasture when he impaled himself through the muscle of his right shoulder. His owner was unable to afford to have a vet out to see him. She treated…
Exciting New SAFE Logo Wear!
If you were at Heart of the Horse you had the opportunity to preview the new SAFE Logo Wear collection. Now, these items are available for sale to all SAFE supporters. Please head over to our web shop, where you can browse our selection of items, colors, and…
Volunteer Rider Report: Kat and Erica B
Erica is a SAFE volunteer who rides Kat on a regular basis. She had this to say about her work with Kat: I have now been riding Kat since December, and the most notable points for me have been her willingness to work, and her demeanor. Kat hasn’t ever seemed…
Skye moves to training
Skye will soon be making the move to her next phase of training, when she heads up to Half Trak Farm to start work with Andrea. She’s spent the past three months at Lake Tapps Equestrian Center, where Team Zanotelli was able to use the covered arena to continue her…
Skittles Training Report, January 2014
Skittles is very sweet and easy to be around and groom. She has some pushy behaviors when asked to move and yield her front shoulders. She carries her head high and is tight over her back. After her arrival at SAFE, we gave her time to settle in, followed by ground…
Volunteer Rider Report: Kat and Sara E
Sara E is a SAFE volunteer who has been riding Kat on a regular basis. She had this to say about her work with Kat: I first met Kat when I first started volunteering with SAFE and was doing night feeding. Truthfully I wasn’t impressed, she was standoffish and a little…
Kai – a Master of Socrates
Can’t help but love this big hunk…somewhat distant exterior, but a heart of gold underneath for the right person, and, if you work for it, tons of easily offended dignity. He is the type that really doesn’t like to be laughed at or have his many ideas dismissed or…
Jewel ‑The Patient Little Patient
You can probably imagine my response to the call that Jewel had been injured. At first I was worried that she was hurt, then hearing the treatment plan I was quickly thinking: oh no what are we going to have on our hands?!? I am very pleased to report that she has…
Love Me and Keep Me Safe
Dottie is a loving, gentle horse who would make a great companion. We have some concerns about her overall soundness as a riding horse but we are taking things slow with her to see where we end up. If she can only be pasture-sound, it would be nice to see her go to…
Lunar New Year Celebration
Sunny D & Shasta were greeters at this year’s Westminster Chapel’s celebration of Lunar New Year. SAFE was asked to be this year’s special animal guests because 2014 is the Year of the Horse. Sunny and Shasta were wonderful greeters to the more than 1,500 people…
Another Challenge for Jewel
During the major windstorm last weekend, SAFE horse Jewel was injured. We discovered a 2” laceration across the back of her left hind pastern. The cut was deep enough to warrant an emergency vet call, and Dr. Penny came out to take a look (driving around multiple…
Taste the Rainbow!
We have a new horse to introduce to everyone! Her name is Skittles, she is an 18 year old Arab mare who is supposedly trained and able to be ridden Skittles was seized by King County Animal Control several months, and placed at Northwest Equine Stewardship Center for…
Cowgirl Kat!
It’s been a while since we updated you on Kat. We’ve seen a definite improvement in her tendency to trip over her front feet, and we suspect that the addition of vegetable oil to her diet has helped with that. Volunteer Sara E has been working with Kat under saddle…
Oscar, returned to SAFE
We have an old friend back among the herd at SAFE Harbor…the Arabian gelding El Johar Jamaal, formerly known as Oscar the Grouch, currently known as Oscar the Sweetie Pie. SAFE has elected to allow Oscar’s owner to return him to us to be rehomed, as we strongly feel…
Jewel: Checking in on our little missy
I have continued to work with Miss Jewel on her ground work to establishing respect and good social behaviors. A lot of the work includes leading and positioning along with catch and release game. She is a surprisingly very smart little girl who really enjoys doing a…
Portland medical update
We’re happy to say that Portland’s recovery has continued and he’s now officially up to a good weight (4/9 as determined by Dr DeWard) and looking healthy. Now that he’s got plenty of good food to eat and no mean horses beating him up, he’s truly enjoying life again,…
Bridgit was *not* on Santa’s Naughty List
She was a very good girl this year, so Santa brought a special gift for Bridgit…GrownUpClothes! She got her very own Pony size surcingle. Here she is modelling her Big Girl outfit. Isn’t she adorable? (the angle of the photo is exaggerating her current slightly…
Training Update for Bucky B Lucky!
Lucky has had a recent change of scenery, moving from Dutch Mills Farm up to White Birch Farm, where he will continue his under saddle work with trainer Melonie Rainey. We would like to thank Helga Roberts at Dutch Mills for everything she’s done for Lucky during his…
Marta & Shay update
Marta and Shay continue to thrive under the careful care of their foster mom, Eileen. With their blankets on, it’s hard to tell who is who, they are such peas in a pod! Both mares continue to be easy keepers on restricted diets, but they are getting to enjoy a brief…
Misty at a ‘big girl barn’
An update on Misty from Lisa: Misty enjoyed a trail outing on New Years day, to our usual spot at Rattlesnake Lake/Snoqualmie valley trail. She was very well behaved on the trails, and didn’t balk once! Even though we arrived and parked among other horse trailers and…
Catching up with Zanadu!
It’s always a happy day when we get an update on Zanadu. We like to think that all of the adopted SAFE horses are loved, but when it comes to Zan, there is no question that she is adored, treasured, and beloved. Karen sent this update: Zan and I are doing…
January training notes: Sasha
Sasha seems to be showing signs of discomfort, especially tracking to the right on the lunge line. She does a lot of chewing and moving/opening her mouth…it almost looks as if she were sucking on her tongue or cheeks. She can’t hold the right lead canter without…
Ginger is cantering under saddle!
Here are some photos of Gingers ride today. She is doing well and a lot of fun! She is a green walk, trot, canter. Steering is optional. =)
Happiest holidays from Strider & Chip!
Strider had to leave his Monroe foster home with Sheridan and Austin with the onset of winter weather, since Sheridan’s barn has still not been rebuilt. We are so fortunate that our good friend Heather, who’s already fostering Chip, offered a place in her lovely barn…
A Home for the Holidays for Moonshine
Most of us have probably wished at one time or another for a pony under the tree on Christmas morning. Well Moonshine won’t be going anywhere near the Gable’s Christmas tree but he’ll be there in spirit as this wonderful family celebrates the holiday. It gives us…
Dottie update!
Dottie has had a bit of a rough time since the onset of colder weather, including a couple of scary bouts of colic. We had to call the vet out on one occasion but fortunately the colic resolved itself. We watch her closely and give her extra sloppy mashes and…
We knew this day was coming…
…so we won’t say goodbye, we’ll just say good luck!! It’s been our good luck and good fortune that Brittney Stewart has been part of SAFE over the course of 2013. And even though it’s time for her to move on so she can concentrate full time on B&D Sport Horses,…
A wonderful Cameo training update
It’s been a while since we’ve provided an update on Cameo’s progress in training, but it’s not because things haven’t been going well…quite the opposite in fact. Things with Cameo have been going SO well that we can hardly believe it. When we dropped Cameo off at…
Fun with Honeycutt and Sinatra
Boys will be boys, and these guys play rough…Honeycutt has some scary-looking moves, but he doesn’t actually do anything to hurt Sinatra.
A home for Miah!
We’ve been waiting with growing eagerness to share some fantastic news with you, but being a superstitious bunch, we didn’t want to jinx it until we knew for sure. Miah has been out on trial, pending adoption, for the past month with a wonderful horsewoman named…
Moonshine update!
Moonshine is pending adoption, and has been on trial with his potential new owner at SAFE Harbor, taking lessons with Brittney and learning to jump! He’s doing fantastic, we could not be more proud of him. During his pre-purchase exams, a mass was discovered in the…
Summer update
Summer: the ol’ girl keeps on kickin’! Kyle dropped two additional blankets off for the grande dame so her foster caretakers can mix and match as needed. Kyle says that Summer came out to meet her just as bright eyed as she imagined she can be. We’ve been very…
Atticus is finally getting Fat-ticus!
Atticus had an vet exam today, and Dr. Penny feels he is nearly up to weight. He has a fat pad at the tail head! She drew blood for a follow up liver enzymes test, and we should have results tomorrow. She checked his mouth and found nothing unusual to explain his lack…
Black Mare Friday!
Misty celebrated Black Friday with a trail ride! Here’s an update from Lisa: My friend Victoria invited me to go on a spontaneous ride on Friday. When she pulled up, Misty got very excited and pushy. This has become a bit of a pattern and ironically Cindy Akdeniz, the…
From the Horse’s Mouth: The Opposite of Shadow
If you follow Honeycutt’s blog, you know that he shares a lot of secrets about horses and their interactions. Today’s update on Sinatra comes straight from the horse’s mouth… Now if you were to look out and see me, you would see something white right next to me. If…
Marta & Shay enjoy a rare blanket free day in November
Ups and Downs with Sapphire
Our pretty grey Arab Sapphire has been a challenge since the moment we met her, displaying unpredictable bouts of overreactive behavior that make her the sort of horse that you don’t want to turn your back on. From what little we know about her background and where…
Marta & Shay enjoy a Blanket Free day!
Fibrotic Myopathy
This video shows you what Savannah walk looks like, due to her fibrotic myopathy:
Ariel: All grown up!
Ariel was born just days after her mother, Amber, was seized by Animal Control and brought to SAFE. Despite her mother’s emaciated condition, Ariel was born heathy and lively. Ariel is now 5 years old, and her adopter has this update to share with us: Ariel was…
Aiden the Seahorse!!
Here’s a terrific update about our good friend Aiden!!! Who knew, he’s a water pony!!! Aiden is doing great and really enjoying life. He has done really well in 4H will Alia and Aubrey in both performance and dressage. We are lucky enough to have some friends that…
A Request for Two Special Foster Homes
We currently have two SAFE horses in need of special foster homes: Strider and Jewel. Strider We have been incredibly blessed that Strider was able to spend the summer and fall at the home of our wonderful supporter Sheridan. Not to put too fine a point on it,…
Misty at the Donida Dressage Schooling Show!
As we mentioned a few days ago, Misty went to her third horse show and second dressage show on November 9th at Donida Farms. Here are her results along with some of the judge’s comments on each test: Intro C — 5th place with 64.75% “Fun horse. Correctly ridden.…
Checking in with Eomer (who you might remember as Ego Afire!)
Just a quick update on Eomer, he is doing great. His sweet personality and riding demeanor has made him an excellent addition to the family. Andrea continues to come out and give us riding lessons, and she agrees that he’s a sweet little guy. When Jenny brought River…
Skye’s First Ride — Video
We couldn’t be more excited to share with you this video taken of Skye’s first experience with a rider in a saddle on her back. We are so proud of our girl and the amazing progress she has made under the guidance of Dave Zanotelli. Dave started fostering SAFE in late…
