Zanadu’s angels

Zan’s been a SAFE horse since June of 2010, and she’s come a long way from the unhandled and underfed filly she was when we first met her. Restarted under saddle by professional dressage trainer Andrea Lucianna, Zan became a superstar riding horse — willing, easy,…

Poster Hub

Looking for an easy way to help SAFE? Here’s a biggie — we have several healthy and well trained horses that need to be adopted. Every horse we adopt out means that we have space to take in a new horse who needs our help! So if you live in Western Washington, you can…

New blankets for Sunny and Shasta!

Many thanks to Patti, Gael and Kirann Gable for donating new rainsheets for our resident Minis. Shasta looks fabulous in her new red coat and SunnyD is sporting the blue. They will stay warm and dry thanks to this generous donation.

Justice for Bud and Brandy

Yesterday in King County Superior Court, a jury returned a guilty verdict on two counts of felony animal cruelty against the woman who starved and neglected Bud and Brandy. Here is their story. The call came late on a Sunday afternoon in February…two elderly horses,…

Straight to the horse’s mouth!

Once a year we hold the Fall Into Winter Feed Drive, and ask our good friends to donate funds that will be earmarked for purchasing hay, grain, and a moderate amount of horse treats for the horses in SAFE’s care. We’ll all feel more secure knowing that our haylofts…

Chance’s History

Chance is a Thoroughbred cross gelding that was one of the first horses rescued by SAFE in early 2005. He was supposedly a failed bucking stock horse who was so sweet and friendly that no one wanted to see him be sent to slaughter. SAFE paid his feedlot ransom, and…

Oscar: A Perfect Gelding…A Perfect Gentleman

Oscar: A Perfect Gelding…A Perfect Gentleman

Oscar came to SAFE as a stallion, one of 16 horses seized from a breeding operation by Pierce County Animal Control in Dec 2011. Oscar had been starved and badly neglected. As a breeding stallion, he’d lived a life of isolation and was aggressive and “studdish”…

Chance/Waldo

Chance (formerly CBER Waldo) is a 13yo (1999) 16.1hh Bay TBx gelding. As a youngster, he flunked out of bucking horse school and was rescued from slaughter by SAFE.  Currently ridden English; previously had some dressage training and an introduction to jumping.  Also…

Fall Work Party Thank You!

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the world’s greatest team of volunteers for their hours of hard work donated on Saturday, September 22nd. Record turnout and hard work made a lot of improvements to SAFE Harbor Stables happen. SAFE appreciates…

A new day for Khianna

The past several months have been a journey for Khianna. She went into training last June to be restarted under saddle, but unfortunately, she had some issues with bolting. Andrea put a lot of time into trying to work through these issues, and felt that Khianna’s…

Louie’s new foster home

We’ve gotten a great update on Louie who moved to a great new foster home this past weekend. We’d also like to welcome Lisa to the SAFE family as a new foster “mom”! Louie has settled in great at his new foster home. He and the other Arab gelding — Shazam — have hit…

Noah Video Stills

Here are some stills from a video of Noah being handwalked by Heather at SAFE Harbor Stable: 

Miah goes to training!

Miah is off at the trainer’s to get re-started under saddle. She’s already trotted under saddle and Andrea reports she’s doing great and easy so far. We’ll have more updates on her progress soon, but for now, here’s a picture of our lovely girl after her first bath!…

An afternoon visit with Marta

Thank you to Marta’s foster mom Eileen for this wonderful update and video of our girl! Marta is doing well. She is sleek, shiny, a wee bit plump, perhaps, and getting fuzzier as the cool weather sets in. It is a little hard to judge her ideal weight because she was a…

Goodbye Dexter

Goodbye Dexter

This will not be an easy post to write. I’ve already made four or five attempts to get started, writing tired cliches…like “Letting a horse go is never easy” or “We know we can’t save them all” …and then hitting the delete key. Staring at an empty page. And…

Charmeon joins the SAFE Harbor herd

Charmeon graduated from her refresher training course this past weekend and made the trip down to SAFE Harbor Stables where she’ll be staying while she waits for her perfect adopter to come! Char is a sweet and friendly mare who, as you’ll see from these pictures, is…

Pictures of Sinatra, just because…

Measuring the fence this past weekend, my bright yellow tape measure caught the attention of Sinatra, who left his hay to come over and have a look. Always the social butterfly… 

Chance’s Big Trail Ride

An update from Chance’s owner, Sandy: “Chance has been doing great on the trails. I have taken him on a few rides by himself and although he needs a confident rider he has done great. Yesterday he went on a 5 1/2 hour ride for the first time with two horses he had…

SAFE Tool Drive Information

Do you have extra tools cluttering your work bench? Can you really use three hammers at once? Pining for a shiny new lawnmower, even though your old one is perfectly functional? Donate your surplus unwanted tools to SAFE! We need just about everything to stock our…

April Update

April has been on pasture rest for several months due to showing some signs of lameness. We’re looking forward to her beginning to come back slowly at the end of the month and we know she is too. She needs to be in work to keep her weight in check and she gets bored…

Tilly & Moonshine Update

Here’s a great update from foster Jackie L who cares for Moonshine and Tilly: Moonshine has found a place in my heart. Each morning I stand on the deck and call his name, and he replies with a whinney. Sometimes he runs to the fence to say good morning up close and…

Maggie Video

Our little Maggie is making great strides! Here is video of her first canter as a SAFE horse!

Maggie Update & Video!

Training Update, Aug 28, 2012 Maggie was put into the training program in order to address some significant fears about allowing her hind legs to be touched or handled in any way. She has made great progress in this department and just yesterday was deemed “almost…

Sunny D

Sunny D — photo by Jeff Barker

Thank you…to whom??

An adorable electric weed eater mysteriously appeared at SAFE Harbor Stables last week. It is lightweight, quiet, and very efficient. Here are some before and after pictures…it will be so nice to have this little helper to keep the areas close to the barn neatly…

Misty Training Update

Here’s an update on Misty from our trainer, Heather Roe: What can I say about Misty? This little mare is a super star! She has now been to two shows where she won her classes both times and has was steady and unflappable both times. Her training is progressing right…

Aiden Training Update

Aiden is such a good boy! His newest skill is walk/canter transitions and although he does not always give the right lead, the transitions themselves are getting more and more consistent. He is very responsive to seat and leg aids and is a very fun and steady ride. He…

Kat Update!

Kat has been in regular work for just over a month and so far she is a very steady and level headed mare at the walk and trot. She was ridden by one of our novice riders at the SAFE show and did great! Her canter work has proven to be a bit of a challenge as she does…

Louie Training Update

Louie is back in regular work some time off for some chiropractic issues. He is feeling significantly better under saddle and is now willing to bend, work laterally and stretch long and low. His canter work is still developing but he is now able to sit down and use…

Lola Training Update

Lola is now consistently working over small jumps and was shown over fences at the SAFE show, where she placed 3rd. She has proven to be a bold and willing jumper and I think the next step is to try her over some cross country jumps. She has been steadily improving in…

A visit with Char

SAFE volunteer Allison visited Charmeon up at Half Trak Farm and got to take her for a spin. She reports that Char is pretty fun to ride although she’s still a bit green and lacks confidence. But she’s forward and sweet, and loves to hear that she’s a good girl.…

Sinatra pictures

Here are some cute photos that Allison took of Sinatra back in July, being himself at SAFE Harbor Stables. 

Bigfoot? Big heart!

It would undoubtedly be quite a surprise to be hiking through the woods only to run into the legendary Sasquatch, the elusive man-ape creature said to haunt the forests of the Northwest. It was no less a surprise when we at SAFE received a donation in the amount of…

Results and Pro photos for all the SAFE horses, in one place!

The SAFE horses and their riders performed beautifully at this year’s show. Here are the pro photos and the ribbon count for each of them. We’re so proud of you!! Zanadu and Lara Zanadu, by Karen Wegehenkel Zanadu, by Liz Stabbert 2nd place, Trails, Mounted, 18–29 2nd…

JR at the SAFE Show!

JR has been in a foster/training situation at Dutch Mills Farm since May, thanks to Helga Roberts, who has done amazing work with this lovely horse. She brought him to the SAFE show where he competed in Dressage and Trot Poles.…and walked away as the Champion of the…

Zan at the SAFE Show!

A big thank you to volunteer Lara B for riding Zan at the SAFE show. They made a lovely pair! Here’s Lara’s report on her weekend with Zan: When we entered the dressage ring on Saturday, I’d only ridden Zan a handful of times. I found her to be an uncomplicated and…

Louie at the SAFE Show!

Louie stuck to in-hand classes due to some back soreness issues but was quite the gentleman all weekend.  He placed 2nd in Halter and was very brave going through the trails class.  He was sweet and even tempered and charmed everyone who met him.   [gallery…

Lola at the SAFE Show!

Another big thank you to our incredible trainer, Heather Roe, who showed Lola and Louie at the SAFE show. Heather has been working with all the SAFE horses under saddle at SAFE Harbor, and her hard work really paid off as every one of the SAFE horses was a star at the…

Kat at the SAFE Show!

We were able to bring Kat to the SAFE show, and thanks to Chelsey Braswell, Kat got to experience so many wonderful things! Kat surprised us all with her willingness, bravery and ability! Here’s a full report from Chelsey: Oh my goodness, Kat was a superstar. I cannot…

Shiloh at the SAFE Show!

From Shiloh’s foster/trainer Brittney Stewart of B&D Sport Horses LLC The SAFE Benefit Schooling Show was as big as a recognized show, without the pressure of a recognized show. Shiloh gained valuable experience points being in a big show atmosphere. She was keyed-up…

More Misty news, now with video!

From Misty’s foster: A few photos of Misty in case a potential adopter wants to see. One has her ribbons from the show on her back. 🙂 I also took a quick walk/trot/canter video each way this AM before bringing her back to SHS. It isn’t the best (my husband hobbled…