SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
Edward, Back to Work
Since healing from his popped splint, Edward has been on the mend and back in work. Edward is a special guy. He is definitely the kind of horse who, if he knows you and trusts you, allows you to get a lot more done. Whatever happened in Edward’s past, a combination of being orphaned as a foal and poor handling in his time before arriving at SAFE, has not set him up for success. He has…
Going the Distance with Montana
From the moment he arrived at SAFE, Montana garnered a lot of attention. He is a flashy-looking horse, and with his medicine hat markings and pretty blue eyes, it’s no wonder he had people immediately smitten. But Montana was — is — troubled. He had a rough start in life that left him with some pretty significant baggage. When he arrived at SAFE, despite having ‘been started’ in his youth, he…
Figuring Out Henry
Figuring out horses is a thing we have to do a lot here at SAFE. Rarely do they come with instructions. Their histories often begin at the point where they’re rescued, and we can usually only guess at what their lives were like before. We watch for clues or hints. We reinforce the good behaviors, and discourage the bad. When past neglect has been a factor in shaping a horse’s personality, we may…
Bandit & Brandy on Grass
If you were to stay at the Brandy and Bandit Bed and Breakfast (only fun to say because of all the alliteration, and goodness me, try saying ‘Brandy and Bandit’ ten times fast), you would find that grass is newly on the menu. These two ladies have been spending a bit of time separate as of late, in paddocks that neighbor one another but are not connected. This slight separation has been good for…
Meet Arrow
A handsome stallion joined our herd last week — an 18 year old buckskin boy named Arrow. He was an owner surrender, and while he is overdue for some basic care and in need of groceries, he has clearly had some good experiences in his past given how gentle he has shown himself to be so far. He let us curry (and bathe!) away the caked on mud on his hocks and the rain rot on his back, and he…
Irene is Adopted!
This is a record breaking adoption!! Our Irene was at SAFE for a short 3.5 weeks and it only took 11 days for Irene’s new adopter, Stanalee, to meet her and fall in love. That’s incredible! Stanalee came to us looking for a pasture mate for her mare, Kihanna (a SAFE alumni) after recently losing their herd mate, Haley. In fact, it’s the same reason Stanalee first came to us 7 years ago and…
Domino’s Days
What has our rodeo king been up to in his spare time? Well, mostly Domino is still just patiently waiting for his person to show up. This sweet old gent is ready for a nice and easy retirement, ideally alongside a pushover gelding or a nice mare he can romance. Domino continues to enjoy his human interactions, loving the time he spends with his groomers. He remains very attached to his fence…
Terrific Tanis
Volunteer Meghan N has been spending most of her weekday afternoons with Tanis for almost a year now, and took the time to write a bit about their partnership over the last months: “Yet again, Tanis impresses us with the huge amount of try she has! This mare has really come so far since her intake in spring of 2022. Over the winter, we worked hard on everything from hindquarters/front…
Cramer is Adopted!
Once upon a time, there was a big bay horse. Before he came to SAFE, he had cut his teeth at the rodeo, used for years as a bucking horse. When his quarter ran out, he was relegated to a practice horse for people to hone their skills, and when his time there was done, he found himself bound for a feedlot. The antagonist of this horse’s story does not have a name we know, but there are…
Meet Roy!
Our newest addition has a very sad story and once again we are so thankful for the animal control officers in Pierce County for their gallant efforts to help horses in our community. Roy was part of a herd of 7 horses, sadly two were euthanized on the property, one at the hospital and two others while trying to save them while in holding with Animal Control. Roy is a true survivor and has…
Betty and Eleven Are Adopted!
Eleven and Betty arrived as a pair, nearly indistinguishable from one another, and left just the same: together. We’d gotten to know them a lot better by then — the way Eleven would maneuver her lips into a quasi-vacuum to suck up her prascend-stuffed carrot each morning, or the way Betty’s coat would shine nearly blue-black in the sunshine — but the one thing we knew for sure was that we wanted…
Back to (halter starting) Basics with Esme
Even though Esme has been going well under saddle for a bit now, there are still some basics that she is in need of revisiting. Because Esme was improperly halter started once upon a time, she still has a difficult time coming off of pressure. In the below video, Joel helps Esme learn how to follow a float and a feel by dallying her from his saddle horse. This is also important work to help Esme…
May Volunteer of the Month
We are oh so lucky Lara found SAFE! She has been a rockstar on the Sunday PM shift, stepping up as Shift Lead and then Barn Assist coming early to help with hay drop and turn in. Not only does she work a full time job and commit one of her weekend evenings to SAFE, she also shows up each Thursday night for Night Check to make sure all the horses are healthy and tucked in for their last meal.…
Lacey, Back in the Saddle
Our longest resident at SAFE is a little chestnut mare named Lacey. 7 years Lacey has been here, so you would think that by this point we know her very well. And while this isn’t wrong, there are many ways in which Lacey remains an enigma to us. For a while she was going well under saddle – she had gone off to training, and had been put through the paces by multiple different riders. But there…
Jax’s Back
As is the case with any new horse, it takes some time before we get to know them. That period of unknowing that comes before knowing is always so strange to reflect on – the hidden personalities that lurk beneath the surfaces, waiting to be teased out by proper care and caring. When 15 horses arrived on our doorstep all at once last November, we knew it would take a bit before we knew each of…
Nova at Training
What is that saying, girls go to college to get more knowledge? (I think there’s a part about boys in there too, but it’s a little less kind). The girl in question here is Nova, and the college is a place in Ellensburg with teacher, Dylan Palm. With a great start already under her belt, Nova has just been in need of a bit of dedicated time spent to really polish her to a shine, and we couldn’t…
GiveBIG May 2–3rd
Each first Tuesday in May, Washington Gives promotes participating nonprofits through their online giving platform to help individuals and businesses discover and donate to nonprofits in Washington State. You can support SAFE during GiveBIG by clicking here.
Veronica’s Tarp Journey
Where do ‘grandma’s horses’ come from, what are their origins? Just as all grandmas were once young women, some surely more wild than others, such must be the same for the horses who earn this moniker. Continuing the metaphor, on the ground, Veronica is closer to middle-age. Not quite ready for grandma, but with that in sight. She is, these days, quite easy to catch and lead. She stands well for…
Frosting’s First Ride
The Frosting who arrived at SAFE at the beginning of 2021 was a scraggly creature, barely half a panel high at the wither, and covered in a ratty, matted coat. She was just shy of a year old then, and still clacking at every horse around her to remind them that she was little and therefore, not a threat. She spent some time at foster, growing up alongside mother-figure Fancy, and when she came…
Ride, Darla, Ride
While Darla is ready to leave the nest and embark on her next big adventure alongside a lucky adopter, we are happily enjoying the time we still get to spend alongside this special girl. Kaya M, Darla’s primary rider, has been putting in a lot of work to prepare this darling creature for her forever home, and while you can read what Kaya herself has written about Darla on her page, it’s clear…
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Zelly
Kaya M brought Zelly into the groundwork portion of the March Joel Conner clinic, and had the following to say about her experience there as well as her observations of Zelly under saddle: “They say that being around smart people makes you smarter and I think that must also apply to horses. This horse is so smart! Just being around her shows me how I need to be a better horseman and I learned so…
Health Update: Declan
Since arriving at SAFE, Delcan has been a little bit off, physically. Granted, he’s an older gentleman, and with the wisdom of age comes less desirable things, like arthritis, but we still wanted to check him out with our vets. To add another layer, when he first arrived at SAFE, Declan kicked out at a panel which resulted in a laceration along his heel bulb. This injury ended up growing down…
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Eleven
Sue C partnered up with Eleven at the March Joel Conner clinic, and had the following to say about their time together: “I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Eleven at the March 2023 Joel Conner clinic. Eleven is a lovely 24 year old Percheron cross mare, sweet and largely untroubled. She can be nervous about handling, and had little exposure to ground work, but was a willing and…
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Betty
Candi K recently worked alongside Betty in the March Joel Conner clinic, and had the following to say about their time together: “At first glance you might think Betty is big and assuming but once you look into her eyes you will see a gentle soul. At all of 5’1” I barely come up to her withers, her head is bigger than my torso and her hooves are bigger than my feet. None of that mattered though…
Hopper and Sparrow Move to SAIN
Hopper and Sparrow made their way to Skagit Animals in Need where they will enjoy life in their foster program (with new buddies!) until SAIN is able to find them a loving retirement home. We are very thankful to partner with SAIN to help find these boys homes and will continue to send qualified adopters their way! Both geldings were part of the 27 horse Pierce County Animal Control seizure last…
Artie Out on the Town
Given how mellow he has been under saddle thus far, we had no reason to believe that Artie would not be able to find as much comfort in his rider outside the arena as he did within it. And our hypothesis was proved correct when taking him out for the first time for a walk around the property. Artie was a very brave boy, walking over pallet bridges, through puddles, and by all sorts of birds and…
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Brandy
Carrie S participated in the March Joel Conner clinic alongside Brandy, and had the following to say about their experience together: “I had the opportunity to work with Brandy during the groundwork portion of the Joel Conner Clinic in March of 2023. Brandy had previously attended one clinic, but had little work in between due to the large herd that SAFE took in last November, which…
2023 Q1 Impact Statement
New Horses Intake Date: Feb 28, 2023 Jacob (Returned to SAFE) Intake Date: Mar 12, 2023 Irene (Animal Control) Intake Date: Mar 29, 2023 Quincy (Returned to SAFE) Placed Horses Harley Finnigan Lady Diva Jasmine Sullivan Chloe Remmi Apollo Nutmeg Bramble Hopper Sparrow Eleven Betty Cramer Otto
Quincy, back at SAFE
Easy has never been a word one would associate with Quincy. He first came to SAFE back in the beginning of February 2021 as an anxious stallion, incredibly reluctant to be caught and very nervous to be handled. He was gelded here, and a lot of time was spent to gentle him: braiding his mane, brushing his coat, and teaching him some basics of groundwork to help him feel more comfortable in his…
Darla, out and about
With the onset of nicer weather comes the shedding of many things: layers, coats, and roofs. The latter of which doesn’t actually go anywhere, rather we just get out from under them. Walks around the property are a great first step for prepping horses for the trails, or just experiencing a change of scenery. And really, when the ground is dry and the sky is blue, we’ll take any excuse to get out…
