SAFE Horses
SAFE News and Updates
Alumni Update: Millie
Mille lives a happy life as the “queen” of her pasture! Although she is not being ridden, she is able to go on trail rides being ponied behind her pasture mate. She does very well on trails, even when they encounter bicycles, hikers, and other horses. We are so happy to hear Millie is living a great life surrounded by friends and adventures …
Volunteer(s) of the Year: Meghan, Monique and Trela!
We know you all have been holding your breath, waiting for us to announce our 2022 Volunteer of the Year! We wanted to surprise them in person (and film it to share with everyone! No pressure ladies) and it just so happened we couldn’t get them in on the property at the same time until this week! Watch as Kaya surprises Meghan, Trela and Monique, in their natural habitat (pounding T posts) and…
Alumni update: Flynn
Cute photo of Flynn and a lesson student enjoying the warmer weather!
A Horse’s Best Friend
Veronica loves dogs! Not only if they just happen to be walking by her as she snoozes next to the fence line, but when she spots them, she comes right over and wants kisses. Our Saturday Barn Staff, Trudy, brings Titan her adorable husky to work each weekend. Trudy goes about her busy day with Titan always in tow or sometimes towing her along. Since he was a wee puppy, he has grown up at SAFE…
Alumni Update: Lucca
Jane loves trail riding and spending time with Lucca. When they are not riding the beautiful trails near Lucca’s boarding barn, Jane spends time hand walking, just to spend more time with her. Jane even brought Lucca to a Joel Conner clinic so our volunteers could have a chance to work with a horse in the clinic. It was great to see them on the property and we love hearing how Lucca is doing…
February Volunteer of the Month: Molly McCord
Congratulations to our Volunteer of the Month, Molly!! Molly is a delight to be around, she brings sunshine to the barn and is a fantastic leader for her Friday PM team. Friday nights are hard shifts to fill, but every Friday, there is Molly, spending her “weekend” night with us. If there was an award for longest distance traveled to volunteer, it would surely go to her for the 50+ miles she…
SAFE Tax Donation Receipts were emailed yesterday!
2022 Tax Donation Receipts were sent out on January 31 via email to everyone who made at least one gift last year and who has an email on file with us. If you did not get one, it might be because we don’t have a working email address for you. If that’s the case, send a message to donate@safehorses.org and we’ll get your fixed right up! We had 1500 different donors in 2022 and our most successful…
Henry Health Update
All of the Graham horses are up to date on medical care, and have already had their feet done twice. Henry is no exception to this. The nervous, wild-eyed horse who arrived at SAFE after what was likely his first trailer ride is a far cry from the sweet horse who we are getting to know. This is not to say he is not still looky, but he has graduated from needing to live in a breakaway halter, as…
Kelly’s Legs
Kelly arrived at SAFE with some significant dermatitis on her legs, with her hind limbs being the most severely affected. She had rubbed patches completely raw from itching, and had developed some sore spots on her fetlocks underneath all those lovely draft horse feathers. We had our vet out to look at her and do an intake exam, where she developed a treatment plan for Kelly that involved daily…
Alumni Update: Cassidy
Cassidy shares a five-acre pasture with her buddy, Salish. Currently, Cassidy is learning how to jump, and she loves it! Brianna, her adopter, rides her nearly every week on trails which is another activity that Cassidy loves. Brianna has tried several other activities in the two years she has owned Cassidy and discovered that she is not a ranch or barrel racing horse but loves cavorting on the…
Alumni Update: Whiskey and Shortbread
How cute are the recent photo updates from Whiskey and Shortbread?! We are happy to see the two are happy pasture pals on their 1.5 acres receiving all the love and care they deserve.
Pepper is Adopted!
Another one of our Fall City 40 is adopted! Our adorable, goat braying, fluffy maned little girl is all grown up and living her best life as a best friend to her big brother, Cal, a 17 year old 16HH Andalusian. Her adopter, Sue, was looking for another friend for Cal when his buddy passed away earlier this summer, leaving a huge gap in their lives and a distraught Cal. Sue’s family is passionate…
Foster Update : Gabby
We love seeing what Trisha is up to with our long eared Gabby girl. Recently, they have been working on the scary spray bottle, which Gabby would not even consider being around, until Tess (Trisha’s other horse) was interested. Gabby quickly got jealous of Tess getting reinforced for wanted behavior and decided she could give it a try. FOMO (fear of missing out) is apparently a big motivator and…
Getting to Know Sparrow
Sparrow is the older of our two thoroughbred geldings. His lip tattoo, while a little bit difficult to read, seems to tell us he was originally called ‘Proud Texan,’ and was born in 2001, making him 22 this year. He has a significant swayback, and though he has most certainly been a riding horse in the past (not counting his time on the track), we will adopt him out as a companion. The way we…
Getting to Know Hopper
Sweet man Hopper was a fast favorite amongst our volunteers given his gentle personality and love of scratches. Hopper tested positive for Cushing’s, which was little surprise to us given his especially furry coat, so each morning he gets his daily medication in a carrot slice pill pocket, which he enjoys with gusto. Hopper is up to date on vet and farrier care. He has had a dental float, his…
Getting to Know Addie
Little mare Addie seemed wise beyond her years when she first stepped off the trailer — for such a young horse (we thought she might be 3 at the time), she was already accustomed to picking up her feet and had no problem being blanketed. Despite her age, it is clear that she has already had quite a number of experiences. If anything, Addie is almost too brave, which can translate to disrespect…
Training Update: Artie
Since his debut as a riding horse at the end of 2022, Artie has really shown he is the little horse who could. From his early days as a literal wild stallion to now, it’s hard to even picture him as the same horse. His nickname around the barn now is ‘puppy’ because of how sweet and docile he has become, and his temperament under saddle is mostly just more of the same. He has a tendency to get…
Getting to Know Betty
Betty is the slightly smaller of the two big black mares, and she lacks a facial marking like her friend and counterpart, Eleven. But smaller is a relative term — this is a big lady, made even bigger by being overweight. Betty has been on a diet since she was checked out by our vet shortly after arriving. Romps in the arena with her friends will help her lose as well. A bit timid, Betty has…
Eleven
Eleven is the larger of the two big black mares, virtually identical to her paddock-mate, Betty, though Eleven boasts a cute facial marking. Eleven arrived at SAFE quite overweight, and during our initial vet check we ran bloodwork on her. Her results came back positive for Cushing’s, and we immediately started her on daily medication. Eleven is the more outgoing of the two big black mares, but…
Limelight Features the Graham Horses
This week the wonderful ladies from the Limelight Pet Project came to meet the Graham herd! It is the largest feature they have ever done and we are so grateful they took on such a huge task. They spent the day with Graham horses capturing beautiful portraits of all 16. Thank you, Limelight Pet Project, for the long day(s) of photographing, interviewing and editing to shine the light on these…
Getting to Know Jax
Jax is the younger of our two thoroughbred geldings, his lip tattoo revealing him as being originally christened ‘Sir Gallagher,’ born in 2008, which makes him 15 this year. He arrived at SAFE with loose stool, which we helped clear up with a course of biosponge. Jax is up to date on vet and farrier care. He has had a dental float, his sheath cleaned, and is up to date on his vaccines. He was…
Getting to Know Evie
Snowflake appaloosa Evie is certainly striking to behold. Evie has a little bit of an attitude when asked to move forward, especially going up to the canter. She is also quite difficult to get going, so we are rewarding her try and giving her big releases when she does move out to tell her that she has done the correct thing. Her first…
Getting to Know Picasso
Picasso has a name befitting his paint-erly coat. He lives alongside his neighbors, little mares Poppy and Moshi, who he is quite attached to. We went through all our checks, and saddled Picasso here at SAFE. He is very heavy on the forehand, and has a propensity to stumble forward and does not have much of a backup on him yet. He struggles with tracking to the right, and is still learning not…
Getting to Know Poppy
Sweet little Poppy is the more timid of the two black pony cross mares, but it’s impossible to decide who is cuter. Poppy can be difficult to catch, so she still has to wear a breakaway halter to make it easier for her to catch in the paddock, but we have been working on catch and release in the round pen with various people to get her more accustomed to multiple people approaching her and…
Getting to Know Henry
Henry, who arrived wide-eyed and nervous (it was his first time on a trailer, coupled with the uncertainty of a new place), has really begun to settle in at SAFE. He spends his days in a turnout with appaloosa mares Zelly and Evie on either side, and the three go to the big arena together on the daily to stretch their legs and take communal naps. Despite his initial look of uncertainty, Henry is…
Getting to Know Moshi
The more outgoing of the little black mares, Moshi is curious and approachable. She has her moments of playing hard to get, but has been the more reliable of the two to catch in the paddock, and recently has had very little issue with people coming right up to her. We do not believe she has been saddled before, so we are preparing her for what could be her first ever saddle. Moshi has been doing…
Getting to Know Zelly
Zelly arrived at SAFE with a snotty nose (no other symptoms, like fever or lethargy) that did not resolve with time. When our vet first checked her out, she said she would want to take X‑rays if the snot remained, as the snot was not bilateral, and was likely a sinus related issue. Sure enough, X‑rays revealed that her right sinus was filled with fluid. We immediately started her on a course of…
Getting to Know Kelly
Kelly is a gentle mare and been fairly easy to work with so far. Her biggest trouble has come around picking up and treating her hooves. She was fairly naughty for the first farrier visit last month and we are hopeful with the care and work we have started she is feeling better about letting us help her. Her second farrier visit at SAFE went quite well, and though she is reluctant to lift her…
Decoding Declan
Oh Declan, caramel-colored stranger-turned-friend, unspooling who you are has been, as it often is, an adventure of the best sort. Declan, you first arrived having worn the hat of “family horse” in your past, and you brought it with you, tucked away with the rest of your baggage. We ask all who come to us to open your cases, so that we might help you donate that which you no longer need, or at…
Training Update: Darla
Darla is doing well with her training and continues to show that she is a quick learner and has a lot of try! Darla’s gotten freer with her movements, but still has some work to do getting off her front end and really carrying herself forward. We’ve also been working on developing her soft feel and have started leg yielding. Darla rides confidently in the larger arena, with or without other…
