SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
A Spoonful of Sugar
We welcomed a new member to our herd this week: Sugar, who at 8.2 hands is certainly close to the size of a sugar cube! This mini horse was originally part of the seizure of horses that brought us such familiar faces as Jupiter and Theo. Sugar was in rough shape when he was first pulled from his neglectful situation at the end of 2022. He was also still a stallion (perhaps father to SAFE Alumsā¦
Volunteer Education: Animal Control Class
As part of our continuing education series for volunteers, this past weekend we were lucky enough to be able to host Officer Brian Boman from the Pierce County Sheriffās Animal Control Department. Brian has over 20 years of experience in Animal Control, and is a certified Animal Cruelty Investigator and a Nationally Certified Equine Abuse Investigator, just to name a few of his many credentials.ā¦
Alumni Update: Champagne
Little Champagne has a new buddy!
Ride, Tiva, Ride
Inside the boundaries of a 6ft tall priefert round pen, Tiva rolls her hindquarters to the left. Itās the 5,000th time sheās done so (not today, but in general) but it passes without fanfare or recognition. She will roll them another 5000 times before the year is out. This time last year, she was nervously evading capture in her paddock, snake-necked and snorting at those who approached. Now,ā¦
Jacob in April
In the sunshine, Jacob shines like the copper of a new penny. While he and BFF Edward are a matched pair of chestnuts, Edward is shedding out into more of a liver, which makes differentiating between the two a little easier from a distance. Jacob has been taking it easy for the most part, just waiting on an adopter to come sweep him off his hooves. One thing we have been trying hard to combatā¦
Inula at Foster
For the most part, once a horse comes to SAFE, they will stay on property until they make their way to their forever home. But on rare occasions, a circumstance arises that is too perfect for us to pass up. When an alumni adopter reached out to us expressing her interest in bringing a horse to foster, we could hardly say no. Her pasture acreage would be any horseās dream summer residence, so theā¦
Alumni Update: Breve and Checkers
Due to family circumstances Breve and Checkers were re-homed and now live with Lola Lang on a family farm that was started by Lolaās mom and dad. Lola has continued the family tradition of building a place where people can learn about horses. There are roughly 50 horses on the property and approximately 4 ponies. The property is very peaceful, and Lola has created an atmosphere of communityā¦
Alumni Update: Heidi
Heidi and her 34-year-old pasture mate, Prince, love spending time grazing together. Heidi is healthy, well cared for and dearly loved.
Alumni Update: Nyx
An update from Lindsay: Boy, do I love this horse I got from SAFE. Getting my own horses for the first time in my late 30ās and then moving them home soon after has been a trip. Sooo many life lessons. Thereās just not a real way to fully prepare for it. Nyx is a guy who likes to anticipate and he couldnāt have anticipated this! Weāve learned SO much about each other in the last couple of yearsā¦
Watch Over Me
Horses come to us for different reasons. For many, itās a first step toward a new and better life. Others get their chance for some much needed peace and caring, and a chance for us to rewrite their final chapter. Dorothy is one such horse. Dorothy is a beauty of a mare who doesnāt deserve to be defined by the neglect she suffered before coming to SAFE. But the truth is, sheās lived through someā¦
Brandyās Hobbies
Brandy, one of the matriarchs of SAFE, will turn 30 this July according to our records. So what is she getting up to so far in her 30th year? Well, first and foremost, keeping close with BFF Bandit. While Brandy finds a lot of support in humans, and has made great strides as both teacher and student in our horsemanship program, she still prefers to have her equine counterpart nearby. Now thatā¦
A Bath for Montana
Whatās brown, off-white, and dark bay all over? A dirty Montana! This guy earned the nickname of ācatā last summer for two reasons: he was known to sunbathe on the regular, and he had an uncanny ability to look clean(ish) despite spending so much time in the dirt, almost like he was able to groom himself. But this year, a late shed to his coat meant that the dirt had more area to cling to, andā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Veronica
What a fun little sports car riding horse Veronica has become, we should call her our little red Miata! She was very well behaved throughout the recent clinic. We worked a lot on improving her hindquarters and true unified walk. When she gets in balance, the trot and canter work feel stronger, and she has a ton of power pushing from behind and over her topline. She has always been a show stopperā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Sienna
Catherine N worked Sienna in the March Joel Conner clinic, and says the following about her experience: āI worked Sienna in the groundwork for the March Joel Conner Clinic. I feel like we were both nervous at first, but quickly settled in. Sienna, I felt, was able to grasp what I asked quickly and was able to let me get my body and hand the way that I needed to be. There were moments that Iā¦
Alumni Update: River
SAFE Volunteer Debbie M recently visited with SAFE Alum, River; his humans, Wendy and David Z; and ābig sisterā, Ameli, at their beautiful 5āacre property in Snohomish. River arrived at SAFE in December 2012, along with two herd mates as part of an owner surrender situation. He was originally adopted in July 2013 and trained in dressage but sold to Wendy Z in late 2016. After 2.5 years ofā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Artie
Kirsten L has been riding Artie for several months, and brought him in to the March Joel Conner clinic. Here is her report on the experience: āMr. Artie Shaw is quite the gentleman! This was my first riding clinic with Joel and Artie was incredibly patient with my learning curve. Levelheaded. Confident with new horses. Unflappable when asked to walk, trot, lope, and didnāt spook once. Weāveā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Bandit
Kirsten L has been working with Bandit for well over a year now, and has the following to say about their time spent together during the March Joel Conner clinic: āIn working with Bandit at our 6th Clinic together, the saying āone step at a timeā rings true. This 27- year-old sweetheart of a mare continues to give and give and give as she is ready. She has become much lighter and more responsiveā¦
Alumni Update: Betty & Eleven
A SAFE alumni volunteer recently checked in with Betty and Eleven and their adopter, Cindee. Cindee admits these lovely mares are quite spoiled and are living the life every horse dreams of ā plenty of running space, a heated stall in winter (Cindeeās husband wants them to be warm and cozy), fresh hay and grain supplements, a family that adores them, and neighbors who come to visit. Cindee isā¦
April Volunteer of the Month: Laia Solsona-Holmes
Congratulations to our April Volunteer of the Month, Laia Solsona-Holmes! We are incredibly fortunate to have had Laia join SAFE way back in September of 2021. Since then, she has been a standout member of the Thursday AM chore team, consistently demonstrating her dedication and enthusiasm. Laia not only fulfills her shifts reliably, but she goes above and beyond in her contributions. Whetherā¦
Rest in Peace, Lancelot
Every once in a while, we are reminded of just how delicate horses actually are. While announcing the loss of one of our herd is never easy, this one is a bit more painful than most. During his first saddling, in a freak accident, Lance broke his leg. While a broken bone for a human means rest and recuperation, unfortunately for a horse, really the only and kindest course of action isā¦
Alumni Update: Piper
Piperās adopter, Talia, recently provided an update. Itās been a long time since I gave a Piper update! Weāre all trying to get in shape for spring with hikes up the big hill. The Arabian (Nova) led the way, and Piper and I did just a little huffing and puffing behind her. Weāre moving to new pastures this week, and weāre all looking forward to being roommates again! (The girls have been forā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Edward
Kaya M has been riding Edward as of late, and the two of them participated in the March Joel Conner clinic together. Hereās what Kaya has to say about their time: āEdward and I had a little set back a couple months ago in the process of getting more life and have been working through a spot where Edward feels like he is going to take off, so I was really looking forward to getting some help fromā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Theo
As a young guy just starting out in our training program, the goal for Theo is to keep things light. Weāre working to develop his balance and strengthen his confidence while wearing the saddle. Theo continues to get softer and is showing great improvement with connection, feeling, and responsiveness. Theo is a naturally gentle young fellow, but when we started working with him, he also seemedā¦
Snohomish Animal Control Officer Training
This past week, SAFE hosted two of Snohomish County Animal Controlās newest officers, Sarah Weaver and Ashlynn Trujillo for a day of hands-on education. Even for those with knowledge of horses, encountering an unknown horse in the field presents its challenges and questions, but we have quite a bit of tried and true experience when it comes to handling and assessing equines in need, and are moreā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Frosting
There are many things that we adore about Frosting but the overarching theme is her kind heart. As her understanding of the work grows so does the partnership with her handlers. Over the last few weeks she has been getting ridden consistently at least 4 times a week. She is developing more balance in all three gaits and is one of the softest horses at SAFE currently. She has almost zero changingā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Barb
Barb is named so because back when she was a wild thing, veritably feral as part of the Fall City 40, she ran herself through a barbed wire fence. This would not be Barbās only brush with fencing, as several years later she would tweak her back crawling out of her paddock. From those two sentences alone you can picture what a crafty, tough-as-nails, and determined horse Barb is. These traitsā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Blanche
Lexee N, who has been working with Blanche since her arrival at SAFE, put the first rides on this lovely lady at the end of March, and has the following to say about her: āThis mare! Blanche has been checking boxes left and right since sheās arrived at SAFE. Sheās sweet, gentle, easy going and absolutely stunning. This big black mustangās first ride at SAFE during the Joel clinic went offā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Wren
This mare has ātryā in spades! One of the sweetest mares on the property, she is eager to meet you at the gate, accepting of everything asked of her and lets out the cutest nickers when you dismount. She LOVE her tummy scratches when you take off the saddle and stretches her nose out to reciprocate mutual grooming. If you havenāt realized it yet, this is a very special mare! She has feltā¦
Autumn Will Soon Run Free
SAFE takes in a lot of unhandled, untouchable horsesā¦mostly because a lot of unhandled, untouchable horses end up at rescues. Itās not against the law to let a young horse grow up without giving it an education, but uneducated young horses can grow up to be unwanted older horses when they get biggerā¦and more dangerous. Horses are generally good natured creatures, which is why past mistakesā¦
March Joel Conner Clinic Report: Jupiter
Lexee N has been working and riding Jupiter for several months, and recently brought him into the March Joel Conner clinic. Hereās what she has to say about this handsome guy: āJupiter is one of the sweetest, dopiest guys you could ever meet. And although his demeanor is what dreams are made of, his physical balance still needs quite a bit of work to keep him happy and comfortable. Jupiter likeā¦