Heroic Henry
Two weeks ago, we reported that Henry had regressed in his training a bit, becoming unfocused and exhibiting herd-bound behavior. A new routine was established for him: stand tied in the big covered arena while Jax gets worked, followed by some moving and flagging…
Otto is Adopted!
Otto was born to the desert, raised alongside sun-warmed rocks and plump lizards in the wilds of Nevada. He was rounded up, tattooed, and, via some circumstances unknown to us, found his way to Washington. A boy of only three, some of his adult teeth still sitting…
A Bath for Moshi
Being a horse at SAFE means many things: you get fed three times a day (if not more), you always have fresh clean water, you get daily vitamins and minerals, you make new friends on two legs and four, and you learn a whole lot of things. We do our best to prepare our…
Tiva’s Journey, So Far
I’d written an article some months ago documenting Tiva’s journey with the intention of having a video to accompany it, showcasing the immense amount of progress she has made since she first stepped off that trailer over a year ago, snorting and scared. But as it has…
Summertime Bijou
As the days slide along and we begin to cruise into the summer months of long sun and warm weather, as the ground dries up and we ask ourselves ‘mud? What mud?,’ as we open our pastures and slowly introduce our herd to grass, the horses make the transition to living…
Arrow’s First Bath
The first glimpse we had of Arrow was of a slender buckskin horse curled up in the back of a paddock, sternal like a cat in the ‘loaf’ position, watching over his surroundings. He rose slowly, in no hurry to greet us, accepting our invitation to come over and say…
Brave Roy
In my time at SAFE, I’ve learned a thing or two about horses. One of the things I learned is that the majority of them love power tools. If you have to fix a fence or drill in some hardware nearby, even the more timid horses will inquire as to what you are up to. But…
Thank you Blue Spruce!
We have several retaining walls around our property and it has come time to give them a little updating. This task was originally a little daunting both because of the price of railroad ties and the amount of labor necessary, but, thanks to the Nichols family at Blue…
Rest in Peace, Scotty
It is never easy to announce the passing of one of our horses, and harder still when the passing is so unexpected. Scotty left this earth last week, following a sudden and painful colic. This was his third colic in five months, in addition to the ulcers we had been…
Introducing “Safe at Home” Community Assistance
For the past 19 years, SAFE has helped hundreds of horses and their owners through our Community Outreach Program. This safety net program was created to provide short-term assistance to horse owners struggling to care for their animals, with the ultimate goal of…
Alumni Update: Mason
Mason is looking great and loves his home with adopter Lori M. Mason is great at groundwork and knows what to do, so he has a job as a groundwork trainer for new volunteers at Lori’s barn.
Frosting’s Trick
What better way to jumpstart your weekend than to watch Frosting exhibit her new trick? No smoke and mirrors — just a smart little mare who learned she could get scratches in exchange for curling her lip, and with that knowledge, is ready to do so on command. You…
Inula, Teacher and Student
Inula’s ringbone will keep her from being a riding horse, but it doesn’t mean that she can’t develop and hone her skills on the ground. While she is still young and relatively new to everything, Inula has been a fast learner. Our first impressions of Inula, when she…
Groundwork with Blanche
Blanche has begun her foray into our training program, where she is proving to be a quick study. Based on how she is for the handling we’ve done so far (tremendously reasonable and very sweet), it maybe shouldn’t have come as such a surprise that she would be…
